AIRCRAFT BLEED AIR AND ENGINE STARTER SYSTEMS AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20160369705A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Mackin, Steve G., Foutch, David W., Landre, Eric G.
• Granted Patent: US 10,100,744 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/08 the gas being bled from the gas-turbine compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/27 Fluid drives turbine starters F02C7/277
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

Example bleed air and engine starter systems are described herein that employ a shaft-driven compressor to start an aircraft engine and/or to supply pressurized air to one or more systems of an aircraft. An example compressor includes a housing and an impeller disposed within a cavity of the housing. The impeller is operatively coupled to a drive shaft. The compressor includes a first port in the housing to direct onto the impeller to rotate the impeller when the compressor is operating in a first mode. In the first mode, the impeller is to drive the drive shaft. The compressor also includes a second port in the housing oriented to provide air to the impeller when the impeller is operating in a second mode. In the second mode, the drive shaft is to rotate the impeller to draw the air from the first port and increase a pressure of the air.

Claims

1. A compressor comprising:

a housing;

an impeller disposed within a cavity of the housing, the impeller operatively coupled to a drive shaft;

a first port in the housing to direct air onto the impeller to rotate the impeller when the compressor is operating in a first mode, wherein in the first mode the impeller is to drive the drive shaft; and

a second port in the housing oriented to provide air to the impeller when the impeller is operating in a second mode, wherein in the second mode the drive shaft is to rotate the impeller to draw the air from the first port and increase a pressure of the air.

2. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the impeller has a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first port positioned to direct air onto the impeller in a location between the first end and the second end of the impeller.

3. The compressor of claim 2, wherein the second port is positioned adjacent the first end of the impeller.

4. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the first port includes a plurality of nozzles disposed around the cavity and oriented to direct air onto the impeller.

5. The compressor of claim 4 further including a manifold, the plurality of nozzles fluidly coupled to the manifold.

6. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the second port is aligned with a rotational axis of the impeller.

7. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the impeller is to rotate in a one direction when the compressor is operating in the first mode and the impeller is to rotate in an opposite direction when the compressor is operating in the second mode.

8. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the drive shaft is a drive shaft of an aircraft engine, and wherein the impeller is operatively coupled to the drive shaft of the aircraft engine during the first mode and the second mode.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a compressor having a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet, the compressor operatively coupled to an engine of an aircraft via a drive shaft;

a first conduit to fluidly couple a low-pressure bleed air port from the engine to the compressor inlet;

a second conduit to fluidly couple the compressor outlet to a system of the aircraft to receive pressurized air; and

a third conduit to fluidly couple a high pressure air source to the compressor, wherein the compressor is to be driven by the drive shaft during a first operation, and the compressor is to drive the drive shaft during a second operation.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the third conduit is fluidly coupled to a nozzle disposed within a cavity of the compressor, the nozzle located between the compressor inlet and the compressor outlet.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the compressor includes an impeller, and wherein the impeller is to rotate in one direction during the first operation and in the opposite direction during the second operation.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first operation occurs when the aircraft is operating at cruise and the second operation is an engine startup operation.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 further including a reverse gear operatively coupled between the compressor and the drive shaft, the reverse gear to reverse a direction of rotation supplied to the drive shaft by the compressor during the second operation.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 further including a valve disposed in the third conduit, the valve to be in a closed position during the first operation.

15. A method comprising:

directing high pressure air into a compressor to rotate an impeller in a housing of the compressor during a first operation, the impeller operatively coupled to an aircraft engine via a drive shaft, the compressor having a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet; and

directing low pressure air into the compressor inlet of the compressor during a second operation, the impeller to be driven by the aircraft engine during the second operation to increase a pressure of the low pressure air to a higher pressure at the compressor outlet.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the impeller rotates in one direction during the first operation and in an opposite direction during the second operation.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the compressor includes a plurality of nozzles disposed around the impeller between the compressor inlet and the compressor outlet.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the high pressure air is to be directed through the nozzles and onto blades of the impeller to rotate the impeller during the first operation.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first operation is an engine startup operation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second operation occurs when the engine is operating at a cruise speed.