Automatic Inlet Swirl Device for Turbomachinery

Abstract

A turbomachinery assembly has a fluid inlet positioned to facilitate the passage of a fluid. The turbomachinery inlet may need a device which can produce inlet swirl or no swirl based on the operation conditions. In this invention, an inlet swirl device is designed to produce the inlet swirl with only one asymmetric automatic valve. No actuator is needed to control the valve. The valve opening is automatic adjusted based on the inlet flow rate. An inlet vane ring assembly is disposed adjacent the inlet and includes a plurality of vanes in the circumferential direction. The vane ring is not movable, but can produce different magnitudes of swirl.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.