Patent ID: 8864454

Claim:
A supersonic compressor system comprising: a casing defining a cavity extending between a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a first drive shaft positioned within said cavity, wherein a centerline axis extends along a centerline of said first drive shaft; a supersonic compressor rotor coupled to said first drive shaft and positioned in flow communication between said fluid inlet and said fluid outlet, said supersonic compressor rotor comprising a radially outer surface and a plurality of vanes, adjacent said vanes and said radially outer surface defining a flow channel, said flow channel having disposed within it at least one supersonic compression ramp configured to form at least one compression wave for compressing a fluid within said flow channel; and a centrifugal compressor assembly positioned in flow communication between said supersonic compressor rotor and said fluid outlet, said centrifugal compressor assembly configured to compress fluid received from said supersonic compressor rotor.