Apparatus and system for vehicle propulsion
OwnerDae Sik Kiminventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an ultra-low emission stored exhaust gas-assisted internal combustion powerplant. The powerplant comprises a variable torque drive turbine connected to a piston compressor through a gearbox. The gearbox comprises a planetary or epicyclic gear to selectively direct power from the drive turbine to the compressor and at least one output shaft. The compressed air is mixed with fuel in a staged combustor, the hot exhaust gasses are used to drive the variable torque drive turbine or cooled and stored in a exhaust gasses storage system.
Claims18
A propulsion system for powering a vehicle, the propulsion system comprising:
- a powerplant having:
- a combustor for sustaining a combustion of an air/fuel mixture and generating hot exhaust gasses therefrom;
- a turbine in fluid communication with the combustor, the turbine including a turbine rotor configured to move by expanding hot exhaust gasses;
- and
- a compressor for compressing ambient air, the compressor mechanically connected to the turbine by a gearbox and fluidly connected to the combustor to deliver a portion of the compressed air to the combustor, the compressor having a sealed crankcase for storing at least a portion of the compressed air;
- and
- an exhaust gas storage system for cooling and storing at least a portion of the hot exhaust gasses from the combustor.
A method of operating a propulsion system for powering a vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing a propulsion system including a powerplant having a combustor in fluid communication with a turbine, and a compressor mechanically connected to the turbine by a gearbox, the compressor having a sealed crankcase for storing compressed air in fluid communication with the combustor;
- compressing ambient air in the compressor and storing at least a portion of the compressed air in the crankcase;
- generating exhaust gasses by sustaining a combustion in the combustor using at least a portion of the compressed air in the crankcase;
- and
- driving the drive turbine with at least a portion of the exhaust gasses from the combustor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.