Slotted bladeless turbine disc

Abstract

A slotted bladeless turbine disc stamped or otherwise formed from a single solid sheet of material with slots formed in the disc to redirect fluid passing through it is disclosed and illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The form of the slots is curved, slanted and aligned at an angle to the plane of the disc and along a radial from the center of rotation of the disc in such a manner as to force fluids passing through the disc to change direction. Reaction forces of the fluid on the many slots in the disc creates a resultant rotational force on the center of rotation of the disc and thus on the rotatable shaft to which the disc is rigidly attached. To form a turbine one or more slotted discs are assembled on a shaft and enclosed in a case.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not applicable STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable. REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX [0003] Not applicable BACKGROUND [0004] 1. Field of the Invention [0005] This invention relates to turbine discs used in rotary mechanisms, such as in steam turbines, gas turbines and jet engines, hydroelectric plants, and in bladed wind turbines. Slotted bladeless discs provide less costly rotor and stator discs than bladed discs or wheels historically used in such turbines. The slotted disc is fabricated from a single blank disk by stamping and forging instead of fabricating and assembling a multitude of individual turbine blades requiring attachments to a central hub [0006] 2. Description of Prior Art [0007] Steam turbines were invented during the late 1800s and early 1900s. One of the first patents for bladed steam turbines is found in U.S. Pat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0049] The shape of the slots in the disc can be varied to accommodate a wide range of requirements to control the flow of steam. A narrower slot will generally result in less steam passing through but at a higher speed than that of a wider slot. A wider slot will allow more steam to pass through at a slower speed. The length of the slot can also be varied to control the amount of steam passing through it. The longer the slot, the more steam will pass through it. It is noted here that if the slot is too wide or too long, steam can pass through the slot without changing direction. If this occurs some rotational forces on the disc are lost and the efficiency of the turbine is reduced.

[0050] The tab in the back of the slot, or lower pressure side of the disc, can be varied in shape and angle from the plane of the disc to control the direction of the steam leaving the tab. The angle of the tab relative to the plane of the disc must always be an acute angle of less than ninety degrees. The shape and position of the tab can vary along the radial of the disc on which it resides in such a manner as to emulate the bent shape of a turbine blade. The strength of the tab can be increased by adding more material to the back of the tab by welding or by other fabrication methods well known to those skilled in the arts of sheet metal fabrication. Tabs can be fabricated separately from the disc and attached to the back of the disc by any means known to those skilled in the art. The preferred embodiment is to fabricate the tabs as part of the original round plate by means of first cutting slits in the disk and then pressing the tab in such a way that it ...

Problems solved by technology

Although small steam and gas turbines do exist, the widespread use of these machines has been greatly prohibited by the cost of bladed turbine discs.

Failures in turbine blades can be catastrophic.

If one blade fails the resulting imbalance causes the whole machine to become u...

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