US2589239A

US2589239A - Turbine-compressor unit

Info

Publication number: US2589239A
Application number: US593978A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fallon Eduardo
Original assignee: CARLOS FALLON
Current assignee: CARLOS FALLON
Priority date: 1945-05-16
Filing date: 1945-05-16
Publication date: 1952-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 1969-03-18

Description

March 18, 1952 2,589,239

E. FALLON TURBINE-COMPRESSOR UNIT Filed May 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet l FIGJ IO 24 3Q EDUARDO FALLON March 18, 1952 E. FALLON 2,589,239

TURBINE-COMPRESSOR UNIT Filed May 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwuwvbw EDUARDO FALLON March 18, 1952 E. FALLON 2,589,239

TURBINE-COMPRESSOR UNIT Filed May 16, 1945 e Sheets-Sheet 4 X XX\XXX X A I06.

gwuwm EDUARDO FALLON March 18, 1952 E. FALLON 2,539,239

TURBINE-COMPRESSOR UNIT Filed May 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.5

6 EDUARDO FALLON Patented Mar. 18, 1952 Eduardo Fallon, Cartagena, Colombia, assignor, by direct-andmesne assignments, of one-half to Malcolm Mitchell, New York, N. Y., and onehalf .to Carlos Fallon, Washington, .D. 0.

Application May 16, 1945, Serial No.'593,'978

6 Claims.

This invention relates to turbine-compression units such as power turbines with compressor means delivering to a combustion chamber which directly supplies propulsion gases to the turbine, and such as super-charges including a turbinedriven by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine and, in turn, driving a compressor which delivers to the engine carburetor.

Great 'difficulty'has hitherto been encountered in making such units standup under the high gas temperatures which have to be contended with and ordinarily, to prevent injury to the metal, in the case of'internal combustion turbines extraneous cooling media have had to be introduced into the combustion chamber with constant loss of efficiency.

Themain object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned difficulty. This object is accomplished, essentially, by providing turbine and compression chambers and a rotor member which forms a partition between the two chambersthe rotorincluding integrally connected turbine and compressor blades which project into the respective chambers, the rotor being made of metalselected principally'for its character of high thermal conductivity; 'By this construction, the combustion chamber heat is rapidly transferred to the compressor chamber andserves to heat the air being'compressed in thelatter, thus adding greatly to the efiiciency of the compressor. Temperatures throughout the unit are maintained within safe limits with respect to the materials of which the parts are made.

Theinvention is shown in practical embodi-, ment, b'y'way of example, in the "accompanying drawings inwhich:

Figure l is a View of apower unit in'accordance'with the invention partly in elevation and partly in axial section. I t

Figure 2'is aview of the unit of Figure 1 partly in elevation as seen from the left of Figure 1,

witha brokenawaysegment A showing-a section to the flange [2.

as seen from the left of the latter figure, a segment being broken away and showing a section substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring to Figure 1, the unit comprises a stator including a circular casing side wall [0 having at its periphery an annular shoulder ll terminating'in an annular radial flange l2. Reference numeral 13 designates a circular casing side wall parallel to the side wall [0 and shouldered at its outer periphery into a cylindrical peripheral wall l4 terminating in an annular radial flange I5 secured in any suitable manner The inner edge of wall l3 is shouldered into a cylindrical portion 16 which terminates outwardly in an inwardly extending compressor'blades which alternate with

conc'entric series

28, 29, 30, 3| and 32 of compressor blades on the rotor disc 22. 2 l, disc 22 is provided with series of openings 33 and between the openings the disc is provided with a series of fan blades 34 which, when the rotor is rotating in the prescribed direction, serve to draw air in through the openings 33 and propel it into the compressor "blades.

Between the rotor disc and easing wall I3, the stator includes a parallel annular wall 35 which has a peripheral flange 36 extending toward and over the periphery of disc 22 with a running clearance. Projecting outwardly from the inner edge of wall 35 is a cylindrical 'wall'3l which is concentrically spaced inwardly of casing wall 16, wall 31 terminating outwardly in an inturned annular radial wall 38 spaced from wall ll. Ra-

dial'webs 39 join wall 31 with an internal concentric cylindrical wall 40 which terminates outwardly in an annular radial flange 4| secured to flange I9 and inwardly in an outwardly flared or belled portion 42 which terminates adjacent disc 22 with running clearance. The webs 39 may be solid or may be apertured as at 63, Figure 1. They terminate outwardly in radial edges as at 44 and inwardly beneath the innermost circular series of turbine blades 45 which project from wall 35towar'd disc 22. Wall 35'is'equipped'with Adjacent the hub a plurality of additional concentric series of turbine blades which are alternated with a plurality of concentric series of turbine blades 46 which project from the rotor disc. The several circular series of stator blades 23-28 on the one hand and on the other, project into the space between the walls and 35 with their ends in alignment, but spaced apart a distance to accommodate the rotor disc 22..

The combustion chamber defined between

walls

31 and 40 is in communication with the turbine chamber defined between disc 22 and wall 35 through a central opening in the latter, the edge of the opening being indicated at 41. The combustion chamber has an annular inlet opening 48 and outwardly of this opening, and directed between the webs 39, devices 49 for fuel and air injection and ignition are secured in circularly arranged openings in wall l1. Projecting from walls35 and 31 are a series of radial fins 50 which start at a vertical edge as at Figure 1, and'iterminate in a vertical edge as at 52, these fins having as one function the positioning of the stator core portion within the outer shell. Wall I0 may be provided with radial fins 53 disposed opposite fins 50. These fins have a lower edge justabove the outer series of rotary compressor blades 28 and they project from the inner surface of wall ID to. the plane of the joint between flanges l2 and I5.

Flange 36 of wall 35 is spaced substantially inwardly of the peripheral wall l4 and is provided with a multiplicity of radial openings which register with radial openings in the peripheral wall},v Reference numeral 54 designates thimbles inserted through the registering openings and expanded into tight engagement in the inner openings.

The rotor disc 22 is made of metal characterized by high thermal conductivity, suitable metals being silver, copper, nickel and alloys thereof which may desirably include vanadium to reduce' distortion. The rotor blades may be made integral with the disc and so are in integral connection. The contemplated integrality can also' be attained by welding blades of high ther} mal'conductivity to the disc, or the oppositely projecting blades may be portions of the same piece, of metal fixed in apertures in the disc. In any event, the oppositely projecting rotor blades are in direct alignment with each other andjare of the same radial dimension, for the efiicient-transfer of heat from the combustion chamber to the compressor chamber. The core constituted by the

walls

35, 31 and 40, the stationary turbine blades, and fins 50, are also made of a-jmetal of high thermal conductivity.

In starting the apparatus, the rotor is driven in known manner, fuel is injected and ignited, and the turbine begins to function, exhausting through the thimbles 54. Blades 34 pull air through the central passage defined by cylindrical wall 40 and the air is compressed and discharged through the spaces between the thimbles and into the annular passage between the core and the outer stator shell to the combustion chamber, the path being indicated by the arrows. Some heat is imparted to the incoming air as it traverses the inlet passage defined by wall 43. As the air traverses the compression chamber, it abstracts the heat which has been transferred from the turbine blades of the rotor to the compressor blades of the rotor, also from the rotor disc, so that the turbine parts are maintained at a safe temperature. The compressor output adsorbs further heat from the fins 50 which are in heat exchanging relation with the wall 35 and stationary turbine blades, and with the combustion chamber wall 31.

While the exhaust thimbles 54 are shown as discharging into atmosphere, it will be understood that any suitable lead-oif means may be provided, for example, a ring, or volute, manifold. When the thimbles are expanded in the openings in rim 36, they are preferably not seized in the openings in wall l4, thus permitting relative adjustment of the parts to some extent as they expand and contract.

In Figures 3 and 4, the arrangement is generally similar to that of Figures 1 and 2 except that the rotor disc is solid and an air inlet is provided in the stator at the compressor blade side of the disc, preliminary heating of the air through contact with the combustion chamber being omitted.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the stator wall [0a terminates inwardly in an axial opening rimmed by a fiare or bell 6D. The shaft 20a has fixed thereon an elongated inwardly flaring hub 2Ia with which is integral a rotor disc 22a. The hub carries a series of fan blades 6| which substantially conform to the annular space between the hub and bell 60 and project somewhat outwardly of the latter in abutment with a solid disc 62 which is fixed to the shaft. The radial wal1 35a terminates inwardly in an outwardly tapering bell 63 in the combustion chamber 64 into which project fuel and air injecting and igniting devices 49. As shown in Figure 3, a series of injection devices, as at 65, for a vaporizable liquid, is provided. For example, water, mercury, etc., may be injected into the combustion chamber, resulting in an increase in the total volume of gases by the vaporization thereof, the vapors commingled with the products of combustion passing through the power zone of the turbine and producing increased power. Under such conditions the power output of the turbine can be substantially'increased by leading the exhaust to a condenser for the volatilized liquid. The injected liquids, of course, have a cooling efiect in the combustion chamber but this is not a prime consideration. An appropriate operating temperature in the turbine is maintainable by heat transfer to the air drawn in by the blades BI and passed to the combustion chamber as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3. The rotor, including the disc 22a and the turbine and compressor blades carried thereby, and the blades 6|, are made of metal of high thermal conductivity' just as in the first embodiment, and the same applies to the wall 35a and the fins 50a.

In Figures 5 and 6, the arrangement is like that of Figures 3 and 4 except that the unit is constituted as a super-charger. To this end, the side wal1 132) extends straight inwardly into adjacency with shaft 20b. Radial wall 35b has its lower edge flanged and tapered outwardly into engagement with the inner portion of wall I31) and just outwardly of the flange wal1 I3b is provided with a circular series of openings 10 connectable by pipes H with the carburetor of an internal combustion engine in any suitable manner. The hub of the rotor includes a portion 12 having running clearance with the inner margin of wall l3b, portion I2 being spaced from the flange of wall 35b and being flared inwardly to define an annular intake conduit 13. Wall I3!) is provided with a series of apertures 14 incommunication with the annular passage 13 and-in connection with a series of pipes 15 through which the exhaust from the engine can be lead to the turbine. As before, the rotor, wall 35b and fins 502) are made of metal of high thermoconductivity. The showing of Figure 4 applies also to the super-charger.

By the described system of heat dissipation and utilization, a turbine-compressor unit efficient in operation and long-lived in service is provided. Obviously the invention is susceptible of varied embodiment and is not limited as regards specific form and arrangement of parts except as in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A turbine-compressor unit comprising a stator having side and peripheral walls defining an annular chamber, a rotor disposed on the axis of said stator and including a circular disc spaced between said side walls and having oppositely projecting blades, said rotor being made of metal of high thermal conductivity, the blades on one side of the disc being constituted as turbine blades and those on the other side as compressor blades, the stator having an axial air inlet to the compressor blade side of said disc and the stator including a radial wall of metal of high thermal conductivity between the turbine blade side of the rotor disc and the adjacent side wall, said radial wall having a central inlet for propulsion gases and including an annular flange projecting toward the rotor disc periphery and having a running clearance therewith, said flange being spaced from said peripheral wall, and spaced apart tubular exhaust members connecting openings in said flange with openings in said peripheral wall.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the turbine and compressor blades are each arranged in concentric series, wherein the side Wall adjacent the compression blades has concentric series of blades alternating with the series of compressor blades and cooperating therewith, and wherein said radial wall has concentric series of blades alternating with the series of compressor blades and cooperating therewith.

3. A unit according to claim 1 wherein the stator includes portions defining a combustion chamber in communication with the space between the radial wall and adjacent side wall and with said central inlet.

4. A unit according to claim 1 wherein the space between said radial wall and the adjacent side wall and said central inlet are in communication with separate openings in the stator which extend to the exterior.

5. A unit according to claim 1 wherein the stator includes walls defining an annular combustion chamber surrounding the stator axis on the turbine blade side of said disc in connection with said central inlet and defining a central air passage, wherein said disc is perforated around its axis so as to place said air passage in connection with the compressor blade side of said disc, said passage and perforations constituting the axial air inlet, and wherein the stator includes walls defining a passage connecting the space between said radial wall and adjacent side wall with the other end of said combustion chamber.

6. A unit according to claim 1 wherein the stator includes walls defining an annular combustion chamber surrounding the stator axis on the turbine blade side of said disc in connection with said central inlet and defining a central air passage, wherein said disc is perforated around its axis so as to place said air passage in connection with the compressor blade side of said disc, said perforations having walls shaped as fan blades adapted to draw air through said air passage, said passage and perforations constituting the axial air inlet, and wherein the stator includes walls defining a passage connecting the space between said radial wall and adjacent side wall with the outer end of said combustion chamber.

EDUARDO FALLON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,057,002 Loftus Mar. 25, 1913 1,197,755 Moller Sept. 12, 1916 1,256,674 Fdttinger Feb. 19, 1918 1,868,143 Heinze July 19, 1932 2,256,198 Hahn Sept. 16, 1941 2,256,479 Holzwarth Sept. 23, 1941 2,413,225 Grifiith Dec. 24, 1946 2,423,183 Forsyth July 1, 1947 2,447,292 Van Acker Aug. 17, 1948 2,471,892 Price May 31, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 467,630 Great Britain June 21, 1937 644,159 Germany Apr. 26, 1937 669,249 Germany Dec. 20, 1938