Patents Examined by Howard R. Richman
  • Patent number: 5199255
    Abstract: Nitrogen oxides are reduced in gas turbines by selective, gas-phase reaction with urea. This is enabled in a preferred embodiment by injecting urea as an aqueous solution of droplet sizes and concentration effective to assure selective gas phase reactions to result in NO.sub.x reduction. The aqueous solution can also be employed to reduce NO.sub.x by reducing the flame temperature. Desirably, the injection parameters are controlled to also minimize ammonia production.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1993
    Assignee: Nalco Fuel Tech
    Inventors: William H. Sun, William F. Michels
  • Patent number: 5197277
    Abstract: A gasification-type combined electric power generating plant comprises a gasifying furnace, a heat exchanger, a gas purifying device, a gas turbine, and a gas turbine compressor, an exhaust heat recovering boiler, and a steam turbine. To decrease boosting power, increase the energy of recovered heat, and improve the overall efficiency of the plant, the plant further includes a regenerative heat exchanger for cooling an air-like gas bled from the gas turbine compressor, a cooler for cooling the air-like gas passed through the regenerative heat exchanger, a primary air booster for boosting a part of the air-like gas passed through the cooler to deliver a primary air, a secondary air booster for boosting the remainder of the air-like gas passed through the cooler to deliver a secondary air, and a passage through which the secondary air passed through the secondary air booster is supplied to the regenerative heat exchanger where the secondary air is heated and then to the gasifying furnace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1993
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shigeyasu Ishigami, Takaaki Furuya
  • Patent number: 5197288
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine (10) incorporates a fuel manifold (12) that distributes fuel to fuel injectors (14) that are mounted to a support casing (16). When a problem is encountered within the fuel injector (14), the problem injector (14) may be disconnected from the fuel manifold (12) and removed without disturbing the fuel manifold (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1993
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Allan B. Newland, Ronald Portanier, Jan H. Stastny
  • Patent number: 5189873
    Abstract: A combined cycle power plant includes a water treatment apparatus for removing iron oxides in condensate provided in a partial condensate flow line for selectively flowing a portion of the condensate into a condenser. The partial condensate flow line recirculates a portion of the condensate from and to the condenser through the condensate feed line connected to a boiler utilizing exhaust gas from a gas turbine. A heating apparatus heats the condensate to reduce the concentration of oxygen by deaeration, and a drum blow off water recovery line is connected to the boiler and to the condenser for blowing off part of the condensate in the boiler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1993
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyoshi Mishima, Yoshiki Noguchi
  • Patent number: 5189874
    Abstract: In a single-shaft axial-flow gas turbine, the shaft part lying between turbine and compressor is a drum (12) which is surrounded by a drum cover (13). The annular passage (18) formed between drum and drum cover assumes the function of conducting all the rotor cooling air, tapped on the hub side behind the last moving row of the compressor, to the front end (16) of the turbine and after this to its rotor-side cooling passages. The cooling air is deflected inside the annular passage in a spin cascade (25) and accelerated to the highest possible tangential velocity. With this measure, the axial thrust of the gas turbine can be reduced on the one hand and the hitherto conventional recooler for the cooling air can be dispensed with on the other hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1993
    Assignee: Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
    Inventor: Franz Kreitmeier
  • Patent number: 5185997
    Abstract: A gas turbine system of the type including an air compressor, a turbine, a combustor, a turbine cooling unit, and a fuel oil atomizing unit. The turbine cooling unit includes a cooling air passage which communicates an air discharge port of the air compressor to a cooling air intake of the turbine. The turbine cooling unit further includes an intercooler provided in the cooling air passage, and an air filter provided in the cooling air passage downstream of the intercooler. The fuel oil atomizing unit includes an atomization air passage branching from the cooling air passage downstream of the air filter and communicating to an air inlet of the fuel nozzle, and an atomization air compressor, disposed in the atomization air passage, for compressing atomization air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1991
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1993
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tsunemasa Nishijima
  • Patent number: 5185996
    Abstract: A high temperature thermocouple sensing apparatus is readily removable from a gas turbine engine. The thermocouple extends through aligned openings in inner and outer housings and seals both openings through use of a pair of spherical sealing elements and a spring seal bellows urging a seat into sealing engagement with one sealing element and urging the other sealing element into engagement with the inner housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1993
    Assignee: Allied-Signal Inc.
    Inventors: Alan A. Smith, Paul B. Catmull, Lonnie J. Lucas, Karl P. Johnson
  • Patent number: 5184455
    Abstract: An aircraft augmentor cooling blanket is provided, which is woven from flexible refractory ceramic fibers, which blanket is bonded to a cooling air supply support structure by a metal wire woven through a lower blanket portion and brazed to the support structure. The resulting liner is lightweight, readily accommodates thermal expansion and contraction and absorbs sonic screech energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1991
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1993
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Joseph H. Ewing, John H. E. Baker, II
  • Patent number: 5184456
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine which includes a starter/generator mechanically coupled thereto and an electric oil pump motor for driving an oil pump is started in a manner which assures a continuous and uninterrupted supply of lubricating oil to the moving components of the engine. According to one method, first and second motor controllers initiate operation of the oil pump motor. Thereupon, the second motor controller is re-directed to initiate operation of the starter/generator and the gas turbine engine itself, after which, the second motor controller again joins the first motor controller to accelerate the oil pump motor up to idle speed. The oil pump motor may then be electrically coupled to the starter/generator for continued operation. In another mode of operation, a second motor controller may not be used at all. In that event, the alternating electric power supply for the vehicle powered by the gas turbine engine may be used as an interim source for controlling the speed of the oil pump motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1991
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1993
    Assignee: Avco Corporation
    Inventors: Kimball J. Rumford, George Hudson
  • Patent number: 5182906
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine has a forward rotor, a row of fan blades radially extending from the rotor, and a core turbine engine located rearwardly of the fan blades and rotor and coupled to the rotor for rotatably driving the rotor. An outer annular nacelle surrounds the rotor, fan blades and core engine. An inner annular splitter fairing is disposed rearwardly of the fan blades, surrounds the core engine, and is spaced radially inwardly from the nacelle so as to define therebetween a bypass air flow duct located outwardly from the core engine and rearwardly of the fan blades for producing thrust upon rotation of the rotor and fan blades. A hybrid shape spinner nose is attached about the rotor and projects forwardly therefrom within the nacelle and forwardly of the fan blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1993
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Alan R. Gilchrist, Thomas J. Sullivan, Roger C. Walker
  • Patent number: 5181377
    Abstract: A friction-damped combustor cowl is formed of first and second plies of sheet material of mating, generally annular configuration defining a central cowl axis and of axially elongated and aerodynamically contoured configuration have respective fore end portions which are curled to form a cowl leading edge of arcuate cross section and corresponding fore edges which are integrally joined, and respective aft end portions which define a cowl trailing edge and corresponding aft edges which are integrally joined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1993
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Phillip D. Napoli, John M. Koshoffer
  • Patent number: 5179832
    Abstract: Shrouds 22, 24 are welded to support braces 20 near fuel spray ring 12. A splash shield 30 is secured to shroud 22 toward which fuel 16 is sprayed. It extends between braces protecting the shroud 22 from fuel impingement. Cracking of the structure at the shroud-brace interface is avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 19, 1993
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: William K. Barcza, Steven M. Kessell
  • Patent number: 5177957
    Abstract: A propfan turbine engine for an aircraft has a shroud and on the leading edge of the shroud, has one or several, preferably two, separate sector-like annular profile parts which via actuating devices can be moved from the shroud such that slots can be formed between the profile parts and the shroud. This arrangement prevents dangerous air-flow separations on the outside of the upper shroud region and on the inside of the lower shroud region at large angles of attack of the aircraft engine for both high and low power operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1993
    Assignee: MTU Motoren-und Turbinen-Union Muchen GmbH
    Inventor: Hubert Grieb
  • Patent number: 5175996
    Abstract: An apparatus for use in space environments to control the flow of a propellant to a thruster at a low mass flow rate comprises an insulated body having a cavity therein defining a vaporizing chamber, a porous medium having a low liquid permeability disposed in the chamber, a conduit means for feeding a propellant liquid into the chamber and exhausting a propellant vapor from the vaporizing chamber, and a heating means communicating with the medium within the chamber for controllable heating of the liquid propellant in the chamber creating a variable liquid/vapor transition zone within the medium. The transition zone is responsive to the heating means to control the mass flow rate of propellant through the vaporizing chamber. As the liquid/vapor transition zone is moved upstream by increasing the heater output, and thus increasing the volume of vapor within the porous medium, mass flow through the porous medium is decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1993
    Assignee: Olin Corporation
    Inventor: Richard D. Smith
  • Patent number: 5174105
    Abstract: A method of operating a dual rotor gas turbine engine includes bypassing a predetermined portion of compressed airflow from a high pressure compressor to downstream of a high pressure turbine first stage nozzle, and increasing core speed of the engine to a value greater than a reference value for improving hot day lapse rate curve and output shaft horsepower. The method steps are performed at least at values of ambient air temperature greater than a first value thereof associated with a reference maximum value of output shaft horsepower, and without increasing high pressure compressor discharge air temperature beyond a maximum value thereof associated with the reference maximum value of the output shaft horsepower. The dual rotor, gas turbine engine includes a preexisting design, aircraft derivative core engine including a high pressure compressor and a high pressure turbine first stage nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1992
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: William R. Hines
  • Patent number: 5174110
    Abstract: A readily-removable protective modular enclosure (50) houses a plurality of utility conduits (42) which bridge a zoned annular volume (40) disposed between a turbine engine's core (20) and fan case (30) zones, the bridging utility conduits (42) completing a three-zoned wiring harness originating on the engine's fan case (30) and terminating at a plurality of engine core terminals (24). The enclosure (50) also houses a branching interface (70) through which a utility flow, originating at either the fan case (30) or engine core (20), is directed to a dedicated outgoing utility conduit (32, 22) which services a specific zone (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1992
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Paul W. Duesler, Wendell R. Loso
  • Patent number: 5174107
    Abstract: The present invention has been realized in order to treat noxious and combustible gases, which are exhausted during the start-up operation of a composite coal gasification-power plant and/or released from various safety valves arranged in such power plant and which have hitherto been discharged without treatment into the atmosphere, to make it innoxious and to attain an efficient energy utilization and concerns an improvement of such a composite coal gasification-power plant, which is characterized either in that an additional combustion unit is disposed parallel to the burner of the gas-turbine electric power generating unit and is arranged so as to supply the combustion exhaust gas of this additional combustion unit to as to supply the combustion exhaust gas of this additional combustion unit to the waste heat boiler, or in that an additional combustion unit, operative to effect to burn the noxious and combustible gases exhausted from the burner during start-up and/or those released from safety valves arran
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1992
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kiichiro Ogawa, Yasuko Osawa, Junsuke Miyake
  • Patent number: 5172543
    Abstract: A starting system (10) for a gas turbine (24) in accordance with the invention includes an electric motor (14); and a clutch (20) having an input (18) for receiving torque from the electric motor when the electric motor is activated during starting of the turbine and an output (22) for rotating the gas turbine during starting of the turbine, the clutch having a torque transfer characteristic between the input and the output with no torque being transferred when a rotational speed of the input is below a set speed which is a fraction of a speed at which the gas turbine is self-sustaining in producing output torque and transferring torque above the set speed between the input and output with the set speed being chosen with respect to a power output characteristic of the electric motor as a function of speed of the motor which produces acceleration of the motor to self-sustaining speed while minimizing energy required for starting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1992
    Assignee: Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventor: Robert C. White
  • Patent number: 5170620
    Abstract: An assembly for producing heat/mechanical energy by combustion of sugar includes a combustion chamber and a means for fluidizing sugar. Fluidized sugar is injected into the combustion chamber, optionally in combination with a hydrocarbon fuel and ignited. The combustion gas energy can be recovered as usable mechanical energy using conventional piston crank shaft or turbine asssemblies. Exhaust gases have reduced levels of noxious pollutants relative to exhaust gases from internal combustion engines not burning sugar fuels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1992
    Assignee: Lafayette Applied Chemistry, Inc.
    Inventors: Roy L. Whistler, Charles W. Baker
  • Patent number: 5167118
    Abstract: A noise suppressor for use with a turbofan engine, the suppressor being formed of a tubular exhaust shroud affixed to the engine exhaust end, the shroud providing an internal circumferential surface, a flow mixture affixed to the engine exhaust end, an elongated centerbody supported within the exhaust shroud and having an external cross-sectional area less than the internal cross-sectional area of the shroud providing an annular area through which thrust producing exhaust gases of the engine pass, acoustic lining affixed to a substantial portion of the internal circumferential area of the exhaust shroud in the portion thereof receiving the centerbody, and acoustical lining affixed to a substantial portion of the exterior area of the centerbody in the area thereof received within the exhaust shroud so that thereby the thrust producing gases pass through an area of reduced channel height. A substantial portion of the annular area through which the gases pass is encompassed by acoustical lining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1992
    Assignee: Nordam
    Inventor: Delbert W. Torkelson