GAS TURBINE APPARATUS WITH COUNTER-ROTATING BLADES

Abstract

A gas turbine apparatus has a main shaft, a first plurality of blades mounted to the main shaft, a second plurality of blades each interposed between blades of the first plurality of blades, a barrel affixed to the second set of blades, a fuel line opening to an interior of the barrel, and an igniter cooperative with the interior of the barrel and adapted to selectively ignite fuel in the barrel. The first plurality of blades rotate in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of the second plurality of blades. The fuel line passes a fuel into the interior of the barrel.

Claims

1. A gas turbine apparatus comprising: a main shaft; a first plurality of blades mounted to said main shaft, said first plurality of blades being in spaced relation to each other along said main shaft; a second plurality of blades each be interposed between adjacent blades of said first plurality of blades; a barrel affixed to said second plurality of blades, said barrel rotatable in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of said main shaft; a fuel line opening to an interior of said barrel, said fuel line adapted to pass a fuel into the interior of said barrel; and an igniter cooperative with the interior of said barrel and adapted to selectively ignite the fuel in said barrel.

2. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, said main shaft having an interior passageway, said fuel line extending through said interior passageway.

3. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 2, said fuel line having an end extending outwardly of said main shaft, the end of said fuel line adapted to introduce the fuel into the interior of said barrel.

4. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 3, the end of said fuel line comprising a first end extending outwardly of one side of said main shaft and a second end extending outwardly of an opposite end of said main shaft.

5. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, said igniter extending through a wall of said barrel so as to have an ignition end in the interior of said barrel.

6. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, said igniter extending through or along said main shaft so as to have an ignition end in the interior of said barrel.

7. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a frame supporting said main shaft above an underlying surface, said frame having a first set of bearings receiving a first portion of said main shaft at a location on one side of said first plurality of blades and a second set of bearings receiving a second portion of said shaft on an opposite side of said second plurality of blades.

8. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a first load connected to said main shaft such that a rotation of said main shaft drives said first load.

9. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 8, further comprising: a second load connected to said barrel such that a rotation of said barrel drives said second load.

10. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a power supply connected to said igniter so as to provide power to ignite said igniter.

11. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 1, said first plurality of blades comprising: an upstream set of blades affixed to said main shaft; and a downstream set of blades affixed to said main shaft in spaced relation to said upstream set of blades.

12. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 11, said igniter positioned in a space between said upstream set of blades and said downstream set of blades.

13. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 12, said fuel line opening to the space between said upstream set of blades and said downstream set of blades.

14. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 13, said second plurality of blades comprising: an upstream set of blades interposed between blades of said upstream set of blades of said first plurality of blades; and a downstream set of blades interposed between blades of said downstream set of blades of said first plurality of blades.

15. A gas turbine apparatus comprising: a main shaft; a first plurality of blades mounted to said main shaft, said first plurality blades being in spaced relation to each other along said main shaft; a second plurality of blades each interposed between adjacent blades of said first plurality of blades; a barrel affixed to said second plurality of blades, said second plurality of blades being rotatable in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of said first plurality of blades; a fuel line opening to an interior of said barrel, said fuel line adapted to pass a fuel into the interior of said barrel; and an igniter cooperative with the interior of said barrel and adapted to selectively ignite the fuel in said barrel.

16. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 15, said first plurality of blades comprising: an upstream set of blades affixed to said main shaft; and a downstream set of blades affixed to said main shaft in spaced relation to said upstream set of blades.

17. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 16, said igniter positioned in a space between said upstream set of blades and said downstream set of blades.

18. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 17, said fuel line opening in the space between said upstream set of blades of said downstream set of blades.

19. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 18, said second plurality of blades comprising: an upstream set of blades interposed between blades of said upstream set of blades of said first plurality of blades; and a downstream set of blades interposed between blades of said downstream set of blades of said first plurality of blades.

20. The gas turbine apparatus of claim 15, said main shaft having an interior passageway, said fuel line extending through the interior passageway, said fuel line having an end extending outwardly of said main shaft, the end of said fuel line being adapted to introduce fuel into the interior of said barrel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a turbine with counter-rotating blades of an embodiment of the prior art.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a turbine with counter-rotating blades of the prior art.

[0045] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the gas turbine apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 4 is an end view of the gas turbine apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047] Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown the gas turbine apparatus 70 in accordance with the present invention. The gas turbine apparatus 70 includes a main shaft 72, a plurality of blades 74 mounted to the main shaft 72, a second plurality of blades 74 each interposed between adjacent blades of the second plurality of blades 76. The second plurality of blades are each interposed between adjacent blades of the first plurality of blades 74. A barrel 78 is affixed to the second plurality of blades 76. A fuel line 80 has an end 82 opening to the interior of the barrel 78. An igniter 84 is cooperative with the interior of the barrel 78 and is adapted to selectively ignite a fuel as released or introduced by the fuel line 80 into the barrel 78. The barrel 78 rotates in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft 72 or, in other words, the first set of blades 74 rotates in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the second set of blades 76.

[0048] As can be seen in FIG. 3, there is an upstream set of blades 86 and a downstream set of blades 88 with a space 90 therebetween. The end 82 of the fuel line 80 will open to the space 90. The space 90 is the combustion chamber of the gas turbine apparatus 70. The igniter 84 is located in space 90.

[0049] The frame 90 supports the main shaft 72 and also can support the barrel 78. The main shaft 72 has a first set of bearings 92 that receive a portion of the main shaft 72 on the side of the upstream set of blades 86. There is another set of bearings 94 that is fitted to the frame 90 and located on the downstream side of the downstream set of blades 88. The barrel 78 is supported by an arm 96. It can be seen that arm 96 extends outwardly so as to have suitable bearings 98 supporting the barrel 78 in the desired position. Other supports can also be used so as to rotatably support the barrel 78.

[0050] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, can be seen that the fuel line 80 extends through an interior passageway 100 within the main shaft 72. In one embodiment the present invention, there is a single and 82 which serves to release fuel into the space 90. However, as illustrated in FIG. 3, there is another end 102 that also releases fuel into the space 90. End 82 is on opposite side of the main shaft 72 from the end 102. This Y-shaped channel 104 serves to distribute fuel more evenly within the space 90. Since the shaft 72 will be rapidly spinning, the fuel is rapidly dispersed and aerosolized in the space 90 prior to ignition by the igniter 84.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows the igniters 84 extending through a wall of the barrel 78. Lines 106 can connect to a power supply so that power is delivered to the igniters 84 as desired. An alternative embodiment of the igniter is also shown by igniters 110. Igniters 110 can extend through the main shaft 72 or on the exterior of the main shaft 72. Ultimately, igniters 110 will have an end 112 located in space 90. As such, in any embodiment, the igniters are used to properly ignite the gaseous fuel for the purposes of operating the gas turbine 70 of the present invention.

[0052] Since it is desirable to extract work from the gas turbine 70, the main shaft 72 can have its end 112 connected to a driven load (such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 herein). Similarly, the driven barrel 78 can be connected to a load 114 such that the rotational motion of the barrel 78 drives the load 114. The loads can be of various types, such as described hereinbefore.

[0053] The turbine apparatus 70 of the present invention serves to free those blades that would be fixed to a stationary member of a conventional gas turbine apparatus. As such, these free blades are available to produce work. This results in a rotation in an opposite direction to the primary blades. The energy that would be captured by attaching blades to a segment or to the barrel which would be allowed to move. As such, previously lost energy is now captured. The barrels can be attached such that the energy can be collected in a manner that can be harnessed. As such the barrel 78, as shown in FIG. 3, can be made up of a plurality of separate segments that are interconnected together. The resulting energy can be used to power other components or directed back to the primary-driven equipment.

[0054] FIG. 4 is an end view of the gas turbine apparatus 70 of the present invention. In particular, the barrel 78 is illustrated as of a circular configuration. The fuel line 80 will extend through the interior of the main shaft 72 so as to supply fuel to the space between the upstream and downstream sets of blades. An inlet 120 can be used as connect to a supply of fuel to be delivered into the interior of the gas turbine apparatus 70.

[0055] The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the illustrated construction can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.