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US 10,502,131 B2Granted
Wave rotor with piston assembly
AssigneeRolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
InventorPhilip H. Snyder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wave rotor includes an inlet plate, an outlet plate, and a rotor drum positioned therebetween. The inlet plate is formed to include an inlet port arranged to receive gasses. The outlet plate is formed to include an outlet port arranged to receive the gasses flowing out of the wave rotor. The rotor drum is arranged to rotate relative to the inlet and outlet plates. A piston assembly is used to counteract forces from pressure built up in the rotor drum.
Claims13
A wave rotor assembly comprising
- a rotor drum having a forward end and an aft end, the rotor drum mounted for rotation about a central axis and including a plurality of rotor passages spaced apart from the central axis that extend along the central axis,
- an outlet plate offset from the aft end of the rotor drum by a clearance gap arranged to interact with gasses exiting the rotor passages at the aft end of the rotor drum, the outlet plate mounted for translation along the central axis relative to the rotor drum, and
- a piston assembly including a housing and a piston movable relative to the housing into engagement with the outlet plate to counteract pressure forces applied onto the outlet plate by gasses within the rotor passages at the aft end of the rotor drum to control translation of the outlet plate along the central axis,
- wherein the outlet plate is formed to include an outlet port spaced circumferentially apart from the piston assembly and a pressurizing passage aligned circumferentially with the piston assembly to allow gasses in the rotor passages to communicate with the piston assembly and wherein the piston is formed to include a piston passage aligned with the pressurizing passage formed in the outlet plate.
1 more element
A wave rotor assembly comprising
- a rotor drum having a forward end and an aft end, the rotor drum mounted for rotation about a central axis and including a plurality of rotor passages spaced apart from the central axis that extend along the central axis,
- an inlet plate arranged to block gasses from exiting the rotor passages at the forward end of the rotor drum, and
- a piston assembly arranged to engage with the inlet plate to counteract pressure forces applied onto the inlet plate by gasses within the rotor passages at the forward end of the rotor drum,
- wherein the inlet plate is formed to include an inlet port spaced circumferentially apart from the piston assembly and a pressurizing passage aligned circumferentially with the piston assembly to allow gasses in the rotor passages to communicate with the piston assembly and wherein the piston assembly includes a housing engaged with the inlet plate and a piston that is formed to include a piston passage aligned with the pressurizing passage formed in the inlet plate.
1 more element
A method of operating a wave rotor assembly, the method comprising
- providing a rotor drum having a forward end and an aft end, an outlet plate offset from the aft end of the rotor drum by a clearance gap, and a piston assembly arranged to engage the outlet plate,
- introducing gasses into the rotor drum to cause a first force to be applied onto the outlet plate at the aft end of the rotor drum, and
- applying a pressure from the gasses in the rotor drum to the piston assembly to cause the piston assembly to apply a second force onto the outlet plate to counteract the first force,
- wherein the outlet plate is formed to include an outlet port spaced apart circumferentially from the piston assembly and a pressurizing passage aligned circumferentially with the piston assembly to allow a portion of the gasses to communicate with the piston assembly and wherein a piston included in the piston assembly is formed to include a piston passage that is aligned with the pressurizing passage formed in the outlet plate.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.