SCROLL DEVICE FOR COMPRESSION OR EXPANSION
A device for varying pressure of a fluid comprising a scroll case (11) containing a fixed scroll (12) and a mobile scroll (13) relatively to the case, and with admission (A) and outlet (B) ports for the fluid, characterized in that it comprises means for thermally insulating the scrolls.
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The present invention generally relates to a pressure variation device formed with a simple scroll device, of a compressor or expander type, or a scroll device including two coupled stages on a rotary shaft and positioned at both ends of an intermediate electric power device (motor or generator). According to another aspect, the present invention more particularly relates to a simple scroll or two-stage scroll device with which an operating fluid at high temperature and/or with a high pressure ratio may be expanded or compressed. According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a scroll device integrating a feed pump.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDScroll devices which may be alternatively used as an expander or a compressor are already known and provide a certain number of advantages in terms of operating possibilities which by far exceed those obtained for machines performing a reciprocal movement. This simple design was explained in document U.S. Pat. No. 801,182. Such a scroll device consists of an expansion or compression chamber delimited by two spiral involutes, a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll, placed so that they form a series of pockets with increasing sizes. The orbiting scroll is mounted on an eccentric drive shaft, which induces an orbiting movement rather than a simple rotary movement. During the expansion process, a high pressure fluid is introduced into an inlet port and discharged through an outlet port at a lower pressure by increasing the volume of the pockets and by providing mechanical power to an electric device such as a generator coupled to the orbiting scroll. In a compression process, the electric device operates as a motor for driving the orbiting scroll, and the operating fluid is then introduced and discharged at a higher pressure owing to the decreasing volume of the pockets. The use of such scroll devices has some advantages. Thus, for example, only a restricted number of mobile parts and no valve are required and the rotary movement may be completely balanced, reducing vibrations and noise. Such scroll devices are notably produced for refrigeration and air-conditioning applications.
Originally, scroll devices were used for operating with fluids and refrigerants with relatively low pressure ratios corresponding to the limitation of an installed volume ratio. The reason is that compression/expansion occurs rather gradually from chamber to chamber, so that a large scroll diameter is required for producing high compression/expansion ratios. For a given capacity, the increase in the diameter of this scroll will therefore increase the axial forces resulting from the large surface contact area and from the high pressure difference between the front and rear contact surfaces of the orbiting scroll. In order to increase the capacity of the scroll device while reducing or suppressing the unbalanced axial forces, several types of structures with dual scroll devices have been proposed. For example, a sandwich structure was proposed with orbiting scrolls facing away from each other on a common shaft in document U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,152, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,529. Although they may handle a fluid with a high pressure ratio and are capable of integrating new functions such as expansion and compression simultaneously, such dual scroll devices suffer from a number of drawbacks among which the additional weight of the orbiting scrolls and the occurrence of a large inertial load on the bearings, the consequences of which are significant limitations on the rotational speed which may be attained.
Another recurrent problem with such scroll devices is the high sensitivity to temperature changes. Compression or expansion of a fluid with a high temperature and pressure ratio is accompanied by a wide temperature distribution range resulting in deformations and displacements of scrolls. The latter reveal various clearances in radial and axial directions where pressure losses, leakages and energy dissipation occur, reducing efficiency.
A possible approach for reducing the clearances is to anticipate and provide means for adapting to the differential heat expansion. For this purpose, documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,152 and WO 93/20342 disclose complex systems based on struts and on expansion bearings for compensating axial displacements in a dual scroll device without producing significant elastic forces for increasing the bearing loads.
Another approach for reducing thermal deformations is to limit the differential temperature during expansion/compression. Mew scroll designs have been proposed in order to maintain the temperature relatively uniform with outer heat sources. For example, document US 2005/172622 reveals a complex heating structure integrated to the scroll case in order to simultaneously heat the expanding fluid and to then minimize the temperature difference between the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll. However, these heating structures are prohibitively expensive to manufacture. Mother example given in document US 2004/172945 which shows a type of simple winding with two expansion steps, an external heat source of which is used for heating up the operating fluid between both steps. This arrangement contributes to reducing the temperature difference between the scrolls but remains expensive to manufacture owing to the fact that the rear contact surfaces of both scrolls are made with a plurality of cooling fins which makes the scroll machining operation more difficult. Additionally, as it is a source of heat losses during expansion, the use of cooling fins decreases the operating efficiency of the device.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,179 recommends certain thermal insulation ingenuities applied to a scroll compressor in order to prevent heating of the fluid by the walls of the compressor during its admission into the cavity of the compressor. The capacity of the compressor is increased by maintaining a higher density only if the fluid was heated up. The insulated portions are the inlet conduits for the fluid. With these ingenuities, it is by no means possible to reduce the energy losses of the fluid during its compression, nor is it possible to minimize the relative thermal deformations between the volutes (scrolls) in order to reduce their clearances.
Further, environmental issues related to check for oil and fluid (refrigerant) leaks in the atmosphere are increasingly important. With the purpose of reducing contaminants and building a long-lived robust scroll device, as this is required for home applications, and small industrial equipment, hermetically sealed scroll devices have been considered as replacement solutions for conventional open drive systems. The method consists of directly connecting the motor/generator to the scroll, and then to confine both of them in a gas-tight housing which suppresses the problems of leaks and all the maintenance required for an open drive system.
Integrating the needs and the demands for increasing the capacity of scroll devices, document JP 56-165701 shows a coaxial structure of a hermetic scroll device using two scroll expanders installed on a rotary shaft on either side of an intermediate generator. Although this is a compact solution, capable of simultaneously expanding a fluid on both sides of the generator and of using the collected gas on the low pressure sides for cooling the electric generator, which is required for the efficiency of the system. Nevertheless this design does not provide the sufficient characteristics and means for producing an expansion in series with a high pressure ratio nor for handling a fluid with a high temperature requiring a demand for additional cooling.
Document WO 01/75273 describes a system with a dual hermetic scroll device with a coaxial motor/generator which may integrate a cooling system in order to meet additional demands for cooling. These dual scroll devices are coupled with an admission gas throttle and may be actuated over a wide load range with modulation of the cooling capacity. Nevertheless, this document presents a system with many limitations in terms of possible efficiency, temperature, pressure ratio and rotational speed. Consequently, for example, during operation of two pairs of scrolls at a high temperature, cooling the generator will enhance the differential temperature between the front and rear contact surfaces of the orbiting scrolls, which will have the effect of increasing heat losses and pressure leaks due to deformations and therefore the result of substantially reducing the efficiency of the device. Also, both pairs of scrolls are not suitable for expansion or compression with two serial stages, they should only be actuated in a parallel operating mode with a same operating fluid and with a limited pressure ratio owing to the fact that the low pressure peripheral ports of the orbiting scrolls directly communicate with the ports of the casing (housing) via the interior volume of the casing. Further, the use of a gas throttle for maintaining a specific rotational speed contributes to destroying the pressure for a wide range of working conditions and is therefore not effective for modulating the cooling capacity.
Moreover, other systems are known in the prior art which are applied to recovering heat or to jointly generate electricity and heat and which prove to be difficult to reconcile with the goals of the present invention, and are provided here as an indication. Thus document FR 2 853 016 relates to a system for using lost heat by means of the use of an organic Rankine cycle for recovering heat from an internal combustion engine for vehicles. Nevertheless, the use of scroll devices for applying a heat recovery system is not provided in such a system.
Document WO 02/090747 concerns a power generation system comprising a prime mover subsystem and a subsystem for using thermal energy in a Rankine cycle. The subsystem for using thermal energy may comprise a hermetically sealed volute device which may expand the thermal dynamic fluid in a configuration of pairs of single or dual volutes. This system has the same drawbacks as in WO 01/75273 mentioned earlier. Further, this system does not provide any means for thermally insulating the volutes or any protection against thermal deformations.
Reference may further be made to certain documents mentioning the use in pumps with a scroll device. First of all, document DE 199 53 690 concerns a scroll device with a compressor stage and another expander stage integrated into a system used in a closed loop or in an open Brayton cycle for fuel cells, the system comprising a pump for humidifying an air conduit and lubricating the compressor, external to the scroll device. It will be noted that the scroll device used has the same drawbacks as in document WO 01/75273 described earlier. Documents WO 01/75273 or EP 1 253 323 concern a scroll device using a lubrication pump used for generating a pressure difference in order to transport a lubricant to different mobile portions, of the machine.
Finally, document JP 2004 332556 concerns a one- or two-stage scroll device used as a vacuum pump or compressor. Consequently, none of these applications is intended to provide a scroll device comprising an expander stage, a motor and using a pump for supplying the operating fluid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe main object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. For this purpose, a first aspect of the invention concerns a device for varying the pressure of a fluid, comprising a scroll case containing a fixed scroll and a mobile scroll relatively to the case, and with admission and outlet ports for the fluids, characterized in that it comprises means for thermally insulating the scrolls. These thermal insulation means provide reduction of the clearances and pressure losses in the device and therefore a reduction in the energy losses of the fluid during its expansion, the thermal insulation means being applied around the expansion chambers.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the thermal insulation means are provided between the fixed scroll and the corresponding scroll case. According to another advantageous embodiment, the thermal insulation means are provided between the mobile scroll and the orbiting bearing of the device. According to another advantageous embodiment, the thermal insulation means comprise a separation disk placed at the bottom of the orbiting bearing which separates the mobile scroll from the rotating bearing by an insulation space. Alternatively, the thermal insulation means may comprise an insulating material placed between the orbiting bearing and the mobile scroll.
According to another advantageous embodiment, means for preventing thermal deformations of the scrolls are provided. These means for preventing thermal deformations are preferably formed by an expansion ring introducing a local force which deforms the mobile scroll of the corresponding stage in the direction opposite to its normal deformation direction.
According to a second aspect, the present invention concerns a scroll device including two coupled stages on a rotary shaft, at both ends of an intermediate electric power device, wherein the first stage is formed by a first pressure variation device according to the first aspect, characterized in that the second stage is formed by a second pressure variation device with second admission and outlet ports decoupled from the admission and outlet ports of the first pressure variation, device, respectively. Such a scroll device ensures operating independence of both stages and thereby provides larger flexibility in terms of operating fluids, of connection between the stages and the electric power device and between the stages themselves. Preferably the second pressure variation device is also a pressure variation device according to the first aspect.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the stage is fixed in a scroll case and a transmission system is fixed in a transmission case and thermal insulation means are provided between the stage and the transmission system, in the form of an insulation plate placed between the scroll case and the transmission case.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the second pressure variation device is connected; in a series configuration to the first stage so that one of the two stages operates at a higher pressure than the other one. Thus, with such device, it is possible to expand or compress an operating fluid with an extremely high pressure ratio. Advantageously, both pressure variation devices are expanders so that the first stage operates at a high pressure of a fluid and the second stage operates at a low pressure of the same fluid. Thus, during the expansion process, the high pressure gas of the fluid flows through the inlet port into the open chamber of the scrolls of the high pressure stage, is expanded and delivered by the outlet port at an intermediate or medium pressure. After being collected, the half-pressurized gas is introduced into the inlet port, of the low pressure stage and is discharged through the outlet port of this same stage after the second expansion at a tower pressure.
According to another advantageous embodiment, the second stage is connected to the first stage, in a parallel configuration, so that the two pressure variation devices are independent of each other. With such a device it is possible to treat a high capacity, both stages being independently operated with different operating fluids. In this case, one stage operates with an operating fluid whereas the other stage operates with another operating fluid under different conditions.
According to a third aspect, the present invention concerns a scroll device comprising two coupled stages on a rotary shaft, at both ends of an intermediate electrical power device, wherein the first stage is formed by a first pressure variation device according to the first aspect, and characterized in that the second stage is a feed pump which pumps the operating liquid (refrigerant) and provides it in return. Such a device is advantageous because the operating conditions of a scroll turbine and of a feed pump are of the same order and thus by a suitable selection of the capacities of these machines (that of the pressure variation stage and that of the pump stage) they may be coupled on a same shaft, while providing optimum efficiency of each of these machines. This configuration is further much less complex than a configuration with coupling through a transmission chain and a shaft seal or as compared with the use of two separate entities, one having a generator and the other an electric motor. The proposed simplified device according to this aspect of the invention also allows simplification of the control system and of the hydraulic and electric connections. It will further be noted that all the moving parts able to generate power (pump, turbine and electricity generator) may be contained in a hermetic enclosure without any shaft seal. Thus the problems of using inflammable, toxic fluids or harmful for the environment are focused on a single machine, the enclosure of which should be guaranteed to be hermetic, without any shaft seal between the enclosure containing the fluid and the outside.
Advantageously, the device is organized in a Rankine cycle comprising an evaporator or (a vapor generator of an operating fluid) and, a condenser of the same fluid. The vapor generator then provides the first stage with pressurized vapor flow, which is expanded and then transmitted to the condenser feeding the pump which pumps the liquid at the initial pressure and provides it in return to the vapor generator. This type of device can be particularly used for automotive applications for instance exhaust heat power regeneration) or for the combined production of electricity and heat or further for recovering heat from waste. Preferably, the pressure variation device is according to the first aspect.
According to an advantageous embodiment according to either one of the aspects shown above, the intermediate electric power device comprises a rotor and a stator, both being separated by a hermetic sleeve. Indeed, for environmental reasons, provision is made for a device which is hermetically sealed by means of a hermetic sleeve between the rotor and the stator of the motor/generator and preferably with a different casing for each of the transmission cases of the scroll stages, which provides more flexibility in selecting operating fluids (water, corrosive refrigerant fluid, and/or inflammable fluids without any leak) as well as for protecting the stator.
According to an advantageous embodiment in accordance with one of the aspects shown above of a scroll, device, the second stage is modular, selected from a second pressure variation device, a rotary device or a lid. Such a modular device is capable of operating as an expander or as a compressor for controlling or treating a wide range of fluids or media) with high temperature and pressure ratios. The device consists of one or two scroll stages (or modules) which are directly coupled with a shaft at both ends of a simple electric motor or generator. In the two-stage configuration, both modules may be connected in a parallel operating mode according the required capacity and volume or in a series mode in order to operate at low and high pressures. The fluid may either be treated or not between both stages. In the one-stage configuration, one end of the motor/generator is connected to an auxiliary pump device or sealed off by a lid.
According to another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a scroll device in a series configuration or an expander-pump configuration, in a hybrid motor vehicle for producing electricity by recovering heat from thermal waste (exhaust gases and/or from the engine block) of the vehicle.
According to another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a scroll device in a series configuration or expander-pump configuration, for the combined production of electricity and heat by making use of the value of fossil or renewable energies or further recovering heat from thermal waste in industry.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent upon reading the detailed description which follows of the embodiments of the invention given as examples which are by no means limiting, and illustrated by the appended drawings, wherein:
in the following description of the scroll device according to the present invention, for reasons of convenience, reference will primarily be made to a configuration with one or two expander stages, except for
The present description will now be provided as non-limiting examples in connection with
The fixed scroll 12 is attached to the scroll case 11 in the axial direction by a rear ring 22, in the radial direction by the rear housing 23 and in the angular direction by a positioning pin 24 positioned in the scroll case 11 and the fixed scroll 12. A portion of the rear surface 57a of the fixed scroll is not in contact with the scroll case 11 and forms a useful space 25 in terms of thermal insulation between both parts. The fixed scroll 12 and the mobile scroll 13 have a size similar to that of the basic disks 26a, 26b respectively. Their similar geometries provide the condition for similar deformations and are used in order to reduce the clearances between both of these parts. The basic disk 26a of the fixed scroll has an admission port 27 through which the high pressure gas flows into the central open volume of the scroll, i.e. the open admission chamber 14.
Each of the scrolls 12, 13 respectively, therefore consists of a basic disk 26a, 26b respectively, and of a scroll involute 39a, respectively 39b. As this is illustrated as a section in
i) Provision is made for separating the fixed volute 12 from the main case 11 and for having two volutes 12 and 13 in the same geometric conditions and formed in identical materials so that the deformations are similar.
ii) Provision may be made for a tolerance ring 42, consisting of a bushing with a flexible radial thickness obtained by means of structure layers (for example flexible 3-dimensional swirls or strips) with a very small sectional surface, this ring being placed between the housing of the orbiting volute and the outer diameter of the orbiting bearing 41. Spaces 43 are filled with air, gas vapor or low heat conductivity liquid, between the structured layers of the tolerance ring 42 and the outer diameter of the orbiting bearing 41 and between the layers and the inner surface of the housing of the mobile scroll. These spaces provide heat insulation between the mobile scroll and the orbiting bearing. The flexibility of the tolerance ring 42 is used in order to maintain contact and transmit radial forces between the mobile scroll 13 and the orbiting bearing 41, to the extent that their differences in temperature and material properties cause their contact surfaces to expand according to various sizes.
iii) Provision may further be made, as illustrated in
iv) As an alternative, as illustrated in
v) Thermal insulation between the parts of the scroll stages and the transmission system is provided by an insulating disk or a plate for insulating the scrolls, 60 (
vi) Thermal insulation between the expansion stage and ambient air is provided by positioning any kind of insulating material around the external envelope of the scroll and the transmission cases which has the effect of reducing thermal losses detrimental to the performances of the expander and to the heat cycle.
Whatever the alternative considered among those shown in
It will also be noted that it is possible to use the fluid for lubricating the volutes for transferring heat to the operating fluid being processed. The reduction in the temperature difference is a function of the oil concentration, which contributes to reducing thermal deformations advantageously.
Such a scroll device comprising one or more of these ingenuities enables the use of a high temperature fluid and a reduction of the thermal losses and clearances when the electric device (a motor or generator) is cooled ensuring efficient operation of the device.
Considering
Such a high pressure ratio application is possible thanks to the series configuration of both HP and LP expander stages, including the admission and outlet ports of which A, B, C and D through which the operating fluid travels in this order. It will be noted that in this advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the admission ports A and C are decoupled from each other, and in the same way the outlet ports B and C are also decoupled from each other.
It will further be noted that heat cycles provide better efficiencies at a high pressure ratio (of the order of 10 to 30), whereas conventional turbines or expanders with a volume ratio VRi (2-4) have low efficiencies for this order of pressure ratio magnitude. For a question of cost and bulkiness, the size should also be reduced, or the power density of the turbine should also be increased, it is therefore of interest to operate at a high speed. Thus, the device should be separated into two stages, which provides an installed volume ratio (VRi) greater than 12 and a possibility of operating at speeds between 1,500 and 6,000 rpm. However, in order to reduce the costs of the electronics and parts, the assembling of two turbine stages, i.e. expanders, is carried out on a same generator, which also allows the number of bearings to be also reduced. Within the scope of the present invention, a particularly advantageous VRi distribution selection was revealed so that the dimensions of a stage are not a penalty to the speed of the whole of the device, but on the contrary so that both stages reach the same speed limits. This selection corresponds to stages with similar outer diameters, for this, the VRi of the first stage is selected to be much higher than that of the second stage.
Both expander stages are preferably of identical construction, their description having been given in detail earlier in connection with
in order to maintain the contact between the mobile scroll and the fixed scroll, an axial positioning system and a radial positioning system are provided, which were briefly discussed earlier and which will now be described in more detail. The axial positioning system, as illustrated in
The function of the radial positioning system is to maintain the mobile scroll in radial contact with the fixed scroll, because the pressure in the scroll chambers tends to separate the latter, in order to counterbalance the centrifugal force of the mobile scroll and to transmit the displacement force of the mobile scroll as a torque to the shaft of the generator. There are several ways for providing theses functions. In the preferred configuration illustrated in
Lubricating oil is introduced into the shaft through a conduit 76, formed in the transmission cases, internal shaft seals 77 with low frictional losses and withstanding high temperatures are positioned between the transmission cases and the shaft.
Referring to
Again referring to
In the alternative modular design of the second stage of the device as shown in
As mentioned,
It is thus obtained a scroll device comprising two coupled stages T and P on a rotary shaft, at both ends of an intermediate electrical power device G, wherein the first stage is formed by a pressure variation device T (i.e. here an expander) of an operating liquid, comprising a scroll case containing a fixed scroll and a mobile scroll relatively to the case, and with admission A and outlet B ports, and characterized in that the second stage is a supply pump P which pumps the operating liquid and provides it in return.
The expander preferably comprises means for thermally insulating the scrolls. These thermal insulation means are advantageously provided between the fixed scroll and the corresponding scroll case. When an orbiting bearing is provided, thermal insulation means may be also provided between the mobile scroll and the orbiting bearing, may comprise a separation disk placed at the bottom of the orbiting bearing which separates the mobile scroll from the rotating bearing by an insulation space and may also comprise an insulating material placed between the orbiting bearing and the mobile scroll. Additionally means for preventing thermal deformations of the scrolls may be provided. These means for preventing thermal deformations are advantageously formed by an expansion ring introducing a local force which deforms the mobile scroll of the corresponding stage in the direction opposite to its normal deformation direction.
As for the scroll devices presented hereinbefore, wherein the intermediate electric power device G comprises a rotor and a stator, a hermetic sleeve may be provided between the rotor and the stator. Further each stage may be confined in a hermetic casing.
Referring back to
Such a configuration is described in
A two-stage device in a series configuration or in an expander pump configuration as described in connection with
It is also possible to integrate such a device into an application for combined production of electricity and heat. Preferably such a production of electricity and heat will be obtained by making the most of the value of renewable energies or the value of thermal waste in industry.
It will be understood that various modifications and/or improvements obvious for one skilled in the art may be made to the different embodiments of the invention as described in the present description without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A device for varying pressure of a fluid, comprising a scroll case containing a fixed scroll and a mobile scroll relatively to the case, and with admission and outlet ports for the fluid, an orbiting bearing and means for thermally insulating the scrolls, wherein these thermally insulating means include the fixed scroll being separated from the scroll case and a tolerance ring, consisting of a bushing with a flexible radial thickness, being placed between a housing of the mobile scroll and the outer diameter of the orbiting bearing.
2. The pressure variation device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation means are provided by a space between the fixed scroll and the corresponding scroll case.
3. The pressure variation device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation means are also provided between the mobile scroll and the orbiting bearing.
4. The pressure variation device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation means comprise a separation disk placed at the bottom of the orbiting bearing which separates the mobile scroll from the rotating bearing by an insulation space.
5. The pressure variation device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal insulating means comprise an insulating material placed between the orbiting bearing and the mobile scroll.
6. The pressure variation device according to claim 1, wherein means for preventing thermal deformations of the scrolls are provided.
7. The pressure variation device according to claim 6, wherein the means for preventing thermal deformations are formed by an expansion ring introducing a local force which deforms the mobile scroll in the direction opposite to its normal deformation direction.
8. A scroll device including two coupled stages on a rotary shaft, at both ends of an intermediate electric power device, wherein the first stage is formed by a first pressure variation device according to claim 1, and wherein the second stage is formed by a second pressure variation device with second admission and outlet ports respectively decoupled from the admission and outlet ports of the first pressure variation device.
9. The scroll device according to claim 8, wherein the first stage is attached in a scroll case and a transmission system is attached in a transmission case, and wherein thermal insulation means are provided between the stage and the transmission system, in the form of an insulation plate placed between the scroll case and the transmission case.
10. The scroll device according to claim 8, wherein the second stage is connected in a series configuration to the first stage so that one of the two stages operates at a higher pressure than the other.
11. The scroll device according to claim 8, wherein the second stage is connected in a parallel configuration to the first stage, so that both pressure variation devices are independent from each other.
12. The scroll device according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate electric power device comprises a rotor and a stator, and wherein a hermetic sleeve is provided between the rotor and the stator.
13. (canceled)
14. The use of an apparatus according to claim 8, in an hybrid motor vehicle for producing electricity by recovering heat from waste exhaust gas of the engine of the vehicle.
15. The use of an apparatus according to claim 8, for combined production of electricity and heat.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 10, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 17, 2013
Applicant:
Inventors: Malick Kane (Ecublens), Danilo Cretegny (Renens), Antoine Merminod (Gimel)
Application Number: 12/678,393
International Classification: F04C 29/04 (20060101); F04C 2/02 (20060101);