Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation

Malcolm John McArthur

Anthony C Jones

Mark M Harris

David R Ripley

A lubrication system for an expendable gas turbine engine () having a rotatable shaft () is provided. Bearings () journal the shaft () for rotation about an axis. The system includes a vessel () for containing lubricating oil, a conduit () extending from the vessel () to the bearings (), and a solenoid operated valve () in the conduit () and operable to only either fully open or fully closed. A control circuit () is provided for pulsing the solenoid () at a controlled rate to alternatingly (a) allow oil flow and (b) halt oil flow to the bearings () for a time insufficient to cause oil starvation of the bearings ().

Turbojet engine lubrication system

Mechanical complexity and high cost in a fluid flow control system are avoided through the use of a pulse width modulated (PWM) valve (,) to meter a fluid flow to an inlet (,) of a pump (,) that pumps the metered flow to an outlet (,) of the fuel pump (,). The system utilizes a pulsating vapor core in the pump (,) to dampen the pulses in the fluid flow generated by the PWM valve (,). A regulator valve (,) is provided to maintain a relatively constant pressure drop across the PWM valve (,). The control system is ideally suited for controlling the flow of fuel to a gas turbine engine.

Pulse width modulated fuel flow control for an engine

Accuracy and predictability are provided in a fuel control system for an engine system including a fuel supply and a combustion chamber. The fuel control system includes at least one fuel injector having a calibrated nozzle to direct a fuel flow from the fuel supply into the combustion chamber of the engine, a servo valve connected between the fuel supply and the calibrated nozzle to meter the fuel flow from the fuel supply to the calibrated nozzle, a pressure transducer operably associated with the calibrated nozzle to measure a pressure drop in the fuel flow across the calibrated nozzle, and a controller operably associated with the pressure transducer and the servo valve to control the metering of the fuel flow by the servo valve. The calibrated nozzle has a known fuel flow vs. pressure drop characteristic. The controller controls the metering of the fuel flow by the servo valve based on the pressure drop measured by the pressure transducer and the known fuel flow vs. pressure drop characteristic of the calibrated nozzle.

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Fallbrook, CA, United States of America

Malcolm John McArthur