US3199772A - Turbocompressor - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent 3,199,772 TURBOCOMPRESSOR Rudolph Leslie Leutzinger, 1521 N. Holder, Independence, Mo. Filed Sept. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 307,165 2 Claims. (Cl. 230-116) This invention relates to the general field of turbomachinery and in particular to an improvement in the rotating components thereof, namely the turbine, compressor and diffuser arrangements; in more particular, it relates to centrifugal compressors having compression means mounted back to back with the turbine means, being separated by a wall on each side of which the flow is oppositely directed, said wall with attached compression and turbine means, rotating as a unit about the turbocompressor center line of symmetry.

An object of the invention is to develop high pressure ratios by exhausting a centrifugal compressor into a counter rotating blade ring assembly or, into a multiplicity of blade ring assemblies arranged concentric to each other and supported independently between outer air hearings to allow operation at an optimum blade angle. A further object is to secure minimum weight and a high mechanical etliciency for torque and energy transfer through a direct drive arrangement between compressor and turbine elements in both the equilibrating blade ring assemblies and the centrifugal impeller section. A further object is to utilize the inner compressor shroud or runner as a dual exhaust duct contour and to minimize the heat loss by containing the turbine exhaust fluid in the interior passages. Finally, to provide for the maximum simplicity, one arrangement is symmetrical about both the compressor center line and a radial plane normal to the center line to allow symmetrical loading of the equilibrating blading and impeller.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing in which the upper and lower sections of the impeller runners are unsymmetrical and act in conjunction with a single self equilibrating blade ring assembly, located radially outboard, and rotating counter and concentric to the impeller. It is susceptible of obvious variations such as the addition of multiple blade ring assemblies, changes in relative contour geometries and various bearing support arrangements.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the turbocompressor components with the upper section of the impeller and blade ring assembly successively cut away to expose the impeller vanes and turbo diffuser blading.

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view at the section of FIGURE 1, taken to show the rotating compressor components surrounding the non-rotating central exhaust duct.

The flow is admitted from a stagnation chamber through turning vanes into the duel entry centrifugal compressor A, whose upper and lower sections rotate as a unit and are connected through the inner ring of turbine blades K, said ring of turbine blades driving both the upper and lower sections of the centrifugal compressor, each section of said compressor consisting of forward facing vanes enclosed between two runners, said runners being thin circular discs sloping outboard toward the central radial plane and functioning to turn the flow from the areal direction into a radial flow plane. Each section of the centrifugal compressor impeller discharges into a set of counter rotating supersonic diffuser blades C, each set of said blades being concentric and external to the corresponding section of the impeller and being distributed in a ring around the impeller periphery, said upper and lower diffuser blades being connected end to end through a central turbine blade K such that the axis of a single three blade assembly is approximately parallel to the engine center line around which the blade mounting rings I rotate. The upper and lower diffuser sections of the blade ring assembly exhaust radially and tangentially outboard.

A second flow is admitted or readmitted into the central turbine section around the periphery such as the to flow in the reversed inboard direction through the blading K consisting of the first turbine stage, a concen tric blade ring, each blade of which is integrally connected to an upper and lower diffuser blade, thereby furnishing a direct drive between the turbine and compressor sections, which sections are separated by the blade mounting rings I, said rings containing sufficient labyrinths to separate the out flow in the compressor-diffusion section from the central inflow turbine passage. The labyrinths and labyrinth valves act to entrain and distribute the leakage flow through the integral blades. From the blade ring assembly, the flow passes inboard through the turbine blade ring K which drives the centrifugal impellers attached on each end and discharges into a discharge chamber 0 formed by the inner runner of the centrifugal compressor and the center body flow divider L, which provides for two axial discharge orifices of varying capacity.

What is claimed is:

1. A turbocompressor consisting of a centrifugal compressor having inner and outer runners, being of the double entry two section type, upper and lower sections being connected and driven through a final set of turbine blades or vanes distributed concentrically around the periphery between upper and lower sections of the centrifugal compressor and attached to the inner runners thereof, said runners being concentric discs extending radially outboard from the compressor inlet and sloping outboard toward each other and toward the central radial plane, there being two inner runners and two outer runners provided to contain the vanes in both the upper and lower sections of the compressor, said vanes between runners having a curvature for turning the flow and discharging it outboardly into the upper and lower sections of a counterrotating blade ring assembly, said assembly comprising a central turbine section containing turbine blades, each blade set vertically between two vertically spaced interior horizontal mounting rings, and joined at each end through said mounting rings to two diffuser blades, upper and lower, mounted vertically between two vertically spaced exterior horizontal mounting rings and said interior rings, such that each integral blade, consisting of a central turbine section and its associated diffuser profiles, has its longitudinal axis approximately vertical and approximately parallel to the compressor center line about which it rotates, the integral blades being distributed uniformly around the mounting rings, said interior mounting rings being parallel, self equilibrating and containing labyrinths for separating the outflow difiuser sections, top and bottom, from the central inflow turbine section, the labyrinth valves acting to distribute leakage flow to the blade ring bearings, the blade ring assembly being free to rotate between bearings in the exterior mounting rings under the impulse and reaction transmitted to its central turbine blades by the inflowing stream, said stream being directed radially inboard through the interior blading of the blade ring assembly onto the counter-rotating turbine means of the centrifugal compressor whose inner runners together with a center body flow divider form an exhaust chamber for transforming the radial inflow into two axial, oppositely directed streams, being emitted, top and bottom, from the inner runners, said runners being connected to wall means, through labyrinth valves, for containing and utilizing said streams.

2. A multi-stage turbocompressor having centrifugal compressor means mounted back to back with turbine means, being separated by a wall defined as the inner runner of the turbocompressor, on each side of which the flow is oppositely directed, the inner runner with attached compressor and turbine means, rotating as a unit abount the turbocompressor center line of axial symmetry, the compressor means being thin spiral type vanes enclosed between the inner and an outer compressor runner, said runners being thin circular discs sloping from an axial inlet lip, outboard, to a radial discharge section, a radial gap being provided for labyrinth type valves between the runner discharge ends and the mounting rings of a blade ring assembly, said blade ring assembly consisting of three vertically spaced horizontal mounting rings, the inner ring together with the outer diifuser ring being disposed radially and concentric to the discharge end of the compressor runners and containing a set of diffuser blades distributed annularly around the compressor discharge section, said blades extending vertically between the rings and connected integrally on one end through the inner mounting ring to a set of turbine blades distributed annularly around the ring assembly and extending vertically between the inner mounting ring and a terminal horizontal turbine mounting ring, such that each integral diffuser-turbine blade has its longitudinal axis approximately vertical and parallel to the turbo-compressor center line about which it rotates, the two outer rings being set in bearings, top and bottom, so that the assembly rotates freely, being self equilibrating, under the impulse and reaction delivered to the turbine blading by an inflowing stream, said stream being directed inboard onto the turbine means contained between the inner runner of the centrifugal compressor and an outer turbine runner, the turbine runner being a disc containing the turbine blade mounts and disposed radially inboard to the turbine mounting ring of the blade ring assembly, labyrinth being provided at outboard and inboard edges of the turbine runner, the latter for connection to fixed wall means which, in conjunction with the axially symmetric center body, transforms the radial inflow into a axial stream or two 0ppositely directed streams according to the vertical position of the center body. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/60 Leibach 60-3936 6/61 Pavlecka 2301l6 ROBERT M. WALKER, LAURENCE V. EFNER,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A TURBOCOMPRESSOR CONSISTING OF A CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR HAVING INNER AND OUTER RUNNERS, BEING OF THE DOUBLE ENTRY TWO SECTION TYPE, UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS BEING CONNECTED AND DRIVEN THROUGH A FINAL SET OF TURBINE BLADES OR VANES DISTRIBUTED CONCENTRICALLY AROUND THE PERIPHERY BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR AND ATTACHED TO THE INNER RUNNERS THEREOF, SAID RUNNERS BEING CONCENTRIC DISCS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTBOARD FROM THE COMPRESSOR INLET AND SLOPING OUTBOARD TOWARD EACH OTHER AND TOWARD THE CENTRAL RADIAL PLANE, THERE BE ING TWO INNER RUNNERS AND TWO OUTER RUNNERS PROVIDED TO CONTAIN THE VANES IN BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF THE COMPRESSOR, SAID VANES BETWEEN RUNNERS HAVING A CURVATURE FOR TURNING THE FLOW AND DISCHARGING IT OUTBOARDLY INTO THE UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF A COUNTERROTATING BLADE RING ASSEMBLY, SAID AISSEMBLY COMPRISING A CENTRAL TURBINE SECTION CONTAINING TURBINE BLADES, EACH BLADE SET VERTICALLY BETWEEN TWO VERTICALLY SPACED INTERIOR HORIZONTAL MOUNTING RINGS, AND JOINED AT EACH END THROUGH SAID MOUNNTING RINGS TO TWO DIFFUSER BLADES, UPPER AND LOWER, MOUNTED VERTICALLY BETWEEN TWO VERTICALLY SPACED EXTERIOR HORIZONTAL MOUNTING RINGS AND SAID INTERIOR RINGS, SUCH THAT EACH INTEGRAL BLADE, CONSISTING OF A CENTRAL TURBINE SECTION AND ITS ASSOCIATED DIFFUSER PROFILES, HAS ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS APPROXIMATELY VERTICAL AND APPROXIMATELY PARALLEL TO THE COMPRESSOR CENTER LINE ABOUT WHICH IT ROTATES, THE INTEGRAL BLADES BEING DISTRIBUTED UNIFORMALY AROUND THE MOUNTING RINGS, SAID INTERIOR MOUNTING RINGS BEING PARALLEL, SELF EQULIBRATING AND CONTAINING LABYRINTHS FOR SEPARATING THE OUTFLOW DIFFUSER SECTIONS, TOP AND BOTTOM, FROM THE CENTRAL INFLOW TURBINE SECTION, THE LABBYRINTH VALVES ACTING TO DISTRIBUTE LEAKAGE FLOW TO THE BLADE RING BEARINGS, THE BLADE RING ASSEMBLY BEING FREE TO ROTATE BETWEEN BEARINGS IN THE EXTERIOR MOUNTING RINGS UNDER THE IMPULSE AND REACTION TRANSMITTED TO ITS CENTRAL TURBINE BLADES BY THE INFLOWING STREAM, SAID STREAM BEING DIRECTED RADIALLY INBOARD THROUGH THE INTERIOR BLADING OF THE BLADE RING ASSEMBLY ONTO THE COUNTER-ROTATING TURBINE MEANS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR WHOSE INNER RUNNERS TOGETHER WITH A CENTER BODY FLOW DIVIDER FORM AN EXHAUST CHAMBER FOR TRANSFORMING THE RADIAL INFLOW INTO AN AXIAL, OPPOSITELY DIRECTED STREAMS, BEING EMITTED, TOP AND BOTTOM, FROM THE INNER RUNNERS, SAID RUNNERS BEING CONNECTED TO WALL MEANS, THROUGH LABYRINTH VALVES, FOR CONTAINING AND UTILIZING SAID STREAMS.

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