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US 2026/0098522 A1Published application
Jet engine with consumable arc-plasma electrodes
AssigneeGeorgia Tech Research Corporation
InventorsLukas Graber, Patrick O'Malley, Adele Payman, Maryam Tousi, Daqi Han, Ning Guo
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Abstract
An exemplary air-breathing plasma engine and methods of operation are disclosed employing an arc plasma chamber that generates plasma, e.g., electrode-coupled, direct current plasma, via electrodes continuously fed by an electrode-feeding assembly. The plasma chamber can be implemented in any one of the stages following the compression stage and having high-pressure and high-velocity air flow, e.g., for a jet engine, turbojet engine, or rocket engine.
Claims20
An engine comprising:
- an inlet configured to receive input air;
- a compressor stage coupled to the inlet, the compressor stage being configured to compress the input air and reduce velocity of the input air between an entry section of the compressor stage and an exit section of the compressor stage;
- and
- a plasma chamber operatively coupled to the compressor stage to receive compressed air from the compressor stage, the plasma chamber comprising a set of continuously-fed electrodes, as anodes, configured to generate an electric arc to convert the compressed air to an electrically conductive plasma, wherein the set of continuously-fed electrodes, as anodes, includes at least one rod drawn from a spool of flexible carbon fiber cable.
1 more element
An electrode feeding system comprising:
- a set of continuously-fed electrodes, as anodes, configured to be consumed and converted to an exhaustible gas, wherein the set of continuously-fed electrodes comprises at least one rod drawn from a spool of flexible carbon fiber cable to be oriented in proximity to a cathode to generate an electric arc, the at least one rod having an associated bending radius;
- a drive roller configured to drive the set of continuously-fed electrodes into a plasma chamber, wherein, when subject to bending, the at least one rod is oriented within the plasma chamber to generate the electric arc;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the drive roller, the controller being configured to adjust the drive roller operation based on one or more of (i) a measured arc voltage, (ii) arc current, or (ii) airflow speed, in the plasma chamber.
1 more element
A method comprising:
- receiving, in an engine, input air;
- compressing, at a first stage of the engine, the input air and reducing input air velocity to generate compressed air;
- converting the compressed air to an electrically conductive plasma at a second stage of the engine configured to generate an electric arc in an airflow stream of the compressed air, wherein the electric arc is generated with a set of continuously-fed electrodes, as anodes, comprising at least one rod drawn from a spool;
- orienting the at least one rod of the set of continuously-fed electrodes to be in proximity to a cathode to generate the electric arc, the at least one rod having an associated bending radius such that, when subject to bending, the at least one rod is oriented to generate the electric arc;
- and
- expanding the electrically conductive plasma to generate an impulse of the engine, wherein the heat introduced at the first stage of the engine is combined with heat generated at the second stage to contribute to the impulse generation.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.