Methods and apparatus for heat transfer in rotating bodies

Claim 2

A combustion turbine engine comprising a housing; an elongated body mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis in said housing, said body being provided with an interior sealed elongated cavity coaxial with said longitudinal axis of said body, said cavity having a first portion locating at one end of said body, and said cavity having a second portion locating at the opposed end of said body, said second portion having generally conical walls with its larger diameter adjacent said first portion, said first portion having a diameter not less than the larger diameter of said second portion, every point on the conical walls defining said second cavity portion having a slope and radial distance from the axis which, when the body rotates at operational velocities, produces a centrifugal pumping acceleration in excess of 1G in a thin film of liquid located at such point; a liquid inventory sealed in said cavity, said inventory being sufficiently large to form a substantially uniform annulus in said elongated body when said body rotates at said operational velocities, said liquid inventory being sufficiently small to be contained substantially within said first cavity when said annulus is formed; a plurality of hollow vanes projecting radially from said body radially outwardly of said first cavity portion; means for producing hot combustion gases to blow past said vanes in said housing and drive said body in rotation at operational levels of angular velocity; and ducts communicating between the hollow in each of said vanes and said first cavity portion, a portion of said liquid inventory in said body cavity flowing outwardly into said hollow vanes via said ducts when said liquid annulus is formed, whereby said vanes are cooled by such liquid; and a jacket surrounding the body exterior radially outwardly of said second cavity portion, said jacket provided with a fuel inlet leading from a source of fluid fuel, said jacket further provided with a fuel outlet leading to said hot combustion gas producing means, so that fuel from said fuel source may flow through said jacket across the adjacent exterior surface of said body to absorb heat therefrom prior to entering said combustion gas producing means.

Claim 3

A process for cooling a gas turbine engine having a combustor, a housing provided with ducts leading from said combustor to exhaust parts, a hollow hermetic rotor mounted for rotation about its central axis in said housing and provided with radial turbine blades extending outwardly into said ducts so that hot combustion gases flowing through said ducts impinge upon said blades to drive said rotor, said rotor being consTructed to receive a sealed-in inventory of liquid, said rotor having an evaporator region and means forming a reservoir for said liquid with portions located at said blades, said rotor having a condenser region axially spaced from said evaporator region and from said turbine blades and located adjacent a heat sink, said rotor having an internal condensing surface in said condenser region coaxial with said rotor and having a taper whereby said condensing surface decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, wherein the steps comprise providing said rotor with an inventory of liquid in said reservoir having a generally cylindrical internal liquid surface within the rotor and spaced inwardly from said blades, continually transferring heat directly from said turbine blades to said liquid in said reservoir whereupon said liquid vaporizes and the resulting vapors flow to said condenser regions; continually transferring heat from said condenser region of said rotor to said heat sink so that said condensing surface is cooled and said vapor condensed by contact therewith to effect continual removal of heat from the turbine rotor; rapidly forcing said condensate off of said condensing surface as soon as it forms to return said condensate to said reservoir and to keep said condensing surface relatively free of liquid at any attitude by rotating said rotor at a velocity providing a high centrifugal acceleration having a component greater than 1G in an axial direction parallel to said tapered condensing surface in essentially each particle of condensate located on said condensing surface; and passing fuel over the outer surface of said rotor in said condenser region before said fuel is transported to the combustor, said fuel absorbing heat from said rotor to cool said condensing surface and to heat said fuel prior to combustion.

Claim 4

A process for cooling a gas turbine engine having a combustor, a housing provided with ducts leading from said combustor to exhaust parts, a hollow hermetic rotor mounted for rotation about its central axis in said housing and provided with radial turbine blades extending outwardly into said ducts so that hot combustion gases flowing through said ducts impinge upon said blades to drive said rotor, said rotor being consTructed to receive a sealed-in inventory of liquid, said rotor having an evaporator region and means forming a reservoir for said liquid with portions located at said blades, said rotor having a condenser region axially spaced from said evaporator region and from said turbine blades and located adjacent a heat sink, said rotor having an internal condensing surface in said condenser region coaxial with said rotor and having a taper whereby said condensing surface decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, wherein the steps comprise providing said rotor with an inventory of liquid in said reservoir having a generally cylindrical internal liquid surface within the rotor and spaced inwardly from said blades, continually transferring heat directly from said turbine blades to said liquid in said reservoir whereupon said liquid vaporizes and the resulting vapors flow to said condenser regions; continually transferring heat from said condenser region of said rotor to said heat sink so that said condensing surface is cooled and said vapor condensed by contact therewith to effect continual removal of heat from the turbine rotor; rapidly forcing said condensate off of said condensing surface as soon as it forms to return said condensate to said reservoir and to keep said condensing surface relatively free of liquid at any attitude by rotating said rotor at a velocity providing a high centrifugal acceleration having a component greater than 1G in an axial direction parallel to said tapered condensing surface in essentially each particle of condensate located on said condensing surface; and passing fuel over the outer surface of said rotor in said condenser region before said fuel is transported to the combustor, said fuel absorbing heat from said rotor to cool said condensing surface and to heat said fuel prior to combustion.

Claim 5

A process for cooling a gas turbine engine having a combustor, a housing provided with ducts leading from said combustor to exhaust parts, a hollow hermetic rotor mounted for rotation about its central axis in said housing and provided with radial turbine blades extending outwardly into said ducts so that hot combustion gases flowing through said ducts impinges upon said blades to drive said rotor, said rotor being constructed to receive a sealed-in inventory of liquid, said rotor having an evaporator region and means forming a reservoir for said liquid with portions located at said blades, said rotor having a condenser region axially spaced from said evaporator region and from said turbine blades and located adjacent a non-rotating heat sink, said rotor having an internal condensing surface in said condenser region coaxial with said rotor and having a taper whereby said condensing surface decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, wherein the steps comprise providing said rotor with an inventory of liquid in said reservoir having a generally cylindrical internal liquid surface within the rotor and spaced inwardly from said blades, continually transferring heat directly from said turbine blades to said liquid in said reservoir whereupon said liquid vaporizes and the resulting vapors flow to said condenser region; passing a cooling liquid through said non-rotating heat sink during rotation of said rotor to cover the outer surface of said rotor in said condenser region with an annular body of liquid so that said condensing surface is cooled and said vapor condensed by contact therewith to effect continual removal of heat from the turbine rotor; and rapidly forcing said condensate off of said condensing surface as soon as it forms to return said condensate to said reservoir and to keep said condensing surface relatively free of liquid at any attitude by rotating said rotor at a velocity providing a high centrifugal acceleration having a component greater than 1G in an axial direction parallel to said tapered condensing surface in essentially each particle of condensate located on said condensing surfaCe.

Claim 6

A process for cooling a gas turbine engine having a combustor, a housing provided with ducts leading from said combustor to exhaust parts, a hollow hermetic rotor mounted for rotation about its central axis in said housing and provided with radial turbine blades extending outwardly into said ducts so that hot combustion gases flowing through said ducts impinges upon said blades to drive said rotor, said rotor being constructed to receive a sealed-in inventory of liquid, said rotor having an evaporator region and means forming a reservoir for said liquid with portions located at said blades, said rotor having a condenser region axially spaced from said evaporator region and from said turbine blades and located adjacent a non-rotating heat sink, said rotor having an internal condensing surface in said condenser region coaxial with said rotor and having a taper whereby said condensing surface decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, wherein the steps comprise providing said rotor with an inventory of liquid in said reservoir having a generally cylindrical internal liquid surface within the rotor and spaced inwardly from said blades, continually transferring heat directly from said turbine blades to said liquid in said reservoir whereupon said liquid vaporizes and the resulting vapors flow to said condenser region; passing a cooling liquid through said non-rotating heat sink during rotation of said rotor to cover the outer surface of said rotor in said condenser region with an annular body of liquid so that said condensing surface is cooled and said vapor condensed by contact therewith to effect continual removal of heat from the turbine rotor; and rapidly forcing said condensate off of said condensing surface as soon as it forms to return said condensate to said reservoir and to keep said condensing surface relatively free of liquid at any attitude by rotating said rotor at a velocity providing a high centrifugal acceleration having a component greater than 1G in an axial direction parallel to said tapered condensing surface in essentially each particle of condensate located on said condensing surfaCe.

Claim 7

A process for cooling a gas turbine engine according to claim 3 wherein said condensing surface is curved in axial cross section in such a manner as to provide means for causing generally uniform pumping acceleration along the length of said surface and wherein said last-named component is many times greater than 1G.

Claim 8

A multiple-stage fluid-pressure energy-transferring device of the character described having a stator, a rotor mounted to rotate within said stator and having a body shaped to provide an axially elongated hermetic heat pipe coaxial with said rotor and rotatable therewith, said rotor providing a series of axially spaced stages, each stage comprising a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced hollow vanes around the rotor projecting outwardly from said heat pipe to said stator and liquid-filled cooling passages extending outwardly from said tube to said vanes to transfer heat from said vanes by convective circulation of the liquid in said passages, said heat pipe containing a sealed-in inventory of liquid with an axially elongated internal surface of uniform radius located within the pipe in an evaporator region extendinaxially to extending axially cooling passages of all of said stages, said heat pipe having a condenser region at one end of the pipe providing an external heat sink, said evaporator region containing a reservoir for said liquid spaced from said condenser region, means for continually transferring heat from an external source to the liquid in said reservoir to evaporate the same whereupon the resulting vapors move through said pipe to said condenser region, said pipe having a coaxial interior condensing surface in said condenser region with a taper, whereby said condensing surface gradually decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, said condensing surface being curved in axial cross section to provide means for causing generally uniform pumping acceleration along the length of said surface, external cooling means for continually removing heat from said condenser region to condense the vapors contacting said condensing surface and to cause heat transfer to the heat sink, and means for rotating said heat pipe about said axis at a velocity such that the component of centrifugal acceleration in an axial direction parallel to the tapered condensing surface at essentially any location thereupon is greater than 1G and the condensate formed on said condensing surface is rapidly forced off of said condensing surface to keep it relatively free of liquid at any attitude.

Claim 9

A multiple-stage fluid-pressure energy-transferring device of the character described having a stator, a rotor mounted to rotate within said stator and having a body shaped to provide an axially elongated hermetic heat pipe coaxial with said rotor and rotatable therewith, said rotor providing a series of axially spaced stages, each stage comprising a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced hollow vanes around the rotor projecting outwardly from said heat pipe to said stator and liquid-filled cooling passages extending outwardly from said tube to said vanes to transfer heat from said vanes by convective circulation of the liquid in said passages, said heat pipe containing a sealed-in inventory of liquid with an axially elongated internal surface of uniform radius located within the pipe in an evaporator region extendinaxially to extending axially cooling passages of all of said stages, said heat pipe having a condenser region at one end of the pipe providing an external heat sink, said evaporator region containing a reservoir for said liquid spaced from said condenser region, means for continually transferring heat from an external source to the liquid in said reservoir to evaporate the same whereupon the resulting vapors move through said pipe to said condenser region, said pipe having a coaxial interior condensing surface in said condenser region with a taper, whereby said condensing surface gradually decreases in diameter in a direction away from said reservoir, said condensing surface being curved in axial cross section to provide means for causing generally uniform pumping acceleration along the length of said surface, external cooling means for continually removing heat from said condenser region to condense the vapors contacting said condensing surface and to cause heat transfer to the heat sink, and means for rotating said heat pipe about said axis at a velocity such that the component of centrifugal acceleration in an axial direction parallel to the tapered condensing surface at essentially any location thereupon is greater than 1G and the condensate formed on said condensing surface is rapidly forced off of said condensing surface to keep it relatively free of liquid at any attitude.

Claim 10

A multiple-stage fluid-pressure energy-transferring device according to claim 5 wherein said one end of said heat pipe has a tapered external surface of revolution concentric to said tapered interior condensing surface, said external cooling means comprises a non-rotatable jacket enclosing said condenser region and containing an annular body of cooling liquid surrounding and contacting said tapered external surface, and means are provided for passing a cooling liquid through said jacket.