High altitude internal combustion engine/turbocharger exhaust combustor
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsWilliam John Bigbee-Hansen, Timothy A. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft propulsor that includes an exhaust combustor is disclosed. The aircraft propulsor can include an internal combustion engine and a turbocharger. The turbocharger can be spooled while motoring the internal combustion engine. For example, when restarting the internal combustion engine at high altitude, an injector and an igniter can provide fuel to the exhaust and combust fuel to spool the turbocharger, decreasing load on the engine during restarting. In another example, an electric turbocharger can be driven with an electric motor to spool the turbocharger.
Claims20
An aircraft propulsor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine comprising an intake, a combustion chamber coupled to the intake, and an exhaust coupled to the combustion chamber;
- a turbocharger coupled to the exhaust and configured to be powered by flow within the exhaust;
- an injector coupled to the exhaust, disposed between the combustion chamber and the turbocharger, and configured to deliver fuel to a portion of the exhaust;
- an igniter coupled to the exhaust, disposed between the combustion chamber and the turbocharger, and configured to ignite the fuel delivered by the injector to the portion of the exhaust;
- an airflow velocity sensor disposed within the exhaust configured to measure the airflow velocity in the exhaust;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the internal combustion engine, the injector, and the igniter, configured to determine a timing of the igniter in response to the measured airflow velocity such that the igniter ignites the fuel at an optimal combustion moment.
An aircraft propulsor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine comprising an intake, a combustion chamber coupled to the intake, and an exhaust coupled to the combustion chamber;
- an electric motor;
- an electrically-assisted turbocharger coupled to the exhaust and the electric motor, wherein the electrically-assisted turbocharger is configured to, alternatively or concurrently, be powered by flow within the exhaust or by the electric motor;
- an airflow velocity sensor disposed within the exhaust configured to measure the airflow velocity in the exhaust;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the internal combustion engine and the electrically-assisted turbocharger, wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine that the internal combustion engine is powered down;
- restart, responsive to determining that the internal combustion engine is powered down, the internal combustion engine;
- and
- determine a timing of the electrically-assisted turbocharger in response to the measured airflow velocity to electrically operate, while restarting the internal combustion engine, the electric motor to spool the electrically-assisted turbocharger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.