High temperature ceramic rotary turbomachinery

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to rotary turbomachinery methods and integrated processes requiring high-energy efficiency. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to rim-rotor configurations enabling long-term survival under conditions of either high temperature or oxidation resistance or saturated fluid abrasion.

1 . A rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly comprising:
 a hub adapted to be mounted or connected to a rotating shaft;   a rim-rotor; and   a plurality of blades with each of the plurality of blades contacting the rim-rotor, each of the plurality of blades operatively connected to the hub by a sliding contact with the hub allowing at least a radial motion between the blades and the hub to compensate for rim-rotor radial deformation under centrifugal loads;   wherein the blades are ceramic blades.   
     
     
         2 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the blades are axial-flow blades with the fluid flow entering generally axially and leaving generally axially. 
     
     
         3 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the blades are radial-flow blades, in which the fluid flow enters generally radially and leaves generally axially on a same side as the fluid flow has entered. 
     
     
         4 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the fluid flow enters generally radially at an angle ranging between 5 and 45 degrees inclusively from a radial plane of the rim-rotor. 
     
     
         5 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sliding contact is defined by complementary sliding surfaces between the hub and the blades, wherein the complementary sliding surfaces are at an angle ranging between 15 to 75 degrees inclusively from a rotational axis in a radial-axial plane. 
     
     
         6 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the complementary sliding surfaces are at an angle of 35 degrees from the rotational axis in the radial-axial plane. 
     
     
         7 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least two blades are joined together into a single part having a common inner shroud and a common root for at least two airfoils. 
     
     
         8 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a shape of the blade roots complementarily matches a shape of hub surfaces to create a complementary male-female engagement creating the sliding contact. 
     
     
         9 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 8  wherein the shape of the blade roots shape is one of a rectangle, an ellipse, a dovetail, and a fir-tree. 
     
     
         10 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one spring to bias the plurality of the blades in sliding contact with the hub against the rim-rotor. 
     
     
         11 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one spring applies at least one contact force on blades at their roots. 
     
     
         12 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one spring applies a force on the blades that is generally perpendicular to the rotational axis, the at least one spring being radially under each of the blades. 
     
     
         13 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein contact forces are applied on blades at their tips by the at least one spring. 
     
     
         14 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one spring includes a plurality springs each applying an independent biasing force on a respective one of the blades. 
     
     
         15 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one spring is at least one of a leaf spring, a disc spring, a coil spring, a wounded spring, an air spring, and a fingered dome spring. 
     
     
         16 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising an insulation material between the at least one spring and the blades. 
     
     
         17 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the insulation material is at one of a ceramic coating, a low conductivity ceramic pad or a ceramic ball. 
     
     
         18 . The rim-rotor turbine rotating assembly of  claim 10 , wherein axial contact forces on the blades are provided by using a radial centrifugal force on a spring head converted to an axial force by locating the spring head further away from the hub than a spring attachment point on the shaft. 
     
     
         19 . A rotary turbomachine comprised of a rim-rotor having a rim-rotor radius, a blade mounting assembly and a shaft in the radial-axial plane, whereby the rim-rotor has a radial deformation, whereby the blade mounting assembly is comprised of at least two blades, at least two blade roots and a filled hub, whereby the blade mounting assembly enables relative motion between the at least two blade roots and the filled hub during operation with a radial displacement of the at least two blades by an amount from 1 micron to the radial deformation of the rim-rotor. 
     
     
         20 . The rotary turbomachine according to  claim 19  whereby the radial displacement of the at least two blades is from 1 micron to 2% of an inner radius of the rim-rotor and from 10 to 80 times larger than the radial displacement of the filled hub, and utilizes a force on the at least two blade roots that creates a friction to form the blade mounting assembly with at least 5 times more rigidity than the rigidity of the shaft in the radial-axial plane. 
     
     
         21 .- 44 . (canceled)