Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
169 words
A gas-side bypass flow system for an air recuperator of a gas turbine engine, said gas turbine engine comprising a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section followed by a free wheeling power turbine, said gas turbine engine having an exhaust gas emitting end, said recuperator being located in a path of said exhaust gas and comprising a pair of heat exchangers in parallel spaced relationship, a bypass duct being located between said heat exchangers and having longitudinal sides and ends, an inlet opening and an outlet opening for said bypass duct, means for opening and closing said bypass duct, and a flow divider associated with each of said bypass duct longitudinal sides for providing said inlet opening of said bypass duct with an orifice flow coefficient of about 0.99, wherein each of said flow dividers comprises an extension of its respective bypass duct longitudinal wall upstream of the flow of said exhaust gas by a distance at least equivalent to the width of said bypass duct.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
169 words
A gas-side bypass flow system for an air recuperator of a gas turbine engine, said gas turbine engine comprising a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section followed by a free wheeling power turbine, said gas turbine engine having an exhaust gas emitting end, said recuperator being located in a path of said exhaust gas and comprising a pair of heat exchangers in parallel spaced relationship, a bypass duct being located between said heat exchangers and having longitudinal sides and ends, an inlet opening and an outlet opening for said bypass duct, means for opening and closing said bypass duct, and a flow divider associated with each of said bypass duct longitudinal sides for providing said inlet opening of said bypass duct with an orifice flow coefficient of about 0.99, wherein each of said flow dividers comprises an extension of its respective bypass duct longitudinal wall upstream of the flow of said exhaust gas by a distance at least equivalent to the width of said bypass duct.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system claimed in claim 1 including an exhaust box surrounding said exhaust emitting end of said engine, an exhaust stack, said exhaust box having an opening operatively connected to said exhaust stack, said recuperator being located at the juncture of said exhaust box and said exhaust stack.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system claimed in claim 1 wherein said flow divider means have inner facing surfaces configured to provide said bypass duct with a two dimensional bell mouth inlet, and terminate in blunt longitudinal edges facing upstream of said exhaust gases.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system claimed in claim 1 wherein said flow divider means have outer surfaces configured to have a controlled diffusion shape for improved flow field into said heat exchangers when said bypass duct is closed and low pressure loss for exhaust gases entering the recuperator when said bypass duct is both open and closed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
106 words
The system claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for opening and closing said bypass duct comprises a butterfly valve, said butterfly valve comprising an elongated rotatable shaft extending centrally and longitudinally of said bypass duct, planar, diametrically opposed, longitudinally extending vanes being affixed to said shaft, a seal extending laterally from and longitudinally of each of said bypass duct longitudinal sides, said butterfly valve being rotatable between an open position wherein said vanes are substantially parallel to said bypass duct longitudinal sides, and a closed position wherein said vanes are substantially perpendicular to said bypass duct longitudinal sides and are in abutment with said seals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system claimed in claim 1 wherein the effective flow area of said bypass duct is substantially equivalent to its cross-sectional area, whereby to enable minimization of the size of bypass duct while providing substantially 100% bypass of said recuperator heat exchangers.