Compact lightweight turbine

A combustion chamber for a high-speed, relatively low-power turbine engine, said combustion chamber comprising:

• a wall dividing said chamber into a hot region and a cold region, said cold region adapted for receiving a carburetant gas at a pressure,
• inlet means for admitting a primary flow of said carburetant gas from said cold region into said hot region,
• means for injecting fuel into said hot region for mixing with said gas therein;
• ignition means located in said hot region for igniting the fuel and gas mixture thereby generating a flame front expanding towards said cold region;
• passage means for admitting a secondary flow of relatively cool gas from said cold region into said hot region and
• obstruction means on said dividing wall in said cold region and partially surrounding said passage means for generating a vortex in said secondary gas flow for confining said flame front to said hot region.

A turbo-engine including:

• a turbine having a high-speed shaft for delivering rotational mechanical power,
• a low-speed output shaft for delivering useful rotational mechanical power to a load,
• a speed step-down mechanism coupling said shafts to one another in order to transmit such rotational mechanical power from said high-speed turbine shaft to said low-speed output shaft and
• a spline coupling said speed step-down mechanism to said high-speed shaft;
• the improvement whereby:
• said spline has first and second longitudinally spaced fluting portions,
• said first fluting portion loosely engaging said high-speed shaft have for receiving said rotational mechanical power therefrom,
• said second fluting portion loosely engaging said high-speed shaft to said speed step-down mechanism for transmitting said rotational mechanical power thereto,
• whereby said fluting portions of said spline for respective engagements which are rigid in the azimutal direction to transmit rotation from said high-speed shaft to said speed step-down mechanism yet loose in the axial and radial directions to substantially decouple axial and radial vibrations therebetween, compensate thermal expansion and tolerate eccentricity in and misalignments between said high-speed shaft, said spline and said speed step-down mechanism.

A turbo-engine including:

• a turbine having a high-speed shaft mounted on bearing means for delivering rotational mechanical power,
• a low-speed output shaft for delivering useful rotational mechanical power to a load,
• a speed step-down mechanism coupling said shafts to one another in order to transmit such rotational mechanical power from said high-speed turbine shaft to said low-speed output shaft and
• a spline coupling said high-speed shaft to said speed step-down mechanism,
• wherein said spline is longitudinally traversed by a bore for conveying a mixture of lubricant droplets and air to said high-speed shaft bearings, said droplets assisting in self-balancing said spline and dampening vibrations therein at high shaft speeds.

A method for controlling the start-up sequence of a turbo-engine, said turbo-engine including:

• a rotary shaft and other moving parts,
• an oil circulation system for lubricating said moving parts, said system including an oil pump directly coupled to said rotary shaft for circulating the oil through said system under pressure,
• a switch responsive to the pressure of the oil in said system for deriving a logical signal in response to said oil pressure being above or below a predetermined threshold,
• starter means for driving rotation of said rotary shaft during said start-up sequence and
• means for turning said starter means on upon initiation of said start-up sequence;
• said method using said logical signal derived by said oil pressure switch to turn said starter means off and terminating said start-up sequence upon said logical signal exceding predetermined threshold.

A turbo-engine including:

• a rotary shaft and other moving parts,
• an oil circulation system for lubricating said moving parts, said system including an oil pump directly coupled to said rotary shaft for circulating the oil through said system under pressure,
• starter means for driving rotation of said rotary shaft during said start-up sequence,
• means for turning said starter means on upon initiation of said start-up sequence,
• a switch arranged to trip during said start-up sequence in response to the pressure of the oil in said system increasing above a predetermined threshold and
• means responsive to said switch tripping to turn said starter means off and terminate said start-up sequence.