TURBINE ENGINE

Abstract: A turbine engine wherein a rotating mass of working fluid is constrained to flow toward its axis of rotation and impinges a turbine (3) near the axis. By registration of the peripheral velocity of the rotating fluid to the vane velocity of the turbine, high efficiency is attained over varying speed and load.

Description: D E SC R I PT I O N T ur b i ne E n g i n e Technical Field Turbines of various types have been known for many years and their design has been researched extensively be¬ cause they hold the promise of high efficiency compared to other types of engines. One important limitation in turbine design is that this high efficiency is only rea¬ lized in a narrow ratio of working fluid velocity to tur¬ bine vane velocity. Background Art The promise of high efficiency has been realized in the case of large steam turbines and in the case of gas turbines where relatively constant speed and load are con* cerned. Disclosure of Invention One object of the present invention is to provide a turbine engine that operates at high efficiency at varying speed and load because of self-regulation of the fluid speed/vane speed ratio. Another object of the " present in¬ vention is to provide a turbine engine whose power output increases approximately as the square of the engine speed, making it ideal for powering automobiles, buses, trucks, ships and airplanes since air and water resistance of these conveyances is also non-linear in about the same way. In accordance with the present invention there is pro¬ vided an apparatus for producing mechanical energy from a working fluid transiting from a high pressure state to a low pressure state comprising a housing having substantially circular cross section normal to the axis of the housing, an opening near the axis to allow the working fluid to exit the housing, a turbine near the axis of the housing whereby the working fluid must impinge the turbine in order to exi the housing, an opening at the periphery of the housing to allow entrance of the working fluid, a means of im¬ parting a circular motion around said axis, to the working fluid near the internal periphery of the housing and a means for registering the peripheral angular velocity of the working fluid to the angular velocity of the turbine so that turbine vane speed and working fluid speed at im¬ pingement can be maintained at or near the ratio for op¬ timum efficiency. Brief Description of Drawings Figure I shows a cross sectional view of one construc tion of the turbine of the present ' invention which operate from a pressurized working fluid such as steam or water, looking down the axis of rotation of the turbine. Figure II is a cross sectional drawing of the same turbine throug the dotted line in Figure I, with the axis of rotation in the plane of the drawing. These drawings are descriptive of the invention but the invention is not limited to them as many other configurations are also workable as is ob¬ vious to one skilled in the art. Mode for Carrying Out the Invention The principle of operation can be clearly seen in the simplified cross sectional view of Figure I. 1 is the entry port in housing 10, communicating with internal chamber C_, for the working fluid; 2 is a vaned rotor for imparting a circular motion to the entering working fluid around the axis 8; 3 is the turbine which is rotatable about the axis 8; 4 is the exit port for the working fluid; r-, is the peripheral radius of rotor 2 and r 2 is the tur¬ bine radius. For any unit of working fluid 5 of mass m, as it is constrained to move toward the axis in a spiral path, angular momentum must be conserved. Thus, if the subscript 1 indicates the condition at the outer vaned rotor, and the subscipt 2 indicates the condition at the radius of the turbine, I represents moment of inertia and w represents angular speed, we have: Eqn. 1 J 1 W 1 = X 2 2 where Eqn I, = 1 Eqn I 2 = mr 2 ' Substituting Eqn. 2 and Eqn. 3 in Eqn. 1 we obtain Eqn. 4 mr, w, = mr. w. since m is constant this reduces to Thus the fluid velocity at the turbine is theoretically de¬ termined only by the peripheral angular speed and difference in r. and r„. Registration of vane velocity to fluid ve¬ locity (R) in the ratio of 1:2 is therefore given by: Registration between the angular velocity of 2 and 3 can be done in a variety of ways as is obvious to one skilled in the art, however a preferred method is with a planetary gear arrangement such as 6 in Figure II. 7 and 8 in Figure II are the low speed and high speed power output shafts respectively. 9 in Figure II refer to bearing and seal as- sembl ies . An important consideration in the design of• the turbine of the present invention to attain its inherent high ef¬ ficiency is that it should be operated near the vortex con¬ dition. At the vortex condition the angle of impingement of the working fluid on the turbine vanes is theoretical.ly zero and no work is done and fluid flow through the tur¬ bine is zero. This is accomplished when the centrifugal force of the working fluid at r, in Figure I develops : a back pressure which when added to the turbine outlet pres¬ sure equals the working fluid supply pressure. In actual practice there will be just enough fluid flow to overcome the internal friction of the turbine and the angle of im- ' pingement will be slightly greater than zero. As this tur- bine is loaded the speed will decrease, work output will increas'e, fluid flow will increase, the angle of impinge¬ ment will increase, and the mechanical efficiency will de¬ crease approximately according to the cosine of the angle of impingement, providing laminar flow is maintained. The cosine of 25° is still above 0.90 however, allowing a wide range of loads with high efficiency. Variables affecting vortex conditions include fluid density, angular speed of the turbine, the distance r 2 , the ratio of r, to r 2 , pres¬ sure at input and pressure at output. A number of tur- bines of the type shown in Figures I and II suitably sized, can be staged output to input as in conventional turbines. This turbine can be employed as a gas turbine by con¬ necting an air compressor and fuel combustion section to the input of the turbine. This, as well as other extensions will be obvious to one skilled in the art.

Claims: CLAIMS An apparatus for producing mechanical energy from a working fluid transiting from a high pressure state to a low pressure state comprising a housing having sub¬ stantially circular cross section normal to the axis of the housing, an opening near the axis to allow the working fluid to exit the housing, a turbine near the axis of the housing whereby the working fluid must impinge the turbine in order to exit the housing, an opening at the periphery of the housing to allow en¬ trance of the working fluid, characterized by having a means of imparting a circular motion around said axis, to the working fluid near the internal periphery of the housing and means for registering the peripheral angular velocity of the working fluid to the angular velocity of the turbine so that turbine vane, speed and working fluid speed at impingement can .be maintained at or near the ratio for optimum efficiency. An apparatus as in Claim 1 using steam as the working fluid. An apparatus as in Claim 1 using water as the working fluid. An apparatus as in Claim 1 using combustion gases as the working fluid. An apparatus as in Claim 1 using air as the working fluid.

Inventors: BOERWINKLE F
Applicants: BOERWINKLE F
Application year: 1981
Main classification: F01D1
IPC codes: F01D1