# US 11,111,793 B2 · Turbomachinery

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- Number: US 11,111,793 B2
- Document ID: US11111793B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/283,287
- Filed: 2019-02-22
- Published: 2020-02-27
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2018-08-24
- Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
- Applicants: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
- Inventors: Martin N Goodhand; Ian M Bunce
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11111793B2

## CPC

- F01D 5/04: for radial-flow machines or engines
- F02C 1/10: Closed cycles
- F01D 5/141: {Shape, i.e. outer, aerodynamic form (F01D5/148 - F01D5/20 take precedence; blade construction F01D5/147)}
- F04D 29/284: {for compressors}
- F04D 29/441: {especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps}
- F01K 25/103: {Carbon dioxide (F01K25/065 takes precedence)}
- F05D 2210/12: gaseous, i.e. compressible
- F05D 2220/30: in turbines
- F05D 2240/24: for turbines
- F01D: NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES (machines or engines for liquids F03; non-positive displacement pumps F04D)
- F02C: GAS-TURBINE PLANTS; AIR INTAKES FOR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; CONTROLLING FUEL SUPPLY IN AIR-BREATHING JET-PROPULSION PLANTS (construction of turbines F01D; jet-propulsion plants F02K; construction of compressors or fans F04; generating combustion products of high pressure or high velocity F23R; using gas turbines in compression refrigeration plants F25B11/00)
- F04D: NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS (engine fuel-injection pumps F02M; ion pumps H01J41/12; electrodynamic pumps H02K44/02)
- F01K: STEAM ENGINE PLANTS; STEAM ACCUMULATORS; ENGINE PLANTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ENGINES USING SPECIAL WORKING FLUIDS OR CYCLES (gas-turbine or jet-propulsion plants F02; nuclear power plants, engine arrangements therein G21D)
- F05D: INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS

## Abstract

A turbomachine (105) configured to compress supercritical carbon dioxide is shown. The turbomachine comprises, in fluid flow series, an inlet (201), an inducerless radial impeller (202) having a plurality of backswept blades (211,212) each of which have a blade exit angle (χ2) of from −50 to −70 degrees, and a fully vaneless diffuser (203).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A turbomachine configured to compress supercritical carbon dioxide, the turbomachine comprising, in fluid flow series:
an inlet;
an inducerless radial impeller having a plurality of backswept blades each of which have a blade exit angle (χ2) of from −50 to −70 degrees;
a fully vaneless diffuser; and
a volute comprising a tongue and having a flow area at the tongue equal to that of the diffuser,
wherein a hub hade angle of the impeller at an entry thereto (γ1hub) is from 50 to 70 degrees,
wherein the hub hade angle is defined by an axial line of the inlet and a tangent line that is tangent to a point of the impeller where the blade of the impeller begins,
wherein the inlet is radially flared at a downstream end of the inlet adjacent to the impeller to induce a radial component in flow prior to an entry to the impeller,
wherein only the diffuser is located between the impeller and the volute,
wherein the plurality of blades comprises:
a set of main blades; and
a set of splitter blades,
wherein a meridional chord length of the splitter blades (cs) is 70 percent of a meridional chord length of the main blades (cm), and
wherein a radius of the diffuser (r3) is from 1.2 to 1.8 times larger than a radius of the impeller (r2).

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which the backswept blades have a blade exit angle (χ2) of −60 degrees.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which said hade angle (γ1hub) is 60 degrees.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which each of the plurality of blades is a backswept blade.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which the impeller comprises one splitter blade for each main blade.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which a radius of the inlet (r0) is from 25 to 50 percent of the radius of the impeller (r2).

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The turbomachine of claim 6, in which the radius of the inlet (r0) is from 30 to 50 percent of the radius of the impeller (r2).

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which the has a height (b2) at an entry of the diffuser and a height (b3) at an exit of the diffuser, with an annulus height ratio and the entry and the exit of the diffuser (b3/b2) being 1.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, in which the radius of the diffuser (r3) is from 1.3 to 1.7 times larger than the radius of the impeller (r2).

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The turbomachine of claim 1, having the inlet, the impeller and the diffuser configured to achieve a design point stagnation pressure ratio of 2 or greater when the impeller is rotated at a speed of at least 50000 revolutions per minute.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A method of operating the turbomachine of claim 1, comprising:
supplying supercritical carbon dioxide to the inlet of the turbomachine; and
rotating the impeller.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, in which the supercritical carbon dioxide is supplied at 306 kelvin and at 7.7 megapascals, and the impeller is rotated at a speed of at least 50000 revolutions per minute.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A system that is a closed, indirect-heated Brayton cycle having a carbon dioxide working fluid and comprising the turbomachine of claim 1.