Aircraft power plant
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorSerge Dussault
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Aircraft power plants and associated methods are provided. A method for driving a load on an aircraft includes: transferring motive power from an internal combustion (IC) engine to the load; discharging a flow of first exhaust gas from the IC engine when transferring motive power from the IC engine to the load; receiving the flow of first exhaust gas from the IC engine into a combustor; mixing fuel with the first exhaust gas in the combustor and igniting the fuel to generate a flow of second exhaust gas; receiving the flow of second exhaust gas at a turbine and driving the turbine with the flow of second exhaust gas from the combustor; and transferring motive power from the turbine to the load.
Claims12
An aircraft power plant comprising:
- an internal combustion (IC) engine using intermittent combustion during operation, the IC engine being drivingly connected to a load via a gearbox to transfer motive power from the IC engine to the load, the IC engine having an exhaust outlet for discharging a flow of first exhaust gas;
- a combustor including:
- a combustor inlet in fluid communication with the exhaust outlet of the IC engine to receive the flow of first exhaust gas from the IC engine into the combustor;
- a fuel injector for injecting fuel into the combustor in which the fuel is mixed with the first exhaust gas and ignited to generate a flow of second exhaust gas;
- and
- a combustor outlet for discharging the flow of second exhaust gas;
- a turbocharger associated with the IC engine, the turbocharger including:
- a turbine in fluid communication with the combustor outlet and driven by the flow of second exhaust gas, the turbine being drivingly connected to the load to transfer motive power from the turbine to the load;
- and
- a compressor drivingly connected to the turbine and driven by the turbine to compress combustion air for the IC engine;
- and
- a continuously variable transmission, the turbine being drivingly connected to the load via the continuously variable transmission and the gearbox.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.