Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.

United Technologies Corporation

Khin Phui

Sen Y Meng

Jeff Miller

Thaddeus Chilcoat

Steven P Grota

Xinhong J Zheng

A pump includes an axial inducer. The axial inducer includes a housing that has an internal surface that defines an axial fluid passage. A rotor is disposed about a central axis in the fluid passage. The rotor includes at least one blade that defines at least one blade tip. The internal surface of the housing defines a plurality of grooves adjacent the at least one blade tip. The grooves are elongated in a circumferential direction.

Pump with housing having internal grooves

A liquid propellant rocket engine includes a main turbo-pump and a boost turbo-pump. The main turbo-pump has a main pump with an outlet that is fluidly coupled with a supply line. The boost turbo-pump includes a housing, a rotor, a boost pump, and a turbine. The boost pump includes a first portion of the housing and a first portion the rotor. The turbine includes a second portion of the housing and a second portion of the rotor. The turbine has turbine blades attached to the second portion of the rotor and an inlet fluidly coupled with the supply line. The turbine has a plurality of circumferentially disposed feed lines defined by the second portion of the housing and not the first portion of the housing. The feed lines are fluidly coupled between the inlet and the turbine blades. The feed lines have an acute angle turn.

Boost turbo-pump with axially fed turbine

A turbopump machine includes a housing, a shaft rotatably supported in the housing on a set of bearings, an axial pump coupled with the shaft, a circumferential discharge volute fluidly coupled with the axial pump, and a turbine coupled with the shaft. The turbine includes a blade row disposed in an axial turbine flowpath that has an axial turbine flowpath discharge that is fluidly coupled with the circumferential discharge volute. A cooling passage is disposed between the housing and the shaft about the set of bearings. The cooling passage has a cooling passage discharge that is fluidly coupled with the circumferential discharge volute. The cooling passage discharge is adjacent the axial turbine flowpath discharge. A seal isolates the cooling passage discharge from the axial turbine flowpath discharge.

Turbopump machine with isolated cooling passage discharge

An improved rotor assembly shroud includes at least one reinforcing flange on the upper surface of the shroud. The strength provided by the reinforcing flange allows for a smaller shroud thickness resulting in a net reduction of shroud mass. The lower shroud mass reduces the centrifugal stress on the rotor assembly blade during operation. The strength provided by the reinforcing flanges also significantly reduces the centrifugal bending stress on the shroud during operation. The shroud mass may be further reduced by tapering the shroud leading and trailing edges or, for shrouds incorporating a damper, by providing a damper cavity with a lower diameter surface defining an opening therethrough.

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Pomona, CA, United States of America

Khin Phui