Abstract: A micro-turbine engine has been designed using vertically simple geometry, such that the engine components are designed with features that are defined geometrically, but not necessarily manufactured, by extruding two-dimensional features along a primary direction. This design approach reduces manufacturing and assembly costs. The present invention discloses designs to improve micro-turbine engine performance, and methods of manufacturing components that further reduce cost. The design improvements include methods of implementing a multi-stage micro-turbine engine using nested stages and nested flow paths, usage of multi-phase fuel injectors and supercritical fuel injectors to increase fuel flexibility and burner efficiency, and method of cooling a turbine rotor by building cooling blades on the opposite side of the rotor that act as a fluid pump to provide cooling by convection.

Abstract: A micro-turbine engine has been designed using vertically simple geometry, such that the engine components are designed with features that are defined geometrically, but not necessarily manufactured, by extruding two-dimensional features along a primary direction. This design approach reduces manufacturing and assembly costs. The present invention discloses designs to improve micro-turbine engine performance, and methods of manufacturing components that further reduce cost. The design improvements include methods of implementing a multi-stage micro-turbine engine using nested stages and nested flow paths, usage of multi-phase fuel injectors and supercritical fuel injectors to increase fuel flexibility and burner efficiency, and method of cooling a turbine rotor by building cooling blades on the opposite side of the rotor that act as a fluid pump to provide cooling by convection.