Patents by Inventor Rolf Althaus
Rolf Althaus has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 5558515Abstract: A premixing burner includes a pilot burner formed from two half conical shells and a plurality of main burners arranged around the pilot burner. Each of the main burners is formed with an cylindrical outer wall to contain a main flow. Each of the main burners includes a plurality of vortex generators arranged inside the cylindrical wall about a circumference. In addition, a venturi nozzle is disposed in each of the main burners downstream of the vortex generators. A fuel lance for each of the main burners injects one or both of a gaseous and liquid fuel into the burner as a secondary flow, and an outlet of the lance is positioned to inject the secondary flow in the region of the venturi nozzle having a maximum constriction.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 1995Date of Patent: September 24, 1996Assignee: ABB Management AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Jakob Keller
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Patent number: 5557919Abstract: In a method of operating a gas turbine installation in which the air prepared in a low-pressure compressor (1) is mixed with a fuel (4) downstream of the compression and is supplied to and burnt in a pressure-wave machine (3) operating with constant-volume or constant-pressure combustion and the working gas obtained in this manner is subsequently admitted to a high-pressure turbine (7) and a low-pressure turbine (8), there is an admixture of partially expanded and cooled gas from the high-pressure turbine (7) into the partial quantity flow led from the pressure-wave machine (3) to the low-pressure turbine (8). Fuel (4) is subsequently introduced and the mixture is burnt in a combustion chamber (9). A very high efficiency, very good part-load behavior and minimal NO.sub.x emission figures are achieved by means of this reheat.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 1994Date of Patent: September 24, 1996Assignee: ABB Management AGInventor: Rolf Althaus
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Patent number: 5518311Abstract: A mixing chamber for introducing a gaseous secondary flow into a gaseous, ducted main flow includes a plurality of vortex generators to facilitate mixing of the flows. The secondary main flow has a substantially smaller mass flow than the main flow. The main flow is guided via the plurality of vortex generators arranged adjacent to one another over the width or the periphery of the duct through which flow takes place. The height (h) of the vortex generators is at least 50% of the height (H) of the duct through which flow takes place. The secondary flow is fed into the duct in the immediate region of tile vortex generators. The mixing chamber according to the invention exhibits extraordinarily short mixing distances in the mixing chamber with a simultaneously low pressure loss.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 1994Date of Patent: May 21, 1996Assignee: ABB Management AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Alexander Beeck, Yau-Pin Chyou, Adnan Eroglu
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Patent number: 5513982Abstract: In a combustion chamber, a gaseous or liquid fuel is injected as a secondary flow into a gaseous, channelized main flow. The main flow is directed to pass over a plurality of vortex generators (9) arranged side by side over the width or circumference of the channel (20) through which the flow passes. The height (h) of the vortex generators is at least 50% of the height (H) of the channel through which the flow passes or of that part of the channel associated with the vortex generators. The secondary flow is introduced into the channel (20) in the immediate vicinity of the vortex generators (9). Longitudinal vortices without any recirculation region are produced in the channel through which the flow passes by means of the new static mixer. Extraordinarily short mixing distances, with a low pressure loss at the same time, are thus achieved in a combustion chamber according to the invention.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 1994Date of Patent: May 7, 1996Assignee: ABB Management AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Alexander Beeck, Yau-Pin Chyou, Adnan Eroglu, Burkhard Schulte-Werning
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Patent number: 5490388Abstract: In a gas turbine combustion chamber in which for cooling purposes use is made of combinations of convective heat transfer mechanisms whose basic principle is the elimination of heat by flow, the transition from the convective cooling channel (4) to the plenum upstream of the burners (5) is in the form of a small diffuser (6). The total pressure loss in the entire system is thereby reduced, thus leading to improved efficiency with minimum emissions.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 1994Date of Patent: February 13, 1996Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Burkhard Schulte-Werning
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Patent number: 5465569Abstract: A method of establishing part-load operation is proposed for a turbine group. This gas turbine group consists essentially of a compressor unit (1), of an HP combustion chamber (4) downstream of the compressor unit (1), of an HP turbine (5) downstream of this HP combustion chamber (4), of an LP combustion chamber (8) operating by self-ignition and arranged downstream of the HP turbine (5), the hot gases (10) of which LP combustion chamber (8) being admitted to an LP turbine (11). The temperature at outlet from the HP turbine (5) remains essentially the same due to the reduction of the fuel quantity in the LP combustion chamber (8) to zero. Furthermore, the fuel quantity of the HP combustion chamber (4) remains approximately constant during the reduction of the fuel quantity in the LP combustion chamber (8) so that the temperature at inlet to the HP turbine (5) likewise remains constant.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 1994Date of Patent: November 14, 1995Assignee: ABB Management AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Yau-Pin Chyou, Hans U. Frutschi, Christian Genet, Peter Kamber, Anders Lindvall, Thomas Sattelmayer, Peter Senior, Peter Rufli
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Patent number: 5454220Abstract: In a gas turbine group which consists essentially of a compressor (2), a first combustion chamber (3), a first turbine (4), a second combustion chamber (5) and a second turbine (6), the first combustion chamber (3) is configured as an annular combustion chamber. This annular combustion chamber (3) is operated by a number of premixing burners (11) which are distributed at the periphery. The first turbine (4) is designed in such a way that its exhaust gases have a temperature level which is above the self-ignition temperature of the fuel (13) used in the second combustion chamber (5). This second combustion chamber (5) consists of a burnerless, annular combustion space in which a number of vortex-generating elements (14) are integrated. The turbomachines, namely compressor (2), first turbine (4) and second turbine (6) are disposed on a rotor shaft (1), this rotor shaft (1) being supported in two bearings (9, 15).Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 1994Date of Patent: October 3, 1995Assignee: ABB Management AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Franz Farkas, Peter Graf, Fredy Hausermann, Erhard Kreis
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Patent number: 5426943Abstract: In a gas turbine combustion chamber (1)--having environment-friendly burners (5) which consist of at least two hollow partial conical bodies which are positioned one upon the other in the flow direction and whose longitudinal axes of symmetry extend radially offset relative to one another, by which means tangential opposed-flow air inlet slots are produced for a combustion air flow, at least one nozzle for spraying in the fuel being placed in the hollow conical space formed by the cone-shaped partial conical bodies, and having a cooling duct (4), which is bounded by the combustion chamber inner wall (2) and the combustion chamber outer wall (3), along which the cooling air flows and in which longitudinal and transverse ribs (8) can be arranged--the cooling duct (4) has a continuously decreasing height and/or increasing surface roughness in the flow direction of the cooling air.Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 1994Date of Patent: June 27, 1995Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri AGInventors: Rolf Althaus, Burkhard Schulte-Werning
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Patent number: 5381653Abstract: In an aircraft engine with a fan or propeller drive, in which at least two shafts (1, 2) disposed to rotate coaxially and independently of one another respectively support a separate compressor (3, 4) and a separate turbine (5, 6), wherein a suitable device for combusting the gases is disposed between the compressor (4) disposed last in the flow direction and the first turbine (6), this device for combusting the gases comprises a dynamic pressure machine (9) known per se that operates with isochoric combustion and has a cellular wheel that rotates between respectively a side part on the air side and a side part on the gas side, both provided with input and output openings, and has a number of cells in which a continuously repeating ignition and combustion process takes place. In addition, a high-pressure turbine (10) is disposed behind the dynamic pressure machine (9) on the same shaft (2) as the following medium-pressure turbine (6).Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 1993Date of Patent: January 17, 1995Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventor: Rolf Althaus
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Patent number: 5353589Abstract: The use of a pressure wave machine as energy exchanger (C) in a gas turbine plant makes it possible, owing to the self-cooling cellular wheel (22), to employ substantially higher temperatures. However, in order to be able to make full use of this advantage, steam cooling (13) is applied for the low-pressure gas outlet ducts (35, 37), while in addition means are provided for utilizing the heated cooling steam in a part of the gas turbine, for example in the combustion chamber (D) or in the turbine (B).Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 1993Date of Patent: October 11, 1994Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Erwin Zauner
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Patent number: 5313785Abstract: A dynamic pressure machine with integrated combustion has a cellular wheel containing a number of cells, in which a continuously recurring ignition and combustion process takes place. Neither energy supply from the outside nor a control action should be required to maintain this continuously recurring process. Means are provided for the automatic ignition and combustion of the entering fresh air-fuel mixture, in particular: at least one hot gas pocket disposed on the wall of the cell; a catalytic coating of the cell wall; and, a hot spot in the cell.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 1993Date of Patent: May 24, 1994Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Yau-Pin Chyou, Erwin Zauner
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Patent number: 5313783Abstract: In the case of a gas turbine, containing a turbine (10) and a compressor (11), it is intendeda) to increase the efficiency of the individual components (10, 11),b) to reduce the undesired exhaust gases, i.e. NOx formation.Means (21) of generating cooling air of higher quality are used. In particular, cooling air of higher quality can be generated by a booster (21) which contains a booster compressor (23) and a booster turbine (22). A further increase in efficiency is achieved by a heat exchangers (29, 30) on the booster (21). The booster turbine (21) is driven by the fuel and the booster compressor (23) compresses the compressed air generated in the compressor (12) to form the cooling air of higher quality. The advantage of this plant is the utilization of previously unused energy of natural gas.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 1993Date of Patent: May 24, 1994Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventor: Rolf Althaus
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Patent number: 5154583Abstract: In a rotor of a pressure wave machine, rotor cells (2) are evenly distributed at its periphery, these rotor cells being intended to accept two gaseous media during operation for the purpose of compressing the first by means of pressure waves of the second medium. The rotor cells are arranged in such a way that they extend in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the rotor (1).Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 1991Date of Patent: October 13, 1992Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Yau-Pin Chyou, Erwin Zauner
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Patent number: 5069600Abstract: This pressure wave machine has a cell wheel (2) with a longitudinal axis (3) which is supported in a casing by means of a bearing. One end face (4) of the cell wheel (2) interacts with a hot gas guidance casing (6) and the other (5) interacts with a gas guidance casing (8) by means of a radially directed sealing gap (7, 9) in each case. The invention is intended to provide a pressure wave machine (1) whose performance during a cold start is the same as that after the operating temperature has been reached. This is achieved in that the radially directed sealing gaps (7, 9) have at least one gap extensions (20, 21) inclined to the longitudinal axis and that flanks (22, 23, 28, 29) of this gap extension are located on the generated surfaces of cones which have a common apex on the longitudinal axis (3).Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 1990Date of Patent: December 3, 1991Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventors: Rolf Althaus, Erwin Zauner
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Patent number: 5052895Abstract: In a pressure wave machine, the ducts of the connecting casings (3, 4) to and from the cells (2) are provided with a curvature running in the axial direction to the opening of the cells (2) and concave in the direction of the axis (5) of the rotor (1). By this means, the same radial pressure gradients as are found in the cells (2) due to the rotation of the rotor (1) are produced in the connecting casings (3, 4). Secondary flows and reverse flows respectively from the cells (2) into the connecting casings (3, 4) or out of them are therefore prevented.Type: GrantFiled: July 26, 1990Date of Patent: October 1, 1991Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.Inventor: Rolf Althaus
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Patent number: 4973228Abstract: The rotor (1) of a compression-wave engine has cells (6) on its periphery which are concavely curved on the two end faces of the rotor (1) inwards towards its center and towards the rotor axis. Consequently, the absolute trajectory of a particle runs from its entry point (7) into a cell (6) up to its exit point (8) therefrom in a virtually rectilinear fashion, whereby in the scavenging process the mixing zone between the two media participating in the compression-wave process, and thus the scavenging losses, are greatly reduced by comparison with straight cells.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1990Date of Patent: November 27, 1990Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri LimitedInventors: Rolf Althaus, Jakob Keller