US2675675A - Muctlpefi combustion chamber jet - Google Patents

Description

April 20, 1954 P. R. HAUETER MULTIPLE COMBUSTION CHAMBER JET TURBINE Filed Feb. 20. 1951 2 Sheis-Sheet l INVENTOR.

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April 20, 1954 p; HAUETER 2,675,675

' MULTIPLE COMBUSTION CHAMBER JET TURBINE Filed Feb. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v I IN V EN TOR. PAUL 2. H405 75E,

ATZPENE vs.

Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED? STATES PATENT OFFICE? MULTIPLE oon lgggggg onmm' JET Paul R.'"Haueter, Navarre, Ohio ApplicationFelirilaryw, 1951, Serial N '0. 211,829

3- Glainis; (01. 60 39:39)

This invention'relatesto jetenginesyand more particularly to jet engines of the turbine type eni-- ploying multiple combustion chambers.

A main object of the invention'i's to'provide'a novel and improved multiple-combustion chain-- ber jet turbine which is simple in construction, which is reliable in operation, and'whi'ch'is provided with sufficient control meansfor regulating the admission and compression of the'combustion elements employed to'propel the engine;

A further object of the invention'i's to provide an improved multiple-combustion chamberjet turbine which involvesrelatively inexpensivecom ponents, which is rugged in construction, which is light in weight; which is relatively "compact in size, and which is partic'ularlysuitable for use as the power plant for aircraft.

Further objects and advantages of the inven tion will become apparentifrom thefollo'wing. description and claims, and from theac'comp'anying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal, vertical,'cross-sec"- tional view taken through'an' improved multiplecombustion chamber jet turbine constructed in accordance with the presentinvention";

Figure 2 is an enlarged'cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure'l';

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure" I Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary; cross-sectional, detail view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, cross se'ction'al; detail view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line Et of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings; the jet turbine comprises an elongated, tubular body Hwhitzh is provided at its forward end with the air intake opening l2, said'openingbeing provided with the for-- wardly flared wall l3. The rear portion of" the tubular body I i is formed with the enlarged turbine chamber 14 having the rear exhaustopening' i5. Secured axially in-the forward portion'of the body II, as by the hollow radial" arms l6,-i's--a housing I l provided'with a forward-bearing por tion 8. Designated at I9 is a rearxbearingp'or tion secured axially in the turbine housing 14;:as by the radial arms 20. Designatedat 21 is a-shaft journaled axially in the body ll' and the turbine housing portion Win the respective bearing elements I8 and I9. Mountedvin-thehousing-His a generator 22 whose armature is secured to the shaft 2|.

Mounted on the shaftv 2| in the forwardportion-ofthe-housing l Fare a plurality of air com-' pression vanes- 23 arranged to'build'up' air pres sure in the intermediate portion of the body I I responsive'to rotation of shaft'fl; Mounted on therear portion of the shaft '2 I are a pluralit'yof turbine blades 2% which" are arranged to develop torque on the shaft 21 responsive to jet action thereon of the'gaseous products of combustion inthe combustion chambers of the engine; as will be presently described.

Designated at25 are a plurality orlon'gitudi' nally extending, tubular conduits secured in the intermediate portion ofthe body llandarr'angedf at equal angular spacings around" the shaft 21; The'forwardend's of the conduits 25 areprovided with inwardly directed elbows zfi-whoseinner ends open toward the axis of thebody l'l "andarelocated in a cylindrical surface coaxial "with the body I! with th centers'of said'innerends'in a common transverse; radialplane'. The rearends of the conduits25 terminate also in a common transversaradial plane at'the'forward e'n'dof' the turbine housing portion M; as shown in' Figure l.

Rotatably mounted on the intermediate" por= tion 'of'shaft M is a sleeve'memb'er 21 which'is l o-" catedinwardlyadjacent the respective conduits 25. Secured to thesleeve 211's a worm geanza which is meshed with a Worm 29' 'carried"on a shaft 30*journale'd transversely in'the'housingand driven by anelectri'c motors] mounted on the exterior of said housing, as'sh'own in Figured. Motor'3l"is energized by any suitable'sou'rce" of electric current, such as a vehicle storage battery? Secured on" the forward: endportion'of the sleeve- 21' is a first 'valve'irotor assembly '32 comprising a generally'cylindrical' body which" is cutaway at diametrically opposite portions; as" shownat 33; 33' inrigure '2. In the specificembod'iment of 'theinvention'illustrated in the drawings, there are eight evenly spaced'con'duits2'5 andthe' out away'portiorisas expose the ends of oppc'sitepairs of elbow elements 26, 26, as shown in Figures; whereby air may be admitted 'into' opposite pairs of conduits 25, while the remaining oppositelfpairs of conduits are closed off at their elbow elements 261 Securedto the rear end portion of the sleeve 2Tis' a valve disc 34 arranged'to se'ali'ngly 'ovel lap' the'o'pe'nends of the conduits ESQ-said valve di'sc being formed'with the diametrically opposite cutaway portions 36, 36 arrangedto expose reai' endsof diametrically opposite -pair's o'f'conduits 2 5, 25: while 'clos'ing' off the rear ends oftheren'iai-ningpairs of diametrically opposite conduits 25, ."as. showninFigureB. It willbe-seen, howevenrthat the cut-away portions i-rli -of thedisc members 3'- lead the cut-away portions 33 of the valve rotor 32 by an angle equal to the angular spacing between centers of the adjacent conduits 25, assuming counterclockwise rotation of the sleeve 27, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3. For example, it will be seen that the leading edge 3'! of the exhaust valve disc 34 leads the leading edge 38 of the air admission rotor valve 32 by an angle equal to the angular spacing between centers of successive co-nduits 25. This allows the air admitted into a conduit 25 to be compressed during the tim re quired for the sleeve 21 to be rotated through the angle between successive conduits 25.

Connected to each conduit 25 through the wall of the body I I are a pair of longitudinally spaced fuel injection nozzles 39 and 46, said nozzles being connected to a fuel supply conduit shown at 4|. The supply conduit 4| leads to a suitable source of liquid fuel which may include a pump for developing the required pressure to inject the fuel intermittently into the conduit 25 through the nozzles 39 and 40 in the form of a spray in timed relation with the movement of the valve disc. Each conduit 25 is provided at its intermediate portion with an ignition plug 42 whose high voltage electrode is provided with a high voltage from a conventional distributor which is suitably timed to coincide with the injection of fuel in accordance with the rate of rotation of the sleeve 21, as by the provision of the breaker points 43, 44 operated by sleeve 21, a pair of said breaker points being provided for each of the ignition plug 42. The details of the ignition system are well known per se and form no part of the present invention, and will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In operation, air is first admitted into a conduit 25 and at the same time exhaust gases escape from the rear end of said conduit, since there is an overlap between the cut-away portions 33 of rotor valve 22 and the cut-away portions 36 of exaust valve disc 34 equal to the angular spacing between centers of successive conduits 25. Therefore, during the first stage of air admission into a conduit 25, exhaust gases escape from the rear end of the conduit. At the end of the time required for the leading edge 37 of valve disc 34 to move through an angle equal to the spacing between centers of adjacent conduits 25, the rear end of the aforementioned conduit 25 is closed,

while the forward end of said conduit remains open allowing air to be forced into the conduit by the air compressive vanes 23 and allowing the pressure of the air to be built up in the conduit during the time required for the rotor 32 to close the forward end of the conduit. When the forward end of the conduit is closed, ignition occurs and combustion takes place with both ends of the conduit closed during the time required for the sleeve 21 to rotate through an angle equal to the angular spacing between centers of adjacent conduits.

At the end of this time the rear end of the conduit is uncovered by disc 34, while the forward end of said conduit remains still covered by rotor 32. The gaseous products of combustion exhaust from the rear end of the conduit and act on the turbine blades 24, transmitting torque to said blades. This jet action occurs through a time period required for the sleeve 21 to rotate through the angle between centers of successive conduits 25, and at the end of said time period the forward end of the conduit becomes uncovered and the above-described action is repeated. It will be apparent that the above cycle of operations takes place continuously at diametrically 4 opposite sides of the body H, whereby torque is applied to the blades 24 at diametrically opposite points with respect to shaft 2 I. Similarly, the air compression action of the air compressor blades 23 takes place at diametrically opposite sides of the body I l at the same time.

The vehicle batteries are charged by the generator 22 in a conventional manner, said batteries furnishing the power energizing the motor 3| which drives the sleeve 21. Since the speed of rotation of shaft 21 is governed by the force of the explosions in the respective conduits 25, the speed of shaft 2| may be regulated over a wide range by merely regulating the rate of injection of the fuel into said conduits, the speed of the sleeve 21 being independent of the speed of shaft 2|.

The cylindrical arrangement of the air admission valve surfaces provided on the rotary valve 32 provides a substantial increase in efficiency as over comparable air admission valve arrangements, since the valve surfaces of the rotor 32 provide solid thrust heads resisting the explosion of the fuel mixtures in the conduits 25, thereby minimizing the possibility of leakage and providing higher compression in the combustion chambers. Furthermore, the cylindrical surfaces of the rotary valve 32 are of substantial lon itudinal extent, whereby coverage of the inwardly directed openings of the elbows 25 will be provided regardless of relative longitudinal movement of the sealing surfaces of the valve rotor 32 with respect to the elbow openings such as may occur by thermal expansion of the body II and conduits 25 in a longitudinal direction relative to the valve rotor 32. It will be further noted that the efficiency of the engine will increase with speed due to the increased intake of air with forward motion of the engine.

While a specific embodiment of an improved jet turbine of the multiple-combustion chamber type has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1

1. A jet turbine comprising an elongated tubular body, a shaft journalled axially in said body, a plurality of air compression vanes mounted on said shaft in the forward portion of said body, a plurality of turbine blades mounted on said shaft in the rear portion of said body, a plurality of longitudinal, open ended tubular conduits secured in the intermediate portion of said body and being radially equally spaced in said body, each said conduit being coaxial of said shaft, a sleeve member rotatably mounted on a portion of said shaft intermediate said compression vanes and said turbine blades, a first valve rotor mounted on said sleeve member adjacent the forward end of said conduits, said valve rotor having an apertured portion successively aligned with the forward ends of said conduits as said shaft rotates, whereby to periodically open and close the forward ends of said conduits responsive to rotation of said sleeve member, a second valve rotor mounted on said sleeve member and adjacent the rear ends of said conduits and having an apertured portion successively aligned with said rear ends, whereby to periodically open and close the rear ends. of said conduits, the leading edge of said second valve rotor being spaced ahead of the leading edge of the first valve rotor by an angle equal to the angular spacings between the centers of the conduits, and the angular width of said apertured portions of said valve rotors being equal, fuel supply nozzles connected to the respective conduits, and fuel ignition elements mounted in said respective conduits and operable in timed relation to said valves.

2. A jet turbine comprising an elongated tubular body, a shaft journalled axially in said body, a plurality of air compression vanes mounted on said shaft in the forward portion of said body, a plurality of turbine blades mounted on said shaft in the rear portion of said body, a plurality of longitudinal open ended tubular conduits secured in the intermediate portion of said body and radially equally spaced in said body, each said conduit being coaxial of said shaft, a sleeve member rotatably mounted on a portion of said shaft intermediate said compression vanes and said turbine vanes, a first valve rotor mounted on said sleeve member adjacent the forward ends of the conduits and having diametrically opposed blanking elements, said blanking elements being movable into and out of engagement with the forward ends of said conduits to periodically close and open the forward ends of diametrically opposed groups of said conduits responsive to rotation of said sleeve member, a second valve rotor mounted on said sleeve member adjacent the rear ends of said conduits and having diametrically opposed blanking elements, said last named blanking elements being periodically movable into and out of engagement with the rear ends of said conduits to close and open the rear ends of diametrically opposed groups of said conduits, the leading edges of the blanking elements of said second valve rotor being spaced ahead of the leading edges of the blanking elements of the first valve rotor by an angle equal to the angular spacings between the centers of the conduits, and the angular width of each of the blanking elements of said first valve rotor being equal to the angular width of the blanking elements of said second valve rotor, fuel supply nozzles connected to the respective conduits, and fuel ignition elements mounted in said respective conduits and operable in timed relation with said valves.

3. A jet turbine comprising an elongated tubular body, a shaft journalled axially in said body.

a plurality of air compression vanes mounted on said shaft in the forward portion of said body, a plurality of turbine blades mounted on said shaft in the rear portion of said body, a plurality of longitudinal open ended tubular conduits secured in the intermediate portion of said body and radially equally spaced in said body, each said conduit being coaxial of said shaft, the open forward ends of said conduits being directed radially inwardly, a sleeve member rotatably mounted on a portion of said shaft intermediate said compression vanes and said turbine vanes, a first valve rotor mounted on said sleeve member adjacent the forward ends of the conduits and having diametrically opposed cylindrical blanking elements axially coextensive with the forward ends of said conduits, said blanking elements extending circumferentially by an amount at least sufficient to periodically open and close diametrically opposed pairs of the forward ends of said conduits responsive to rotation of said sleeve member, a valve disc mounted on said sleeve member adjacent the rear end of said conduits and having diametrically opposed pairs of apertures successively aligned with said rear ends of said conduits, whereby to periodically open the rear ends of diametrically opposed pairs of said conduits responsive to said rotation, the respective blanking elements being angularly spaced behind the respective pairs of apertures by an angle equal to the angular spacings between the centers of the conduits and the angular width of said blanking element being equal to the angular width of said apertures, fuel supply nozzles connected to the respective conduits, fuel ignition elements mounted in said respective conduits and operable in timed relation to said fuel supply nozzles, and a motor mounted on said body and drivingly coupled to said sleeve member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,291,273 Tyler Jan. 14, 1919 1,584,346 Ardin May 11, 1926 2,515,644 Goddard July 18, 1950 2,542,628 Christopher Feb. 20, 1951 2,557,198 Nichols June 19, 1951 2,575,264 Feilden Nov. 13, 1951 2,593,523 Bauger Apr. 22, 1952

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