Shaftless turbine
First Claim
1. A turbine including a casing and a rotor journalled for rotation in said casing, said rotor being circular and fitted within the casing to leave a plenum around the outer rotor circumference, fluid entry means into said plenum and nozzle means located adjacent said outer circumference, said rotor comprising a pack of spaced-apart discs that define fluid entry means in said circumference, central exhaust holes in said discs that form unobstructed fluid exhaust exits at opposite sides of said rotor, said pack comprising two portions that are separated by a central solid disc that divides the flowing fluid into two oppositely flowing exhaust streams, said pack portions being connected to respective drive shafts at opposite sides of said casing.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A turbine has a disc pack rotor with a central aperture-free or solid disc that divides the pack into two equal portions. The annular discs of each portion have aligned, central and unobstructed exhaust openings and the outer end disc of each portion is a support member having a webbed hub that is attached to a respective drive shaft journalled in the turbine casing. A stationary circular nozzle assembly closely surrounds the outer circumference of the disc pack to form one or more convergent-divergent nozzles that guide motivating fluid from an outer casing plenum into spaces between neighboring discs. The discs are separated from one another and interconnected by fences that guide the motivating fluid to the exhaust openings in each pack portion. Thus, fluid enters the pack circumference and is split into two parts by the center disc to exhaust in relatively opposite directions. The shaft for each pack portion preferably terminates at the outer support disc to form a two-direction "shaftless" rotor.
48 Citations
10 Claims
- 1. A turbine including a casing and a rotor journalled for rotation in said casing, said rotor being circular and fitted within the casing to leave a plenum around the outer rotor circumference, fluid entry means into said plenum and nozzle means located adjacent said outer circumference, said rotor comprising a pack of spaced-apart discs that define fluid entry means in said circumference, central exhaust holes in said discs that form unobstructed fluid exhaust exits at opposite sides of said rotor, said pack comprising two portions that are separated by a central solid disc that divides the flowing fluid into two oppositely flowing exhaust streams, said pack portions being connected to respective drive shafts at opposite sides of said casing.
- 7. A turbine including a casing and a rotor journalled for rotation in said casing, said rotor being circular and fitted within the casing to leave a plenum around the outer rotor circumference, fluid entry means into said plenum and nozzle means located adjacent said outer circumference, said rotor comprising a pack of spaced-apart discs that define fluid entry means in said circumference, central exhaust holes in said discs that form unobstructed fluid exhaust exits at opposite sides of said rotor, said pack comprising two portions that are separated by an intervening member that divides the flowing fluid into two oppositely flowing exhaust streams, said pack portions having unobstructed centers and the outer sides of the pack portions being connected to respective drive shafts located at opposite sides of said casing.
Specification