Improvements in or relating to compressed-air-driven turbines

• Main Authors: BERRIS KENNETH VICTOR WILLIAM, MEREDEW GEORGE CHARLES, SMEDLEY FREDERICK EDWARD SAMUEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 15.06.1955
• Subjects: BLASTING; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS; POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS; WEAPONS

731,672. Gas turbine plant; speed governors; centrifugal pumps. SELF-PRIMING PUMP & ENGINEERING CO., Ltd., and ROLLS-ROYCE; Ltd. Feb. 3, 1953 [Feb. 26, 1952], No. 5076/52. Classes 57, 110 (1) and 110 (3). In an aircraft fuel tank having a fuel pump driven by a compressed air turbine for delivering fuel from the tank, the turbine has a jacket around its casing through which the exhaust air from the turbine passes to a discharge conduit. The turbine rotor 102, 105 is fed with air from the supply pipe 114 through a conduit 112. The air supply is controlled by a governor as described in Specification 731,671, or as shown in which a governor valve 120 co-operating with inlet ports 121 is controlled by centrifugal weights 122 through a two-part shaft 123, 124. The part 123 rotates with the turbine shaft and transmits axial thrust to a, fixed part 124 through a ballbearing 125 against the action of a spring 126. The air passes through nozzles 101 to the rotor 102, 105 and is exhausted through an annular ring 115 which diverts the air through a jacket or shroud 116 around the turbine and air inlet 110. This shroud leads to an outlet elbow 117 which surrounds the inlet elbow 112 and is connected to a fitting 113 attached to the bottom wall of the tank. The fitting 113 has separate connections for the external supply and exhaust pipes. In a modification, the fitting 113 is replaced by a Y- or T-shaped fitting located outside the tank. In a further modification, the elbows 112, 117 are replaced by two flexible straight tubes. In this arrangement, the unit is supported from a plate secured over an aperture in the bottom wall of the tank. The fuel pump is as described with reference to Fig. 3, Specification 670,226, and is driven through bevel gearing 52, 56. The inside of the turbine casing and the gear casing is vented to the exhaust shroud through a passageway in a tubular bolt 119. Specification 608,963 also is referred to.