Turbojet with precompressor injected oxidizer
AssigneeHMX, Inc.
InventorBevin C. McKinney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A turbojet engine with improved thrust and high-altitude capabilities. Arrangements are provided for injecting liquid oxygen or other oxidizer into the turbojet engine before the compressor section. Cooling the incoming air by the liquid oxygen reduces the air volume, which allows a fixed inlet to be matched to varying flow conditions, allowing a greater mass of air to be ingested by the compressor section and results in a lower compressor outlet temperature. Increased mass flow, combined with more fuel results in higher exhaust gas temperatures and greater thrust. The addition of oxygen to the inlet air flow allows the engine to operate at higher altitudes by preventing flameout due to rarefied air.
Claims5
A method of thrust augmenting a jet turbine engine on an aerospace vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- injecting liquid oxidizer into a duct upstream of an engine compressor section, and evaporating to injected liquid oxidizer, to create oxidizer vapor, in a stream of air containing oxygen flowing into the engine compressor section;
- compressing the stream of air, and the oxidizer vapor in the engine compressor section;
- burning a portion of the oxidizer vapor, and oxygen in the air with an oxidizable fuel, to create an oxidizer rich combustion stream within a combustion chamber downstream of the engine compressor section;
- extracting energy from the oxidizer rich combustion stream with a power turbine downstream of the combustion chamber, and driving the compressor section with the output of the power turbine;
- afterburning the oxidizer rich combustion stream with additional oxidizable fuel, to create an exhaust gas stream in an afterburner chamber downstream of the power turbine;
- and
- accelerating the exhaust gas stream through a nozzle to develop thrust, wherein sufficient liquid oxidizer is injected into the duct upstream of the engine compressor section to increase the unaugmented thrust of the engine by approximately five times when said injected sufficient liquid oxidizer is combusted with the oxidizable fuel and the additional oxidizable fuel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.