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US 9,957,975 B2Granted
Angular velocity stepping and methods of use in turbomachinery
OwnerCorey B. Kuhnsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is an improved architecture for rotary kinetic fluid motors and pumps, in which working fluid gains or loses pressure by flowing through an alternating sequence of radial-flow impellers and radial-flow fluid vortices, the impellers and fluid vortices all rotating around a single axis and in a common direction at staggered speeds, each vortex being the product of rotating fluid that is flowing radially through a bladeless annular volume.
Claims22
A method of operating a turbomachine having a compressor and a turbine, comprising:
- providing a compressor and a turbine having a common rotational axis and being linked together by shafts or similar driving means;
- said compressor ingesting a fluid flow and directing the flow to enter a first spin-up impeller at radius A from said rotational axis;
- the flow then exiting said first spin-up impeller at radius B from said rotational axis, where said radius B is greater than radius A;
- the flow then entering a first bladeless annular volume at radius B and at angular velocity V1 and exiting said first volume at radius C from said rotational axis and at angular velocity V2, where said radius C is less than radius B and said angular velocity V2 is greater than V1 by action of angular momentum conservation;
- said first bladeless annular volume being axially adjacent to said first spin-up impeller;
- the flow then entering a first process impeller at radius C and exiting said first process impeller at radius D from said rotational axis, where said radius D is greater than radius C;
- said first process impeller being axially adjacent to said first bladeless annular volume.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.