Patent ID: 8770929

Claim:
A supersonic compressor rotor comprising: a substantially cylindrical disk body comprising an upstream surface, a downstream surface, and a radially outer surface that extends generally axially between said upstream surface and said downstream surface, said disk body defining a centerline axis; a plurality of vanes coupled to said radially outer surface, adjacent said vanes forming a pair and oriented such that a flow channel is defined between each said pair of adjacent vanes, said flow channel extending generally axially between an inlet opening and an outlet opening; at least one supersonic compression ramp comprising a leading edge and a trailing edge, said supersonic compression ramp being coupled to the disk body, said supersonic compression ramp being disposed partly within the disk body and extending through at least one perforation in the radially outer surface of the disk body into the flow channel, said supersonic compression ramp being selectively positionable such that a radial distance of the trailing edge from the radially outer surface of the disk body may be varied between a first radial distance and a second radial distance without changing the position of the leading edge within the flow channel; and a control system operatively coupled to said at least one supersonic compression ramp and configured to calculate a location of a normal shockwave within said flow channel and position said supersonic compression ramp based on the calculated location of the normal shock wave.