Water brake

A water brake comprising:

• (a) a hollow relatively wide substantially wheel-shaped brake housing having an outer substantially circular peripheral surface and two spaced and parallel substantially flat circular side walls each of which has a central axial opening,
• (b) the brake housing formed by two housing sections which are joined along a circular planar surface along the outer circular peripheral surface,
• (c) a seal and bearing assembly containing a roller bearing and an adjacent outer seal mounted in the central opening of each of the side walls and disposed along a central axis extending through the brake housing,
• (d) a single drive and support shaft extending along the central axis and through and in engagement with the roller bearing and an adjacent seal in each of the seal and bearing assemblies,
• (e) a rotor disposed within one housing section and having a cylindrical hub mounted on the shaft and supported between the bearings of the two seal and bearing assemblies,
• (f) the rotor having a circular vane support section of cup-shaped cross-section having inner and outer peripheral surfaces and within which a plurality of radially extending vanes are supported,
• (g) the vanes extending in an angled direction with respect to the line of travel of the rotor and terminating their free edges with the outer and inner edges of the vane support section at a first common plane disposed perpendicular to the hub axis,
• (h) a complementary configured stator fixedly mounted within the other housing section and including a thin circular radially extending vane support section facing the rotor vanes and which has a plurality of radially extending vanes extending in a direction parallel to those of the rotor and terminating at an edge along a second common plane extending parallel and closely spaced from said first common plane,
• (i) water inlet and outlet means associated with the housing for maintaining a supply of water through the housing which is engaged by the rotor and stator vanes,
• (j) inner high pressure seal means disposed between the bearings and the cup-shaped vane support of the rotor and stator for providing a water seal,
• (k) the opposed rotor and stator vane support sections defining a high-pressure chamber in which the edges of their inner and outer peripheral surfaces are disposed close to each other along the first common plane to restrict leakage of the working fluid from the annular chamber formed between the rotor and stator to maintain high pressure,
• (l) an annular high pressure chamber adjacent the annular gap formed between the rotor and stator peripheral surfaces and the inner seal means, and
• (m) high pressure bleed off means connected between the high pressure chamber and a lower pressure area for reducing high pressure build-up within the high pressure chamber.