Compound engine system with rotary engine
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorAndre Julien
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compound engine system includes a rotary engine with rotating chambers, a compressor section in successive communication with the rotating chambers, and a turbine section in successive communication with the rotating chambers. The turbine section has an output shaft. The output shaft and the engine shaft are drivingly engaged to each other and wherein the turbine section has a power output corresponding to from 20% to 35% of a total power output of the compound engine system. A method of compounding power in a compound engine system is also discussed.
Claims18
A compound engine system comprising:
- a rotary engine having a stator body defining an internal cavity and a rotor body engaged to an engine shaft, the rotor body sealingy engaged within the cavity to provide rotating chambers of variable volume, the rotor body and the stator body defining walls that circumscribe the rotating chambers, some of said walls defining respective recesses providing for a reduced volumetric compression ratio of the rotary engine;
- a compressor fluidly communicating with at least one inlet port of the rotating chambers;
- and
- a turbine section fluidly communicating with at least one exhaust port of the rotating chambers, the turbine section including a turbine and an output shaft, the output shaft being drivingly engaged to the engine shaft to drive a common load;
- wherein the turbine section and the rotary engine collectively develop a total power output to drive the common load, the reduced volumetric compression ratio of the rotary engine providing for a turbine section power output corresponding to from 20% to 35% of the total power output.
A method of compounding power in a compound engine system, the method comprising:
- driving an engine shaft with a rotor body of a rotary engine, the rotary engine having a stator body defining an internal cavity, the rotor body sealingy engaged within the cavity to provide rotating chambers of variable volume, the rotor body and the stator body defining walls that circumscribe the rotating chambers, some of said walls defining respective recesses allowing for a reduced volumetric compression ratio of the rotary engine;
- feeding compressed air from a compressor to the rotating chambers via at least one inlet port of the rotating chambers;
- flowing exhaust from the rotating chambers to a turbine section of the compound engine system via at least one exhaust port of the rotating chambers to drive an output shaft of the turbine section;
- and
- compounding power of the engine shaft and of the output shaft, which includes:
- drivingly engaging the engine shaft and the output shaft to drive a common load;
- and
- collectively developing a total power output with the rotary engine and the turbine section to drive the common load, the reduced volumetric compression ratio of the rotary engine providing for a turbine section power output in a range from 20% to 35% of the total power output of the compound engine system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.