Power plants – Combustion products used as motive fluid – Combustion products generator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-07
2001-04-10
Kamen, Noah P. (Department: 3747)
Power plants
Combustion products used as motive fluid
Combustion products generator
C060S039760
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212875
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gas turbine engines and jet propulsion. More particularly, the present invention relates to a combustor and gas compressor for use in a gas turbine engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several past devices have been used to increase the pressure of a gas. These devices include, but are not limited to, gas turbines, constant volume combustors, pulse jets, thermal pulse combustors, pulse detonation jets, reciprocating compressors, axial compressors and centrifugal compressors.
Many of these prior devices, including constant volume combustors, pulse jets, thermal pulse combustors, and pulse detonation jets have used the force of combustion to increase gas pressure or induce gas flow. In each of these devices, a single output stream is utilized to discharge gasses from a combustion chamber. The output stream often contains combustion products diluted with excess unconsumed air, depending upon the operating temperature of the device. As a result of the combustion cycle, the output stream is generally high in temperature and intermittent in nature.
The intermittent nature and high temperature of the output stream makes the output from the prior art devices unsuitable for many compressed air applications. For example, the output temperature may be too high for use in a turbine or the intermittent nature of the output may cause stress and surging in the turbine. Any attempt to decrease the exhaust temperature by burning a lean combustible mixture results in poor combustion characteristics and generation of undesirable emissions. Further, when the prior art devices are used as jet engines, they are limited by the need to operate at high temperatures to gain thermal efficiency. This high temperature limits the amount of air handled, and this in turn limits the mass flow, an important element in determining the efficiency of a jet engine, because most or all of the air entering the device is consumed and discharged as combustion products.
If the excess unconsumed air could be separated from the spent gasses in the output stream and recovered as a pressurized, cooler stream, the unconsumed air could be used for a variety of applications. In one such application, the pressurized unconsumed product is used to compress air within the combustion chamber during a compression step of the operating cycle, thereby further increasing the pressurized output from each compression step. By this application, the mass of air handled per unit of energy delivered would be increased, and the specific output of the engine would also be increased. In other applications, the pressurized unconsumed product may be delivered through a nozzle for use as ajet engine, distributed to a turbine to provide rotational power, or used as a simple air compressor. Such a cycle would result in a large fraction of the air handled being transformed to compressed, unconsumed air at slightly elevated temperatures and the fraction of air remaining being exhausted at ambient pressure and elevated temperature.
Other of the prior art devices, including reciprocating compressors, axial compressors, and centrifugal compressors, are limited by their requirement of an external power source to provide the energy for compression of the air. If an internal power source could be used to provide energy for air compression, the compressor could be simplified.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention to provide an air compressor having separate pressurized air product and exhaust streams, such that the pressurized air product stream may be used separately from the exhaust stream.
It is another advantage of the invention to provide an air compressor wherein the pressurized air product output stream is held in a receiving tank and then used to further compress gasses in a combustion chamber before combustion of the gasses.
A further advantage of the invention is to provide a simplified air compressor which does not require a large external power source for operation.
It is a further advantage of the proposed device to offer simpler construction and operation than gas turbines and reciprocating, axial, and centrifugal compressors, and greater ranges of operation than pulse combustion devices such as detonation engines, pulse combustors, and pulse jets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The direct fired compressor of the present invention comprises a rotatable cylinder assembly having a drive shaft extending along a central axis. The drive shaft is connected to an electric motor or turbine which provides rotational movement to the drive shaft and cylinder assembly. The cylinder assembly comprises one or more, and preferably three, equally sized combustion chambers extending axially along the length of the cylinder, parallel to the central axis. The combustion chambers are defined by axial walls within the cylinder assembly. The axial walls may be formed by a single large cylinder centered about the cylinder axis with three combustion chambers formed therein or, alternatively, by three distinct cylinders, each cylinder forming a combustion chamber extending parallel to the cylinder axis.
The cylinder assembly further comprises an intake end and an outlet end. Two circular end plates are concentrically positioned with the central axis on each end of the cylinder assembly. The end plates are stationary with respect to the rotatable cylinder assembly and comprise an intake plate adjacent to the intake end of the cylinder assembly and an outlet plate adjacent to the outlet end of the cylinder assembly. Openings are provided on the end plates to allow for communication of a gas into and out of the combustion chambers at designated times during operation of the direct fired compressor. A fuel injector is positioned upon the intake plate to provide a volatile mixture to the combustion chambers. An ignition means is also positioned upon the intake plate to ignite the volatile mixture within the combustion chambers.
A high pressure receiver, or receiving chamber, is provided in communication with the output plate for receiving compressed air. The high pressure receiver includes an outlet port for delivering pressurized air from the direct fired compressor to an application. An exhaust port is also provided in communication with the output plate for disposing of exhaust gasses.
The direct fired compressor utilizes a seven step process for producing compressed air. An intake step allows fresh, noncombustible (or partially combustible) air to flow into one of the combustion chambers by providing openings to the chamber on both the intake and output ends of the combustion chamber. Next, the closure step seals the combustion chambers from outside air and rotates the chambers toward communication with the air in a high pressure receiver. A primary compression step opens the output end of the combustion chamber to the high pressure receiver containing high pressure air which compresses the air within the combustion chamber. In an injection step, the output end of the combustion chamber remains open to the high pressure receiver and intake end is opened to a fuel injector which inserts fuel into a fraction of the non-combustible air into a fraction of the air located at the intake end of the combustion chamber to produce a combustible or “volatile” mixture.
In a combustion step, the intake end is exposed to an ignition means which ignites the combustible mixture, causing the combustible mixture to expand. Expansion of the combustible mixture compresses the unburned air in the combustion chamber and forces the compressed air toward the outlet end of the combustion chamber where the compressed air flows through a discharge port and into the high pressure receiver. The compressed air flows into the high pressure receiver because the pressure of the compressed air in the chamber is higher than the pressure maintained in the high pressure receiver immediately following combustion.
In a closure step, both chamber ends are blanked and the combustion chamber is
Fowler, II Russell E.
Kamen Noah P.
Miller Ice
Taylor Jay G.
LandOfFree
Direct fired compressor and method of producing compressed air does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Direct fired compressor and method of producing compressed air, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Direct fired compressor and method of producing compressed air will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2527353