Patent ID: 11927193
Assignee: GARRETT TRANSPORTATION I INC.
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  H  Y | IPC F  H

Claim 12:
13. A fuel cell system comprising:
a shaft that is supported for rotation about an axis;
a first compressor wheel and a first compressor housing that cooperate to define a first compressor stage, the first compressor wheel being fixed on the shaft;
a second compressor housing that partly defines a second compressor stage;
a turbine housing that partly defines a turbine section;
a plural wheel member that is fixed on the shaft, the plural wheel member having a second compressor wheel and a turbine wheel arranged back-to-back and sharing a common outer radial edge, the second compressor wheel supported in the second compressor housing and the turbine wheel supported in the turbine housing;
a divider plate that receives the plural wheel member and that separates the turbine section from the second compressor stage;
the plural wheel member being one-piece, unitary, and formed of a thermally conductive material that thermally couples the second compressor stage and the turbine section and defines a thermal path through which the turbine section absorbs heat from the second compressor stage; and
an air bearing system that supports the shaft, the first compressor wheel, and the plural wheel member for rotation as a unit relative to the first compressor housing, the second compressor housing, and the turbine housing, the air bearing system disposed axially between the first compressor wheel and the plural wheel member.