Drive system for a ceramic regenerator

Abstract

A regenerator drive system for a ceramic circular regenerator core comprising a cylindrical matrix adapted to be mounted for rotation about its central axis, said ceramic core having axial gas flow passages adapted, when it is installed in an engine, to accommodate flow therethrough of high temperature combustion gases and relatively cool combustor intake gases, a metallic ring gear surrounding the periphery of said core and radially spaced therefrom, an elastomeric lug and groove drive means situated between said core and said ring gear for distributing tangential driving forces therebetween, said drive means comprising a first series of elastomeric drive lugs bonded to the inner periphery of said ring gear at tangentially spaced locations and a second series of elastomeric drive lugs bonded to the external surface of the periphery of said core at tangentially spaced locations and in registry with the spaces between the drive lugs on said ring gear, said drive lugs having sufficient clearance therebetween to establish radial and axial compliance between the ring gear and the core, one with respect to the other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.