Gas turbine engine for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Abstract

To solve such the problem with a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that level flight using a turboprop engine may allow fuel economic level flight but how switching from a vertical takeoff and landing mode to a mode of fuel economic turboprop engine in level flight is the problem.SOLUTION: A gas turbine engine for a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft can use both of the vertical takeoff and landing mode and level flight mode with a fuel economic turboprop engine using a simple mechanism that opens and closes a valve.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, most vertical take-off and landing aircraft use gas turbine engines. Practical examples include the US military's F-35B fighter jet and the US military's V-22 Osprey transport aircraft.

[0003] The problem with conventional vertical take-off and landing aircraft is the high manufacturing costs and the high maintenance and upkeep costs. For example, helicopters are a representative example of aircraft that can take off and land vertically, but they have poor fuel economy during horizontal flight. The best way to achieve fuel-efficient horizontal flight is to use a turboprop engine. Therefore, adding vertical take-off and landing capabilities to turboprop engines is an effective solution for improving fuel economy. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 11-321794 Public Relations Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The problem with conventional vertical take-off and landing aircraft is the high manufacturing costs and the high maintenance and upkeep costs. For example, helicopters are a representative example of aircraft that can take off and land vertically, but they have poor fuel economy during horizontal flight. The best way to achieve fuel-efficient horizontal flight is to use a turboprop engine. Therefore, adding vertical take-off and landing capabilities to turboprop engines is an effective solution for improving fuel economy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention is characterized by low manufacturing costs, low maintenance and upkeep costs, and few malfunctions. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention is low cost, has few malfunctions, is lightweight and has a simple mechanism, is capable of taking off and landing vertically, and can be switched to a fuel-efficient turboprop engine during horizontal flight. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft equipped with a gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 1). [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 1) taken along the line AA in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 1) taken along the line BB in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a plan view of an airframe equipped with a gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 2). [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

[0009] During horizontal flight, the butterfly valve 72 is closed and the butterfly valve 71 is open, so that the high-pressure gas drives the forward propeller driving turbine 70 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 67 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention relates to a gas turbine engine used in a vertical / short take-off and landing aircraft. To put it simply, the present invention is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft having a turboprop engine. In other words, the present invention is a turboprop engine to which a vertical take-off and landing function has been added. The present invention is applicable not only to turboprop engines, but also to ducted fan engines and turbofan engines.

[0011] Many vertical take-off and landing aircraft are compatible with not only vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) but also short take-off and landing (STOL), and the vertical / short take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention is no exception. Such aircraft are called vertical / short take-off and landing aircraft.

[0012] Many vertical take-off and landing aircraft, such as the US military's vertical take-off and landing fighter F-35B and the US military's V-22 Osprey transport aircraft, are vectored thrust aircraft. Vectored thrust aircraft use thrust to directly lift the aircraft during take-off and landing, and then switch thrust to the direction of travel during horizontal flight.

[0013] In many cases, the thrust direction of this type of aircraft is changed by rotating the propeller, rotor, or jet thrust by about 90 degrees. The U.S. military's F-35B fighter jet also bends its exhaust duct by about 90 degrees. The U.S. military's V-22 Osprey transport aircraft changes the angle of its propeller rotor.

[0014] The F-35B is a short take-off, vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft, and is equipped with a lift fan for vertical ascent in the forward position. The lift fan is driven by an extension shaft from the F-35B's turbofan engine and through a clutch attached to the extension shaft.

[0015] In the vertical / short take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention, in which vertical take-off and landing capabilities are added to a turboprop engine, driving force can be transmitted or not transmitted to the propulsion propeller, but this is not done by a clutch, and therefore no clutch is required, resulting in fewer breakdowns, lighter weight, and less cost.

[0016] The engine for vertical / short take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention, which adds vertical take-off and landing capabilities to a turboprop engine, has a two-shaft configuration in which the compressor drive turbine shaft and the propeller drive turbine shaft are not shared, as is the case with many turboprop engines.

[0017] Therefore, it is possible to rotate the propeller without being affected by the rotational speed of the compressor driving turbine, and each turbine shaft can rotate at its optimal rotation speed. EXAMPLES

[0018] Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft equipped with a gas turbine engine for vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention (embodiment 1), which flies horizontally using the thrust of a propeller 5 attached to the center fuselage, and takes off and lands vertically using the lift of four propellers for vertical take-off and landing. 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the figure represent the rotating disks of the propellers for vertical take-off and landing.

[0019] Inside the main wing 7 attached to the center fuselage, there is a high-pressure piping 6 within the main wing, and high-pressure gas flows through this high-pressure piping 6. Vertical takeoff and landing are performed using the energy of the high-pressure gas. The center fuselage has a horizontal stabilizer 8.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 1) taken along the line AA in Fig. 1. During vertical take-off and landing, air entering through an air intake 20 is compressed by a compressor 21, fuel is injected into a combustion chamber 19 and combusted, driving a compressor-driving turbine 18, passing through an open butterfly valve 14, and further through an open butterfly valve 12, before entering a high-pressure pipe inside the main wing through an opening 11 which sends high-pressure gas to the high-pressure pipe inside the main wing, which is an entrance to the high-pressure pipe inside the main wing. At this time, a butterfly valve 15 is closed.

[0021] As can be seen from Figure 2, in this embodiment, two gas turbine engines are installed, one on top and one on the bottom. The reason for installing two engines is that even if one engine fails, the remaining engine can continue flying safely.

[0022] If the engine mounted at the top of FIG. 2 were to fail, the butterfly valve 13 would close, thereby stopping high pressure gas from flowing back towards the failed engine.

[0023] When the aircraft moves to horizontal flight after vertical ascent, butterfly valve 12 is closed and butterfly valve 15, which had been closed until then, is opened. As a result, the high-pressure gas drives propeller-driving turbine 16 and is exhausted to the outside air from exhaust port 10.

[0024] At this time, the vertical take-off and landing gas turbine engine of the present invention functions as a turboprop engine. In Fig. 2, the exhaust port 10 opens to the top, but as is the case with many other turboprop engines, the exhaust gas may be distributed to both sides of the engine and discharged toward the rear.

[0025] The rotation speed of the propeller drive turbine shaft 17 is reduced by the reduction gear 9 to rotate the propeller 5.

[0026] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention (embodiment 1) taken along the line BB in Fig. 1. During vertical take-off and landing, gas that has passed through the high-pressure piping in the main wing comes out from the high-pressure gas outlet 29 that flows in the high-pressure piping in the main wing, and the blades 22, 23 of the propeller for vertical take-off and landing are driven by the energy of the high-pressure gas.

[0027] Specifically, the high-pressure gas rotates the vertical take-off and landing propeller drive turbine 27, which in turn rotates the vertical take-off and landing propeller drive turbine shaft 26, which in turn rotates the electric motor-generator 24, the rotation speed of which is reduced by the reduction gear 25, and the blades 22 of the vertical take-off and landing propeller are driven.

[0028] During vertical takeoff and landing, the rotation speed of the four vertical takeoff and landing propellers must be delicately adjusted to maintain the stability of the aircraft, and this is performed by the motor-generator 24. That is, when it is necessary to increase the propeller rotation speed, the motor-generator 24 functions as an electric motor to increase the rotation speed, and conversely, when it is necessary to decrease the propeller rotation speed, the motor-generator 24 functions as a generator to decrease the rotation speed. EXAMPLES

[0029] 4 is a plan view of an aircraft equipped with a gas turbine engine for a vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to the present invention (embodiment 2). In embodiment 1, the two engines are mounted in the center fuselage, but in embodiment 2, the two engines are mounted one on each of the left and right main wings. The aircraft flies horizontally using the thrust of two propellers 54, 55, and during vertical take-off and landing, the aircraft takes off and lands vertically using the lift of four propellers for vertical take-off and landing.

[0030] In the figure, 50, 51, 52, and 53 represent the rotating disks of the propellers for vertical takeoff and landing. The engines mounted on the left and right main wings are connected by high-pressure piping 57 inside the main wing 56. The center fuselage has a horizontal stabilizer 58.

[0031] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along CC in Figure 4. During vertical takeoff and landing, air entering through air intake 77 is compressed by compressor 78, combusted in combustion chamber 76, rotates compressor-driving turbine 75, passes through butterfly valve 74, passes through butterfly valve 72, drives vertical takeoff and landing propeller-driving turbine 68, and is exhausted from exhaust port 65. At this time, butterfly valve 71 is closed.

[0032] During horizontal flight, the butterfly valve 72 is closed and the butterfly valve 71 is open, so that the high-pressure gas drives the forward propeller driving turbine 70 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 67 .

[0033] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a gas turbine engine for vertical take-off and landing mounted on the left wing. If this gas turbine engine on the left wing were to fail, the butterfly valve 74 could be closed to stop the backflow of high-pressure gas to the failed engine.

[0034] High-pressure gas is ejected from a high-pressure gas inlet / outlet 73 that flows through the high-pressure piping inside the main wing, and the energy of the high-pressure gas can be used to rotate the propulsion propeller 55 and the vertical takeoff and landing propellers 60 and 61.

[0035] Instead of using a vertical take-off and landing propeller drive turbine to rotate the vertical take-off and landing propeller, a tip jet system may be used. In that case, the vertical take-off and landing propeller drive turbine and reduction gear are not required. Since there are four vertical take-off and landing propellers, a vertical take-off and landing aircraft with these four vertical take-off and landing propellers can fly stably, just as a drone with four vertical take-off and landing propellers can fly stably. The number of vertical take-off and landing propellers is not limited to four, and can be increased. When the aircraft moves to horizontal flight, the vertical take-off and landing propellers stop rotating, and the vertical take-off and landing propellers are stopped in a state of low air resistance. For this reason, it is desirable for the vertical take-off and landing propeller to have two blades. In other words, a vertical take-off and landing propeller shaped like a bamboo-copter is desirable. This is because if the longitudinal direction of the blades of a vertical take-off and landing propeller is parallel to the direction of flight, the frontal projection area is minimized, allowing the aircraft to fly with less air resistance. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The gas turbine engine for vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention can be used in fields that have been used by drones and helicopters up until now. The gas turbine engine for vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the present invention can travel longer distances at higher speeds and with better fuel economy than helicopters. Furthermore, since the structure is simpler than that of a helicopter, there are fewer breakdowns. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 2. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 3. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 4. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 5. Propulsion propeller 6. High pressure piping inside the main wing 7. Main Wing 8.Horizontal stabilizer 9.Reducer 10. Exhaust port 11. Opening for sending high-pressure gas to the high-pressure piping inside the main wing 12.Butterfly valve 13.Butterfly valve 14.Butterfly valve 15.Butterfly valve 16. Turbine for driving propellers for propulsion 17. Turbine shaft for driving propellers 18. Compressor drive turbine 19. Combustion chamber 20.Air intake 21. Compressor 22. Vertical take-off and landing propeller blades 23. Vertical take-off and landing propeller blades 24. Motor generator 25.Reducer 26. Turbine shaft for driving propellers for vertical take-off and landing 27. Turbine for driving propellers for vertical take-off and landing 28. Exhaust vent 29. Outlet for high-pressure gas flowing through high-pressure piping inside the main wing 50. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 51. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 52. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 53. Rotating disk of propeller for vertical take-off and landing 54. Propulsion propeller 55. Propulsion propeller 56. Main Wing 57. High pressure piping inside the wing 58.Horizontal stabilizer 60. Vertical take-off and landing propeller blades 61. Vertical take-off and landing propeller blades 62.Reducer 63. Motor generator 64. Turbine shaft for driving vertical take-off and landing propellers 65. Exhaust vent 66.Reducer 67. Exhaust vent 68. Turbine for driving propellers for vertical take-off and landing 69. Turbine shaft for driving propellers 70. Turbine for driving propellers for propulsion 71.Butterfly valve 72.Butterfly valve 73. Inlet and outlet of high-pressure gas flowing through high-pressure piping inside the main wing 74.Butterfly valve 75. Compressor drive turbine 76. Combustion chamber 77. Air intake 78. Compressor

Claims

1. A gas turbine engine characterized in that a branch pipe is installed between a compressor driving turbine and a free turbine, or a branch pipe is provided to branch gas that has passed through the free turbine, and a valve is attached to the branch pipe.

2. 2. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, further comprising a branch pipe for branching the high pressure gas that has passed through the compressor driving turbine, the high pressure gas passing through the branch pipe, and the energy of the high pressure gas being used to drive a propeller for vertical take-off and landing.

3. 3. The gas turbine engine according to claim 2, wherein the branch pipe through which the high pressure gas passes passes through the inside of a blade.

4. 3. The gas turbine engine according to claim 2, wherein the speed of the propeller for vertical take-off and landing is adjusted by a motor-generator.

5. 3. The gas turbine engine according to claim 2, wherein the propeller for vertical take-off and landing is driven by a tip jet.

6. 3. The gas turbine engine of claim 2, wherein high pressure gas is required to rotate a turbine which drives a propulsion propeller, and the supply or cut-off of the high pressure gas is determined by opening and closing a valve.

7. 3. The gas turbine engine of claim 2, wherein high pressure gas is required to drive the turbine that drives the propeller for vertical take-off and landing or the tip jet, and the supply or cut-off of the high pressure gas is determined by opening and closing a valve.

Images