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US 6,209,311 B1Granted
Turbofan engine including fans with reduced speed
AssigneeNikkiso Co., Ltd.
InventorsTakahiko Itoh, Hideo Takeda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An impeller is directly driven by an output shaft of a core engine. The airflow produced by the impeller rotates an air turbine and a fan disposed integrally with the air turbine. The impeller and the air turbine form a fluid coupling which serves also as a speed reducing mechanism. The rotational speed of the fan can be reduced to be lower than that of the output shaft while retaining efficiency of the core engine. The outer diameter of the fan can be increased, raising a bypass ratio.
Claims4
A turbofan engine, comprising:
- a high-pressure turbine rotated by combusted gas discharged from a combustion chamber;
- a low-pressure turbine rotated by combusted gas discharged from said high-pressure turbine;
- a high-pressure compressor having a first shaft common with, and driven by, said high-pressure turbine for supplying compressed air into said combustion chamber;
- a low-pressure compressor having a second shaft common with said low-pressure turbine for compressing air supplied from the upstream of said engine to be discharged downstream;
- an air turbine receiving an airflow discharged from said low-pressure compressor to cause rotation, at least a portion of an airflow channeled past said air turbine being directed to said high-pressure compressor;
- a flow splitter supported to said air turbine rotatably around an axis of said engine;
- and
- a fan disposed on an outer periphery side of said flow splitter for rotating integrally with said air turbine to thereby produce propulsive force.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.