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.
Claims20
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 sealingly engaged within the cavity to provide rotating chambers of variable volume;
- a compressor fluidly communicating with at least one inlet port of the rotating chambers;
- and
- a turbine fluidly communicating with at least one exhaust port of the rotating chambers, the turbine having an output shaft drivingly engaged to the engine shaft, the turbine and the rotary engine configured to drive a common load of the compound engine system via the engine shaft, the turbine having an expansion ratio selected to provide a power output in the range of 20% to 35% of a total power output of the compound engine system.
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 sealingly engaged within the internal cavity to define 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 each having a recess volume forming part of the variable volume of the rotating chambers;
- 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 via at least one exhaust port of the rotating chambers to drive an output shaft of the turbine;
- 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 to drive the common load, wherein the turbine has an expansion ratio selected to provide a power output in the range of 20% to 35% of a total power output of the compound engine system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.