US3904312A — Radial flow compressors

Claim 1

Independent Claim 328 words

A supersonic radial flow, fluid compressor comprising an impeller having a hub, a shroud surrounding said hub and defining, in combination with said hub, an annular flow path of progressively reduced area, which curves outwardly to a circumferential discharge exit between the exit planes of the hub and shroud, which planes are generally normal to the impeller axis, said impeller having blades projecting from the hub into close proximity with said shroud, for propelling fluid along said flow path and discharging same tangentially from said exit at supersonic velocity a diffuser encircling said impeller discharge exit and having side walls generally aligned with the planes of said hub and shroud and further including vanes, disposed between said side walls, which define, in combination therewith, a plurality of diffusion channels extending generally tangentially of said discharge exit, each of said vanes including a wedge portion having a leading edge facing said discharge exit and spaced therefrom to define the outer bounds of a vaneless region of the diffuser, said wedge portion having, on one side, a suction surface facing the impeller axis and a pressure surface on the opposite side thereof, the suction and pressure surfaces of adjacent vanes extending downstream to the throat section of the diffusion channel, characterized in that in each vane the pressure surface is disposed in a plane parallel to the impellor axis, and the edge portions of the suction surface, marginally downstream of said leading edge, are more tangential, relative to a radial plane from the impeller axis thereat, at the shroud side of the vane than at the hub side thereof and further that said marginal suction surface portions are generally parallel with the absolute flow angle of the impeller discharge fluid from the hub side to the shroud side of the discharge exit, whereby, across the width of the vane leading edge, there is an essentially uniform angle of incidence, approximating 0*, of the impeller discharge air on the suction surface.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 328 words

A supersonic radial flow, fluid compressor comprising an impeller having a hub, a shroud surrounding said hub and defining, in combination with said hub, an annular flow path of progressively reduced area, which curves outwardly to a circumferential discharge exit between the exit planes of the hub and shroud, which planes are generally normal to the impeller axis, said impeller having blades projecting from the hub into close proximity with said shroud, for propelling fluid along said flow path and discharging same tangentially from said exit at supersonic velocity a diffuser encircling said impeller discharge exit and having side walls generally aligned with the planes of said hub and shroud and further including vanes, disposed between said side walls, which define, in combination therewith, a plurality of diffusion channels extending generally tangentially of said discharge exit, each of said vanes including a wedge portion having a leading edge facing said discharge exit and spaced therefrom to define the outer bounds of a vaneless region of the diffuser, said wedge portion having, on one side, a suction surface facing the impeller axis and a pressure surface on the opposite side thereof, the suction and pressure surfaces of adjacent vanes extending downstream to the throat section of the diffusion channel, characterized in that in each vane the pressure surface is disposed in a plane parallel to the impellor axis, and the edge portions of the suction surface, marginally downstream of said leading edge, are more tangential, relative to a radial plane from the impeller axis thereat, at the shroud side of the vane than at the hub side thereof and further that said marginal suction surface portions are generally parallel with the absolute flow angle of the impeller discharge fluid from the hub side to the shroud side of the discharge exit, whereby, across the width of the vane leading edge, there is an essentially uniform angle of incidence, approximating 0*, of the impeller discharge air on the suction surface.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 35 words

A radial flow, fluid compressor as in claim 1 wherein: the leading edge of each vane is angled relative to the impeller axis and thus swept with respect to the impeller discharge air impinging thereon.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 173 words

A radial flow, fluid compressor as in claim 1 wherein: the pressure surface of each vane is parallel to the suction surface of the adjacent vane at the throat section of the diffusion channel, the said marginal portions of each vane are disposed in a plane intersecting the plane of the suction surface at said throat section, at an intermediate, nominal point across the discharge exit flow path, the plane of said marginal surface portions further being angled relative to the impeller axis to dispose the suction surface nearer the impeller axis at the shroud side of the discharge air flow path than at the hub side thereof, whereby each leading edge is swept from a point nearer the impeller exit, at the shroud side, to a more remote point at the hub side, and the included wedge angle at the hub side is less than that at the shroud side and further wherein: the suction surfaces marginally of each leading edge are smoothly faired into the plane of the downstream throat section.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 40 words

A radial flow, fluid compressor as in claim 3 wherein: the flow path length of the vaneless region is approximately 5% of the total length of the flow path length through the diffuser to the exit of a diffusion channel.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 55 words

A radial flow, fluid compressor as in claim 4 wherein: said vanes are formed integrally with a frame member which also defines the hub side wall of the diffusion channels, and radii are formed at the juncture of the suction surfaces and the said rear wall, which progressively become more sharp toward each throat section.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1978-09-08	1979-03-10	1979-09-09	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1982-09-08	1983-03-10	1983-09-09	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1986-09-08	1987-03-10	1987-09-09	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Radial flow compressors

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