U.S. patent application number 13/219314 was filed with the patent office on 2011-12-22 for nested core gas turbine engine.
Invention is credited to Sudarshan Paul Dev.
Application Number | 20110309187 13/219314 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22866973 |
Filed Date | 2011-12-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110309187 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dev; Sudarshan Paul |
December 22, 2011 |
NESTED CORE GAS TURBINE ENGINE
Abstract
An aircraft, with the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds,
designed to increase cruise lift/drag ratio, reduce sonic boom and
have greater downward visibility by having an `inverted` nose
profile that has greater inclination of the lower surfaces to the
flight direction than the upper surfaces.
Inventors: |
Dev; Sudarshan Paul;
(Ashburn, VA) |
Family ID: |
22866973 |
Appl. No.: |
13/219314 |
Filed: |
August 26, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12537046 |
Aug 6, 2009 |
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13219314 |
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11682077 |
Mar 5, 2007 |
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12537046 |
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11201441 |
Aug 10, 2005 |
7219490 |
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11682077 |
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10635956 |
Aug 7, 2003 |
6988357 |
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11201441 |
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09947002 |
Sep 5, 2001 |
6647707 |
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10635956 |
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60230891 |
Sep 5, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
244/36 ; 244/119;
244/129.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F05D 2220/327 20130101;
F05D 2220/328 20130101; F05D 2220/324 20130101; F02C 7/10 20130101;
F05D 2220/326 20130101; Y02T 50/60 20130101; F02C 3/064 20130101;
F02C 3/10 20130101; Y02T 50/672 20130101; F02C 3/16 20130101; F23R
3/38 20130101; F02C 3/045 20130101; F02K 3/00 20130101; F05D
2220/325 20130101; F02C 3/067 20130101; F05D 2220/323 20130101;
F05D 2220/80 20130101; F05D 2220/90 20130101; F02K 3/068 20130101;
F02C 3/145 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
244/36 ; 244/119;
244/129.3 |
International
Class: |
B64C 30/00 20060101
B64C030/00; B64C 23/00 20060101 B64C023/00 |
Claims
1. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft having a nose pointing above the fuselage centerline,
such that the tip of the nose is above the fuselage centerline.
2. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft having a nose region configured to have greater
inclination to the flight direction, during supersonic cruising
flight, on its lower surfaces as compared to its upper
surfaces.
3. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft having a nose region configured to have greater
intensity of inclined shock waves, during supersonic cruising
flight, on its lower surfaces as compared to its upper
surfaces.
4. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft having a nose region configured to have greater
static pressure, during supersonic cruising flight, on its lower
surfaces as compared to its upper surfaces.
5. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft deriving net positive lift from the nose region
during supersonic cruise conditions.
6. An aircraft for supersonic operation at least some of the time,
said aircraft having greater cockpit window areas on the lower
surface of the nose rather than the upper surface of the nose.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation from co-pending
application Ser. No. 12/537,045, filed Aug. 6, 2009, which is a
continuation from Ser. No. 11/682,077, filed Mar. 5, 2007, which is
a continuation from application Ser. No. 11/201,441, filed Aug. 10,
2005 which is a continuation from application Ser. No. 10/635,956
filed Aug. 7, 2003, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,357, which is a
continuation from application Ser. No. 09/947,002, filed Sep. 5,
2001, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,707, which claims the benefit
of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/230,891, filed Sep. 5, 2000,
and of which are incorporated by reference herein in their
entireties.
FIELD
[0002] The disclosed embodiments relate to supersonic aircraft.
Previous Developments
[0003] Conventional supersonic aircraft, such as the Concorde, have
a sharp, needle-type, quasi-conical nose, that is designed to
minimize the strength of the shock waves formed when the aircraft
is traveling at supersonic speeds. This nose is generally somewhat
angled down, looking forward from the cockpit, to enable downward
visibility for the pilots. Examined another way, the tip of the
nose, viewed from the side of the profile, is located below the
centerline of the fuselage behind the nose.
[0004] This conventional design of the nose for conventional
supersonic aircraft is not advantageous from the viewpoint of
aerodynamic performance. The quasi-conical nose acts as a
supersonic ramp that compresses oncoming air. Because the ramp is
not axi-symmetric, the ramp has a greater angle to the flight
direction on a part of the surface, such as the upper surface in a
conventional aircraft, and has a smaller angle to the flight
direction on another part of the surface, such as the lower surface
in a conventional aircraft. The intensity of the supersonic shock
waves thus formed along the angled surfaces of the quasi-conical
nose are not symmetric with respect to the flight direction. Parts
of the curved surface of the nose that have a greater angle to the
flight direction have a greater intensity of shock, and other parts
of the curved surface of the nose have a lesser intensity of shock.
It is well known that a greater intensity of shock creates a
greater increase in static pressure of the flow, that is the
pressure normal to the local surface.
[0005] The shockwaves on the nose surfaces also create drag for the
aircraft, due to a combination of pressure drag and increased skin
friction drag.
[0006] In conventional aircraft, with the nose angled down from the
fuselage, the upper part of the nose has the greater intensity of
shock and the greater static pressure, compared to the lower part
of the nose. As a result, the nose experiences a net downward
force.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The foregoing aspects and other features of the exemplary
embodiments are explained in the following description, taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0008] FIGS. 1-1A respectively are a schematic cross-sectional view
and a schematic perspective cut-away view of a gas turbine engine
incorporating features in accordance with a first embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the gas turbine engine in
FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the front section of an
outer casing of the turbine engine in FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 1D is a perspective view of a front rotor of the
turbine engine in FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 1E is a perspective view of a stator section of the
turbine engine in FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 1F is a perspective view of a rear rotor of the turbine
engine in FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 1G is a perspective cut-away view of a rear end portion
of the turbine engine in FIG. 1;
[0015] FIGS. 2A-2B are graphs respectively illustrating
power/weight ratios versus rated power, and specific fuel
consumption (SFC) versus rated power for small engines of the prior
art;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a gas turbine engine in
accordance with a second embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a graph showing variation of ignition delay time
at a number of air temperatures with respect to pressure in
accordance with the prior art;
[0018] FIGS. 5 and 6 are respectively schematic cross-sectional
views of a conventional engine with centrifugal compressors and
wrap-around burners, and a conventional engine with axial
compressors and in-line burners;
[0019] FIGS. 7-10 respectively are schematic cross-sectional views
of a turbo-jet engine, turbo-fan engine, high-bypass ration
turbo-fan engine, and ultra-high bypass ratio turbo-fan engine in
accordance with other embodiments;
[0020] FIGS. 11-12 respectively are schematic cross-sectional views
of the propulsion systems of high speed air vehicles in accordance
with still other embodiments;
[0021] FIGS. 13 and 14-14A respectively are schematic top plan,
elevation, and bottom plan views of an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) in accordance with yet another embodiment;
[0022] FIGS. 14B-14C respectively are schematic side elevation and
rear elevation views of the UAV in FIG. 13 in a first mode of
operation (e.g. cruise mode), and FIGS. 15A-15B respectively are
schematic side elevation and rear elevation views of the UAV in
FIG. 13 in a second mode of operation (e.g. hover mode);
[0023] FIGS. 16-17 are graphs respectively illustrating the
relationship of thrust to engine diameter and engine frontal area
for field engines of the prior art and gas turbine (nested core)
engines according to the exemplary embodiments;
[0024] FIG. 18-19 are graphs respectively illustrating SFC at rated
thrust versus operating pressure ration (OPR), and thrust versus
OPR for field engines of the prior art and gas turbine engines of
the exemplary embodiments;
[0025] FIGS. 20-21 are graphs respectively illustrating SFC at
rated thrust versus rated normal thrust, and length/diameter ratio
versus engine diameter for field engines of the prior art and gas
turbine engines of the exemplary embodiments;
[0026] FIGS. 22-23 are graphs respectively illustrating thrust
versus engine volume and bulk density (engine weight/cylindrical
volume) versus engine diameter for field engines of the prior art
and gas turbine engines of the exemplary embodiments;
[0027] FIGS. 24-25 are graphs respectively illustrating thrust
versus weight, and thrust/weight versus thrust for field engines of
the prior art and gas turbine engines of the exemplary
embodiments;
[0028] FIG. 26 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a gas turbine
engine in accordance with another embodiment, particularly useful
for a larger (scaled-up) engine;
[0029] FIG. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a gas turbine
engine in accordance with yet another embodiment, also particularly
useful for a larger (scaled-up) engine;
[0030] FIG. 28 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a gas turbine
engine in accordance with still another embodiment, also
particularly useful for a larger (scaled-up) engine;
[0031] FIGS. 29-29A are a schematic cross-sectional views of a gas
turbine engine in accordance with still other embodiments;
[0032] FIGS. 30A-30D are respectively schematic front elevation,
plan, rear elevation and side elevation views of a high speed air
vehicle embodiment according to the exemplary embodiments;
[0033] FIGS. 31A-31D are respectively schematic front elevation,
plan, rear elevation and side elevation views of the high speed air
vehicle in FIG. 30A; and
[0034] FIGS. 32A-32D are respectively schematic front elevation,
plan, rear elevation and side elevation views of another high speed
air vehicle embodiment according to the exemplary embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0035] FIGS. 30A-30D, 31A-31D and 32A-32D show examples of
high-speed aircraft embodiments 1000-1000' that use alternative
embodiments of the nested core engines in a lift-fan configuration,
deriving benefit from the short axial length of the nested core
engines. Alternative aircraft embodiments can be made using the
nested core engines in similar aircraft configurations.
[0036] The aircraft 1000, 1000' shown in FIGS. 30-32 has a nose
1010 pointing above the fuselage centerline, such that the tip 1012
of the nose is above the fuselage centerline 1000CL (see FIG.
30D).
[0037] The aircraft shown in FIGS. 30-32 has a nose region 1014
configured to have greater inclination a to the flight direction
(indicated in by arrow V in FIG. 30D, during supersonic cruising
flight, on its lower surfaces 1014L as compared to its upper
surfaces 1014U.
[0038] The aircraft shown in FIGS. 30-32 has a nose region 1014
configured to have greater intensity of inclined shock waves,
during supersonic cruising flight, on its lower surfaces 1014L as
compared to its upper surfaces 1014U.
[0039] The aircraft shown in FIGS. 30-32 has a nose region 1014
configured to have greater static pressure, during supersonic
cruising flight, on its lower surfaces 1014L as compared to its
upper surfaces 1014U.
[0040] The aircraft shown in FIGS. 30-32 is configured to derive
net positive lift (indicated by arrow V in FIG. 30) from the nose
region 1014 during supersonic cruise conditions.
[0041] The aircraft shown in FIGS. 30-32 has greater cockpit window
areas 1014W on the lower surface 1014L of the nose rather than the
upper surface 1014U of the nose 1010.
* * * * *