The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

The United States of America As Represented by the United States

George L Von Pragenau

Charles C Rupp

Irvin T Morgan, Jr

Clifton A Kirby

A dynamic tester (10) for testing vibration damping seals and bearings is constructed having a hollow shaft (12) extending through the seal or bearing, with the shaft internally supported at each end by fluid bearings (19, 21) on hollow bosses (18, 20) connected to an interior of an enclosure (11) , with no rolling members connected to the shaft. A high pressure working fluid is forced through the hollow bosses (18, 20) to operate the bearings. Additionally, the shaft (12) is provided with a reaction turbine (32) that angularly vents a portion of the high pressure working fluid in order to rotate the shaft at high speed, up top 40,000 rpm. The seal or bearing (44) is mounted in a bushing (70), in turn supported by rods (80, 82, 86 of FIG. 3, or rods 72, 74 of FIG. 2) coupled by flex hinges (90, 90a of FIG. 3, 76, 76a of FIG. 2) to a shaking device (92 of FIG. 3, or 78 of FIG. 2) that vibrates the seal or bearing as the shaft is rotated. A plurality of proximity sensors (100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114) are mounted from outside the enclosure to sense shaft and seal bushing vibrations, and a plurality of pressure ports (120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134) are disposed in the enclosure to allow sensing of dynamic and static pressures of the testing apparatus.

Dynamic tester for rotor seals and bearings

Damping seals, damping bearings and a support sleeve for the ball bearings of a high speed rotor, the ball bearings being a duplex set having the outer races packaged tightly within the sleeve while the sleeve provides a gap with a support member so that the bearings may float with the sleeve. The sleeve has a web extending radially between the pair of outer races and acts in conjunction with one or more springs to apply an axial preload to the outer races. The sleeves have a series of slits which provide the sleeve with a spring-like quality so that the spring acts to center the rotor upon which the bearings are mounted during start up and shut down. A damping seal or a damping bearing may be used in conjunction with the ball bearings and supporting sleeve, the damping seal and damping bearing having rotor portions including rigid outer surfaces mounted within the bore of a stator portion triangular shaped pockets on the surface facing the rotor. Axial gates are provided between adjacent pockets in sections of the stator permitting fluid to flow with less resistance axially relative to the flow of fluids circumferentially between the rotor and the stator.

Turbomachinery rotor support with damping

An insert for a hollow rotatable shaft on the end of which an impeller is mounted, the insert having a first cylindrical portion receivable within the end of the shaft. The insert includes a radially extending portion adjacent the end of the shaft having an annular wall including radially inner and outer surfaces for engaging tightly similar surfaces in a recess formed in the impeller to provide inner and outer pilot surfaces. The insert also includes a tubular extension which is received within a bore in the impeller, the tubular extension having spaced longitudinally extending slits for permitting the extension together with radially extending hook-like tongues thereon to be received within radial slots in the bore of the impeller to lock the impeller to the insert.

Turbomachinery shaft insert

Seals for sealing clevis and flange joints (14) of a solid rocket booster motor, and more particularly to a seal (30) which is twisted upon application of expansion forces to an edge seal (36). This twisting motion initially causes a leading edge seal (44) to be urged into sealing engagement with a surface (48) of an adjacent member (20) and thereafter, increasing fluid pressure on a pressurized side (64) of a seal (30) drives a broad sealing region (46) into sealing engagement with a surface (48).

Twist seal for high-pressure vessels such as space shuttle rocket motors

A low pressure loss injector element A is disclosed for the main combustion chamber of a rocket engine which includes a lox post (40) terminating in a cylindrical barrel (50). Received within the barrel (50) is a lox plug (46) which is threaded in the lox post and includes an interchangeable lox metering sieve (60) which meters the lox into an annular lox passage (56). A second annular gas passage (62) is coaxial with the annular lox passage (56). A cylindrical sleeve (64) surrounds the annular gas passage (62) and includes an interchangeable gas metering sieve (77) having metering orifices through which a hot gas passes into the annular passage (62). The jets which emerge from the annular lox passage and annular gas passage intersect at 80 which is recessed away from the combustion area. Thus, mixing and combustion stability are enhanced.

Low loss injector for liquid propellant rocket engines

A damping seal between a high speed rotor member (30) and stator member (33) that separates pressurized fluid compartments which is characterized by the rotor member having a smooth outer surface and the stator member having its bore surface roughened by a plurality of pockets or depressions.

Damping seal for turbomachinery

A space shuttle system (11) having an orbiter spacecraft (16) with main rocket engines (43) a large external propellant tank (12), and two solid rocket boosters (13,14). The propellant tank (12) has a forward pressure vessel (19) for liquid hydrogen and an aft pressure vessel (20) for liquid oxygen. The two solid rocket boosters (13, 14) are joined together by a thrust frame (15) which extends behind the external tank. The thrust of the orbiter's main rocket engines (43) are transmitted to the aft portion of the external tank (12).

Space shuttle with rail system and aft thrust structure securing solid

An attitude control system for a space vehicle in which angular rate signals are generated by rate gyros mounted closely adjacent to gimbaled engines at the rear of a vehicle, and wherein error signals representative of a commanded change in vehicle angle or attitude are obtained from a precision inertial platform located in the nose region of the vehicle. The rate gyro derived signals dominate at high frequencies where dynamic effects become significant, and platform signals dominate at low frequencies where precision signals are required for a steady vehicle attitude. The blended signals are applied in a conventional manner to control the gimbaling of vehicle engines about control axes.

Attitude control system

A translatory shock absorber is provided for mounting an attitude sensor thereon for isolating a sensor from translatory vibrations. The translatory shock absorber includes a hollow block structure formed as one piece to form a parallelogram. The absorber block structure includes a movable top plate for supporting the attitude sensor and a fixed base plate with opposed side plates interposed therebetween. At the junctions of the side plates, and the base and top plates, there are provided machined-out grooves which act as flexible hinges for attenuating translatory vibrations. A damping material is supported on a pedestal which is carried on the base plate between the side plates thereof. The top of the damping material rests against the bottom surface of the top plate for eliminating the resonant peaks of vibration.

Growing community of inventors

Huntsville, AL, United States of America

George L Von Pragenau