Patent Application
20230175459
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Aircraft, Spacecraft, Ground and Marine propulsion systems can employ different engines and engine types that reflect the environments, the requirements and the types of payloads expected. The types of source engines or motors used for these vehicle propulsion systems include electric, nuclear and internal combustion engines. Internal combustion engines include airbreathing and non-airbreathing types. Airbreathing engines include reciprocating, rotary, and reaction engines. The reaction engines include gas turbine, ramjet, scramjet and detonation engines. Non-airbreathing types can also include reciprocating, rotary, rocket reaction and detonation engines.
The efficiency, range, environmental effects and cost to produce many of these types of engines presents a challenge to vehicle designers and manufacturers. Electric engines and their battery power sources are limited by their energy density which decreases range and increases weight. Nuclear engines are costly and prohibitive to only military vehicles. Internal combustion engines account for most of the remaining types of source engines in vehicles. These engines rely on non-renewable fossil fuels and are a major source of air pollution in the world.
Reciprocating engines are more fuel efficient than rotary or reaction engines but less reliable and require higher maintenance. Cams, valves, springs and piston rings are required to compress the fuel air mixture in the cylinder and this causes friction which requires lubrication. The force to compress the fuel air mixture reduces momentum of the piston along with the change in its direction. The connecting rod from the piston to the crankshaft requires lubrication and has little mechanical advantage to the stroke of the piston.
Gas turbine reaction engines are more reliable and require less maintenance than reciprocating engines but are less fuel efficient. Turbine blades and engine components are costly to produce. Compression of the fuel air mixture reduces compressor blade momentum and this pressure leaks at the stator. The hot combustion gas also leaks past the turbine power blades resulting in poor efficiency.
Provided herein are various new or improved airbreathing and non-airbreathing engines.
In another example, a new type of rotary engine is provided and is assembled into a single body from manufactured parts and comprising front and rear non-vented case plates, a detonation channel, a center case plate, a rotary gate valve spacer plate, front and rear bearing cover plates, front and rear centrifugal fan bearings and a non-vented centrifugal flywheel fan. The front non-vented case plate and the detonation channel includes an air intake port. The center case plate comprises an adjustable fuel aerosolizing combustor - detonator. The non-vented centrifugal flywheel fan comprises a plurality of rotary gate valves, a plurality of radial fan blades and a splined drive shaft. The rotary engine also comprises a plurality of case plate bolts, case plate post spacers, case plate nuts and bearing cover plate bolts.
This overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are described in the detailed description. It may be understood that this overview is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. While several implementations are described in connection with these drawings, the disclosure is not limited to the implementations disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
The air breathing and non-airbreathing engines described herein include a reaction type engine used to provide thrust for vehicular propulsion and a rotary mechanical motion type used to provide shaft horsepower for power generation, vehicular propulsion and a plurality of other functions. The Continuous Bypass Ram Detonation Engine and Rotary Pulsed Detonation Engine use a constant volume combustion-detonation process. This process is superior to the open cycle process used in gas turbines, rockets, ramjets and scram jets. A non-bypass center converging-diverging version of United States Air Force Research Laboratory Unsolicited Proposals No. UP 17-06, No. UP 17-07 and No. UP 18-4 has been demonstrated recently. This constant volume combustion-detonation process is also superior to the constant volume compression - expansion combustion process of the Otto, Atkinson or Miller cycle used in reciprocating or Wankel and other rotary engines.
The Rotary Pulsed Detonation Engine shown in
The radial fan blades 34 on the flywheel act like a traditional centrifugal fan that draws outside air in through the air intake port 20 and through the detonation channel 31. As the air enters the detonation channel 31, fuel is added to the air by the adjustable fuel aerosolizing combustor detonator 8. This fuel -oxidizer mixture is drawn through the detonation channel 31 toward the cutout opening between the detonation channel and the outer radial fan blades 34 of the centrifugal flywheel fan.
The fuel - air mixture is then detonated from the timed ignition caused by the adjustable fuel aerosolizing combustor detonator 8. This detonation coincides with complete coverage and blockage of the air intake port cutout 20 in the detonation channel 31 and the front case plate. The detonation shock wave travels down the detonation channel 31 passage toward the centrifugal flywheel fan resulting in complete combustion of the fuel - oxidizer mixture and expulsion of the product into the passage between the outer centrifugal flywheel surface occupied by the radial fan blades 34 and the inner center case plate 32 surface. The product expulsion pressure causes the centrifugal flywheel fan to continue its clockwise rotation direction resulting in shaft horsepower at the splined drive shaft 26, continued venturi vacuum of outside air intake at the air intake port 20 and venturi vacuum purging/expulsion of the product in the detonation channel 31 into the centrifugal flywheel fan.
The product expulsion continues through the passage between the outer centrifugal flywheel surface occupied by the radial fan blades 34 and the inner center case plate 32 surface until the detonation channel 31 and the center case plate 32 terminate. At this location, the outer perimeter of the centrifugal flywheel fan is exposed to the outside air. The pressurized product that was contained between the walls, outer surface and radial fan blades 34 of the centrifugal flywheel fan and the inner surface of the center case plate 32, rapidly expands outward into the outside air between the exhaust case plate post spacers 35 causing exhaust product expulsion. Additional exhaust manifolds can be added to the engine at this location for desired noise suppression and turbo charged forced induction for intake air.
The engine cycle begins again after exhaust of the product. Most of the exhaust product is expelled from between the centrifugal flywheel fan radial blades 34. The remaining product and outside air are recirculated between the radial fan blades 34 in the continuous rotation of the centrifugal flywheel fan. This gas mixture between the radial blades 34 is important for the centrifugal flywheel fan to generate the venturi vacuum required to continuously draw outside air into the air intake port 20 and for purging/expulsion of the product from the detonation channel 31.
The rotation of the centrifugal flywheel fan and the position of the rotary gate valves 27 that are attached coincides with the timing of the ignition of the fuel –oxidizer mixture so that the air intake port 20 is covered and blocked during detonation of the fuel – oxidizer mixture to ensure product and pressure is prevented from traveling through the air intake port 20 and only travels through the detonation channel 31 in a clockwise direction toward the centrifugal flywheel fan. The air intake port 20 is then uncovered and unblocked after detonation of the fuel -oxidizer mixture as the rotary gate valve 27 rotates with the centrifugal flywheel fan in a clockwise direction allowing venturi vacuum air intake at the air intake port 20.
An electronic engine management system control unit is used for timing and volume of fuel delivery and the timing of the capacitor discharge ignition contained in the adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator 8. The adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator 8 combines adjustable fuel aerosolizing injectors 13 which delivers an aerosol of fuel into the gas stream of an oxidizer and a capacitor discharge spark plug ignition which ignites the fuel –oxidizer mixture.
The Rotary Pulsed Detonation Engines shown in
The adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator 8 located in the center case plate 32 is replaced with an adjustable fuel -aerosolizing combustor –detonator gas solenoid valve 40.
An electronic engine management system control unit is used for timing and volume of fuel delivery, the timing of the capacitor discharge ignition and the timing of the gas solenoid valve closure and opening which are all contained in the adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator gas solenoid valve 40. The adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator gas solenoid valve 40 combines adjustable fuel aerosolizing injectors 13 which delivers an aerosol of fuel into the gas stream of an oxidizer, the capacitor discharge spark plug ignition which ignites the fuel – oxidizer mixture and the gas solenoid valve that closes during ignition and opens after detonation.
The adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator gas solenoid valve 40 has the same function as the adjustable fuel – aerosolizing combustor – detonator 8 except that it provides air intake from outside air into the detonation channel 41 passage and it includes a solenoid valve that closes when the capacitor discharge spark plug igniter ignites the fuel – oxidizer mixture in the detonation channel 41 passage.
The Rotary Pulsed Detonation Engine shown in
Certain inventive aspects may be appreciated from the foregoing disclosure, of which the following are various examples.
A rotary engine,
A rotary engine,
A rotary engine,
A rotary engine,
