Radial flow rotor with inserts and turbine utilizing the same

Claim 1

A rotor for high temperature and high speed applications comprising: a rotatable hub having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots; a plurality of blades, each of said blades having a mounting portion, said mounting portions being received in said slots, respectively, whereby the blades rotate with the hub, said blades being adapted to have high-temperature gases pass thereover; a shroud coupled to the hub and rotatable therewith, said shroud extending over said slots and said mounting portions whereby centrifugal force resulting from the mass of the shroud places the shroud in hoop tension and centrifugal force resulting from the mass of the blades places local forces on the shroud that tend to locally deform the shroud radially of each of the blades to place the shroud in shear; said shroud being constructed of a composite material arranged so that the shroud is stronger in hoop tension than in said shear; means responsive to rotation of the hub for applying a centrifugal force to the shroud between said blades to cause the shroud to be more evenly deformed to thereby reduce said shear; and each of said blades having a radial segment extending generally radially outwardly, said shroud having an inlet segment and an outlet segment on opposite sides of the radial segments of the blades, and a plurality of centrifugal members between the hub and the shroud, some of said members being one one side of said radial segments of said blades and the other of said members being on the other side of said radial segments of said blades, and each of said members being between an adjacent pair of said blades.