Gas turbine engines with toroidal combustors

Claim 1

A gas turbine engine comprising, in series flow relationship, A compressor, including a rotor, for pressurizing an annular stream of air and imparting thereto a tangential flow vector component, a combustor having a toroidal combustion chamber, said chamber being generally a circular section rotated about the rotor axis, said combustor comprising a liner which is essentially of circular cross section, the inner surface of which defines the outer bounds of the combustion chamber, said engine including a casing, a portion of which is also of toroidal configuration and outwardly spaced from said liner and defining in combination therewith the compressed air flow path from the compressor to the combustion chamber, the casing and liner extending from their upstream ends, at the compressor discharge, to their downstream ends which are spaced inwardly from the inner surface of the liner, means for introducing the compressed air into the combustion chamber with its tangential flow vector essentially unmodified to thereby generate an annular vortex within said chamber and provide primary combustion air, the downstream terminal ends of the liner and casing defining an annular, secondary inlet for the remainder of the compressed air, said secondary air inlet being directed tangentially of the minor axis of the toroidal combustion chamber to thereby facilitate the generation of an annular vortex therein, said combustor further comprising means for inroducing fuel into said vortex and maintaining combustion thereof in an endless combustion path to thereby generate a high energy hot gas stream, the outer surface of the downstream end of the casing, which is spaced inwardly from the inner surface of said combustor liner, defining an annular combustion chamber discharge exit tangentially of the minor axis of the chamber, said combustion chamber discharge exit being annularly coextensive with the secondary air inlet, whereby the hot gas stream is discharged from the combustion chamber with a substantial tangential component derived from the compressor and in general flow opposition to the secondary air introduced through the secondary air inlet, which is on the opposite side of the downstream end of said casing, and a turbine having a rotor driven by the hot gas stream discharged from the combustion chamber exit and coupled to the compressor rotor to drive the latter.