Other

Trw Limited

Hartzell Propeller Inc.

David F Thompson

William J Mouton, Jr

W Benjamin Harlamert

Richard V Grimes

An adjustable pitch aircraft propeller has peripherally spaced composite blades each including an elongated core of expanded rigid foam material extending from a metal base member having a reduced neck portion and an outwardly projecting flange portion. A casing or skin of plastic resin impregnated fabric material surrounds the core of each blade and extends inwardly along the neck portion and also has a flange portion overlying the flange portion of the base member. The skin material overlying the neck portion of the base member is retained by a filament winding impregnated with plastic resin, and the blade is coupled to the propeller hub by an annular lip portion which projects inwardly and overlies the flange portion of the skin material. The foam core of each propeller blade has longitudinally extending slots, and strips of resin impregnated fabric material extend through the slots to form corresponding webs which connect the skin material forming oposite side of the propeller blade.

Method of fabricating an aircraft propeller assembly with composite

An adjustable pitch aircraft propeller has peripherally spaced composite blades each including an elongated core of expanded rigid foam material extending from a metal base member having a reduced neck portion and an outwardly projecting flange portion. A casing or skin of plastic resin impregnated fabric material surrounds the core of each blade and extends inwardly along the neck portion and also has a flange portion overlying the flange portion of the base member. The skin material overlying the neck portion of the base member is retained by a filament winding impregnated with plastic resin, and the blade is coupled to the propeller hub by an annular lip portion which projects inwardly and overlies the flange portion of the skin material. The foam core of each propeller blade has longitudinally extending slots, and strips of resin impregnated fabric material extend through the slots to form corresponding webs which connect the skin material forming opposite side of the propeller blade.

Aircraft propeller assembly with composite blades

Air craft propeller assembly with composite blades

A power plant for the generation of electricity from the flow of water currents uses turbine wheels within nozzles submerged in the water current, anchored to the bottom of the water course, as for example, the ocean, and self-buoyed to a level well below the water surface. Pairs of counter-rotating turbines are supported by their rims, which bear against friction drive wheels, which in turn drive electrical generators contained in water-tight machine rooms within the wall of the nozzle. A structural design is disclosed, providing for the building of modules of the nozzle ashore, which modules may then be barged to the deep-water site for assembly into the whole power plant.

Submarine turbine power plant

Power is mechanically transmitted from a tethered airship carrying wind turbines to electrical generators on the ground at the anchor point of the tether, by the use of endless power-transmission cables bridging between drive sheaves at the turbine wheels and driven sheaves at the generators. Tether adjustments, cable tensioning, and wind direction changes are provided for the ground apparatus. A tubular aircraft with recess in the tube wall, carrying bearings on which the rims of the turbine wheels ride, is also claimed.

Airship power turbine

A turbine wheel on a horizontal axis is coaxially mounted within a primary nozzle, for support in a fluid current below a platform carrying electrical power generation equipment. The turbine wheel and primary nozzle are submerged and oriented to enable flow of a portion of fluid current through the nozzle and past the turbine wheel. The turbine wheel comprises a shroud-ring rim, a set of blades extending inwardly toward the axis, the blades being mounted at their outer ends on the inside of the rim, and at their inner ends on the outside of an axial hub. Each blade has its longitudinal tensile elements shaped in the form of part of a relaxed catenary, extending from rim to hub, with sufficient bow in the direction of force of fluid current on the blade to provide a practical wheel of reasonable cost. Struts and strut vanes supporting hub elements within the nozzle may also be of relaxed catenary configuration.

Turbine wheel with catenary blades

A fluid-current energy-conversion plant, especially useful for electricity generation, utilizing an axial flow turbine as the energy conversion element, has self-inflated flexible collector elements for capturing a portion of the fluid current, increasing its velocity, guiding at least some of each portion into the turbine's mouth, then returning the captured flow into the stream.

Fluid current turbine with flexible collectors

A turbine wheel on a horizontal shaft is coaxially mounted within a primary nozzle, for support in a river current below a platform carrying electrical power generation equipment. The turbine shaft and primary nozzle are submerged and oriented to enable flow of a portion of river current through the nozzle and past the turbine wheel. The external surface of the nozzle is shaped and has structure to accelerate and/or direct the flow of the adjacent surrounding maintstream river current in a manner to generate a sheath which aids the efflux of that portion of the river current which has passed through the turbine. Part of the said structure is a secondary nozzle surrounding the primary nozzle; the secondary nozzle is arranged to accentuate the control of the surrounding mainstream river current. Bearing means, support means, power take-off means, speed control means and blade shapes are disclosed.

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Chester, PA, United States of America

David F Thompson