TURBINE BLADE SKIRT

Abstract

The disclosed propeller/turbine blade enhancement will be used in the moving fluid kinetic energy conversion field. This turbine blade skirt enhancement to a propeller/turbine bladed assembly will increase the kinetic energy conversion of the assembly on which the enhancement has been made a part of. The disclosed turbine blade skirt will contact and redirect a portion of the moving fluid the propeller/turbine bladed assembly is converting into mechanical rotational energy. The contacting and redirecting the fluid from the least efficient conversion areas of the assembly to the more efficient conversion areas of the assembly increases the amount of mechanical rotational energy obtained from the assembly.

Description

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed propeller/turbine blade assembly enhancement will be used in the field of kinetic energy conversion. This propeller/turbine blade skirt will more efficiently convert the kinetic energy of a moving fluid into mechanical rotational energy when added to the common propeller/turbine blade kinetic energy conversion assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is needed in the kinetic energy conversion field of moving fluids is a more efficient blade assembly to convert the moving fluid's kinetic energy into the desired mechanical rotational energy that can then be coupled to rotational shaft driven machinery. That machinery can be any number of mechanical rotational shaft driven types. Those machines would include, but not be limited to, electric generators and mechanical pumps.

The following disclosed invention will increase the efficiency of a propeller/turbine blade assembly in accomplishing this energy conversion by contacting and redirecting more of the moving fluid outward from the bladed assembly's center area to the more efficient outer areas of the bladed assembly.

Someone who is familiar with a standard propeller/turbine assembly is aware that the blade roots and the assembly's hub section of the common propeller/turbine bladed assembly is the least efficient area of the assembly for converting the kinetic energy of the moving fluid into mechanical rotational energy. This is primarily due to the fact that the hub of the assembly is usually flat and perpendicular to the oncoming moving fluid and thus is inherently an obstruction to the fluid flow. The other inefficient area of energy conversion is the propeller/turbine blade's root sections which are for structural reasons often turned almost parallel to the oncoming fluid current and thus do not interact nor convert much of the passing fluid's kinetic energy that contacts the assembly in these areas.

What is needed and disclosed in this invention is an enhancement for the common propeller/turbine blade assembly. The turbine blade skirt is designed to contact and redirect a portion of the moving fluid outward from the center of the assembly to the more efficient energy conversion area of the assembly's blades. This redirecting action will then utilize that portion of the moving fluid that would normally be a negative reactive force in the bladed assembly's kinetic conversion process. The propeller/turbine blade skirt will enable the equipped bladed assembly to convert more of the moving fluid's kinetic energy into mechanical rotational energy by improved utilization of the center portion of the moving fluid that is contained within the swept blade area of the bladed assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of a propeller/turbine blade assembly enhanced with a turbine blade skirt and the common nose cone.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a propeller/turbine blade assembly enhanced with a turbine blade skirt and the common nose cone.

FIG. 3 is a 3/4 side view of the turbine blade skirt and the relationship with a common nose cone.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the turbine blade skirt and a common nose cone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of one embodiment of a propeller/turbine blade assembly 1 enhanced with a turbine blade skirt 8 and the common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: the propeller/turbine blade assembly 1, the common nose cone 2, the spine curvature line 3, the blade's trailing edge 4, the blade's leading edge 5, the blade's tip 6, the blade's frontal facing surface 7, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbine blade skirt's individual petals 9, the turbine blade skirt's blade spaces 13 and that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wise direction.

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of a propeller/turbine blade assembly 1 enhanced with a turbine blade skirt 8 and the common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: the propeller/turbine blade assembly 1, the common nose cone 2, the spine curvature line 3, the blade's trailing edge 4, the blade's leading edge 5, the blade's tip 6, the blade's frontal facing surface 7, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbine blade skirt's individual petals 9, the bladed assembly's hub 10, the blade's rearward facing surface 11, and that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wise direction.

FIG. 3 is a ¾ side view of one embodiment of the turbine blade skirt 8 and the relationship with a common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: the common nose cone 2, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbine blade skirt's individual petals 9 and the turbine blade spaces 13 between the petals and that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wise direction.

FIG. 4 is a front view of one embodiment of the turbine blade skirt 8 and a common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: the common nose cone 2, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbine blade skirt's individual petals 9 and the turbine blade spaces 13 between the petals and that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wise direction.

Claims

1. A turbine blade skirt enhancement to a propeller/turbine blade assembly in which the skirt enhancement contacts and redirects a portion of the center section of a moving fluid current from the center of the bladed assembly towards the outer sections of the bladed assembly.

2. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the enhanced propeller/turbine blade assembly is used in the kinetic energy conversion field.

2. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the enhanced propeller/turbine assembly will be located and aligned within a moving fluid in such a manner that the assembly will rotate as the result of being subjected to the kinetic energy contained within said moving fluid.

4. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the propeller/turbine blade assembly upon which the turbine skirt is added shall be comprised of: a plurality of propeller/turbine blades on the assembly's rotational hub.

5. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the propeller/turbine blade assembly upon which the turbine blade skirt is added shall have a rotational hub located coaxially about a longitudinal centerline axis and be connected to a rotational horizontal shaft along the longitudinal centerline axis, wherein the horizontal shaft will convey the rotating assembly's produced mechanical rotational energy.

6. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the propeller/turbine assembly on which the turbine blade skirt is added will be comprised of multiple blades that have the following features: and that an assembly of 8 blades has been disclosed.

a blade root that is joinable to the assembly hub,

a blade tip,

a blade leading edge extending from said root to said tip,

a blade trailing edge extending from said root to said tip,

a blade frontal facing surface extending from said blade root to said blade tip and extending between the blade leading edge and the blade trailing edge,

a blade rearward facing surface extending from said blade root to said blade tip and extending between the blade leading edge and the blade trailing edge

7. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the overall shape of the skirt is circular in nature.

8. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein a common nose cone may be an integral formed part of the turbine blade skirt that is added to the propeller/turbine bladed assembly.

9. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein a common nose cone may be added separately from the turbine blade skirt to the propeller/turbine bladed assembly.

10. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the turbine blade skirt would be placed under a common nose cone and over a propeller/turbine bladed assembly's hub section.

11. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt enhancement may be formed with the propeller/turbine bladed assembly's blades.

12. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt may be constructed separately from the propeller/turbine assembly's blades and then be affixed to the propeller/turbine bladed assembly.

13. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt enhancement shall have petal segments that fit in between the propeller/turbine blades of the bladed assembly and that these petal segments when joined together form the turbine blade skirt.

14. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt shall have petal segments that fit in between the propeller/turbine blades of the bladed assembly and that those segments may be formed, bent or molded in order to channel the moving fluid outward from the face of the petal segment.

15. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the shape of the turbine blade skirt enhancement may vary in; thickness, diameter, blade opening spaces between the petal segments, petal segments ratio per blade and petal segments spacing.

16. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade enhancement may have petal segments of varied shapes, thicknesses and include different contoured frontal facing surfaces.

17. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade enhancement may have petal segments of varied shapes, thicknesses and include different contoured rearward facing surfaces.

18. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt may be constructed of any number of various materials, including but not limited to, various types of; woods, metals, fiberglass, carbon fibers, polymers, molded plastics, ceramics and or a combination of these items.

19. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the assembly may be changed to a clockwise rotational assembly and that in that case; the design of the turbine blade skirt shall be altered in order to assist in the new rotational direction.