Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Joseph A Belisle

Marshall J Corbett

James R Powell

The combustion chamber and associated fuel injection and ignition equipment of a turbine engine is removed and replaced with a particle bed reactor. The reactor has central fuel elements removed to receive a shaft therein. The shaft is connected between a turbo compressor and drive turbine. Air compressed by the compressor turbine is heated by the reactor and the heated gas passes across rotor vanes of the drive turbine, the latter powering the interconnecting shaft. Exhaust gases from the drive turbine furnish resultant thrust.

Particle bed reactor-powered turbine engine

The inlet of a jet engine is equipped with a pivotally displaceable deflector which becomes deployed when the aircraft is in a stalled, horizontally stabilized condition. As the aircraft undergoes vertical descent, vertically impinging airflow is reflected off the interior surface of the deflector and flows coaxially through the inlet thereby forcing continued rotation of turbine blades. Hydraulic and electronic control devices deriving power from the turbine may be maintained operative even though the aircraft is in a stalled condition, thereby permitting limited horizontal maneuvering of the aircraft as the vertical descent continues.

Deflectable jet engine inlet

An autophage rocket has its casing constructed from KEVLAR-epoxy material which is itself combustible and stores liquid propellant. As the propellant is consumed during flight, the casing is combusted so that the pressure within the casing remains constant. A secondary nozzle is mounted to the outlet end of the rocket and cooperates with a ram-rocket construction to achieve additional impulse. A multiplicity of rocket motors are fed from a single stage tank to enable controlled motion of the rocket.

Growing community of inventors

West Babylon, NY, United States of America

Joseph A Belisle