Other

Barber Colman Company

Smiths Aerospace, Inc.

Ge Aviation Systems Limited

Mike Andres

Terry Temple

Lance F Miller

Terry L Coons

Nicholas F Campagna

Kenneth J Eakman

Daniel E Brady

A turbo-generator machine for producing a supply of cooled air and a supply of electric power has a permanent magnet generator fixed to a shaft which is driven by a turbine rotor, the turbine serving to expand air which is supplied thereto. Magnetic bearings support the shaft radially for rotation about a precisely established axis while a magnetic thrust bearing keeps the shaft in a precisely fixed axial position. Power for the magnetic bearings is supplied by the turbo-generator during operation. Generator air gap is sized in coordination with the magnetic bearing air gap, and the generator stator and shaft are sized to minimize leakage flux from the generator to minimize interaction between the permanent magnet rotor and the magnetic bearings.

Permanent magnet turbo-generator having magnetic bearings

A ballast load control system and method is presented that regulates the output electrical power supplied by a turbo-generator such that appropriate turbine loading may be achieved. Such enables the use of a turbo-generator having an expansion turbine to be used to provide a controlled, required amount of cooling to a thermal control system. By effectively varying the coupled electrical load, the loading provided to the expansion turbine may be controlled while maintaining output power requirements to connected electrical utilization equipment. Use of a common system controller for both the cooling system and ballast trim load system of the present invention ensures coordinated operation between the required amount of cooling and electrical power quality supplied to the coupled utilization equipment.

System and method for providing ballast loading for a turbo-generator

A switched reluctance generator that can be used in an air cycle machine, where the generator uses the energy from the shaft of the air cycle machine to provide a back-up power supply to the magnetic bearings supporting the shaft. The generator includes circuitry for comparing the non-commutated excitation current with a command signal to regulate the excitation current, thereby regulating the generator output voltage.

Switched reluctance generator

Growing community of inventors

Rockford, IL, United States of America

Mike Andres