United Technologies Corporation

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Richard A Meinzer

Bruce E Zepke

Philip J Birbara

Thomas W Grudkowski

Louis J Spadaccini

Gary A Ball

Timothy N Obee

He Huang

Gregory M Dobbs

Sallie S Townsend

Joe F Arnold

Evan C Polley

Pamela J Curbelo

Robert G Browning

Apparatus and method for the deoxygenation of liquid fuel in the fuel system of an energy conversion device, such as an aircraft gas turbine engine. A membrane filter is disposed in the fuel system and is selected to remove oxygen from the fuel, typically a hydrocarbon, while excluding the fuel. The membrane filter may be permeable or porous to the oxygen and, in a preferred embodiment, is of polytetraflouroethylene. Fuel with dissolved oxygen (typically from air) is flowed in contact with one surface of the membrane filter, and removed oxygen is collected from the opposite surface of the filter. The difference in the partial pressure of oxygen across the membrane filter may be controlled to regulate the driving force for moving oxygen through the membrane. Reduction of the oxygen concentration in jet fuel to less than 10 ppm at liquid space velocities of 100/hr and greater are attained.

Membrane based fuel deoxygenator

A seal assembly includes a seal element having a plurality of movable seal segments and further includes a plurality of actuators, each associated with a respective one of the seal segments. Each of the seal segments has a coil that generates electrical energy in the presence of a varying magnetic field. Each of the actuators receives energy from the associated seal segments and in response thereto produces a force that causes the segment to move toward or away from a surface on an opposing seal member. A method for fabricating a seal element for a gas turbine engine includes providing a wafer, forming seal segments on the wafer, dividing the wafer into a plurality of seal segments, and arranging at least two of the plurality of seal segments into a seal element.

Active seal

Illumination of the back-side of a UV transparent medium significantly reduces the decomposition of organic pollutants to carbon dioxide while significantly increasing the amount of radiation available for catalysis of the organic pollutants by a photocatalytic semiconductor. The UV light illuminates the UV transparent medium such that the UV propagates through the medium, illuminating the back-side of a photocatalytic semiconductor coating on the front-side. The photocatalytic semiconductor dissociates water on its surface to form hydroxyl radicals which in turn oxidize organic pollutants.

Back-side illuminated organic pollutant removal system

A fiber optic sensor for magnetic bearings includes a stator 12, a rotor 14, and an optical transmit/receive fiber 50 which propagates transmit light 112 which is launched across a gap 15 between the stator and the rotor and which receives reflected light 114 that is reflected off of the rotor 14 and travels along the fiber 50 as the light 116. The gap 15 distance is determined by the change in intensity of the return light 114. The transmit/receive fiber 50 may be located radially through or longitudinally along the stator 12. The receive light 116 is detected by a photodetector 120 which provides an electrical signal to a control circuit 124 which controls electromagnetic coils 31-34 of the magnetic bearing. Alternatively, two separate fibers may be used for the transmit and receive light. Also, time or wavelength multiplexing may be employed to allow for remote optical source and detection/control of the gap 15 distance. Further, a plurality of such sensors may be used around the gap 15. Also, a temperature sensor may be embedded within the distance sensor. Further, radial and/or axial gaps may be measured.

Fiber optic sensor for magnetic bearings

The present invention discloses a simplified method for coating a substrate with photocatalytic semiconductor by mixing photocatalytic semiconductor powder with water to form a mixture, reducing said pH of the mixture to below about 4, emulsifying the mixture, coating the substrate therewith, and illuminating the coated substrate with ultra-violet.

Photocatalytic semiconductor coating process

A gas laser cavity 44 comprising a molecular gas 52, such as a Hydrogen Halide, is pumped by a plurality of semiconductor lasers 20 which provide light carried along optical fibers 26 that provide divergent light 32 to a collimating lens 34 that provides collimated light 36 to a focussing lens 38 that provides pumping light 40 which propagates within the gas laser cavity 44 in a zig-zag pattern, thereby providing a homogeneously excited medium and providing sufficient pathlength to give adequate absorption of the pump light. The pump light 40 has a wavelength within the absorption frequency band of the gas 52 and a wavelength capable of pumping the gas molecules from the ground state to an excited state. Alternatively, the absorption frequency band of the gas 52 may be broadened by adding an inert gas, such as Argon, at a higher pressure than the Hydrogen Halide gas. Also, the output wavelength of the laser diodes 20 may be tuned to the center of the absorption frequency band of the gas 52 by adjusting the temperature of the diodes with thermoelectric coolers 28.

Semiconductor Laser Pumped molecular gas lasers

A hydrogen storage device (2) includes a vessel (4) and a hydrogen storage bed (6) disposed in the vessel (4). The hydrogen storage bed (6) includes a polymeric material (8) having a plurality of micropores less than about 1 nm in diameter and at least one hydride forming metal (10) imbedded within the polymeric material (8). The device also includes means for optically and thermally decomposing the metal hydride to release hydrogen and means for conveying hydrogen into and out of the storage device (2). The hydrogen storage bed (6) may be made by distributing a hydride forming metal (10) within the polymeric material (8) while the polymeric material (8) is in an uncured state. A metal hydride may be formed in the presence of hydrogen at a pressure such that the hydrogen bonds to the hydride forming metal (10) to form a metal hydride within the polymeric material (8). The hydrogen pressure may be reduced such that the metal hydride dissociates and any dissolved hydrogen escapes through the polymeric material (8), thereby forming a plurality of micropores less than about 1 nm in diameter. The micropores may be molded into the polymeric material (8) by cooling the polymeric material (8).

Polymeric storage bed for hydrogen

A laser diode distance measurement device includes a laser diode 10 which emits light 20 to a lens 22 which provides focussed light 24 incident on a target 26. The light 24 is reflected from the target 26 back to the laser diode 10 which causes the laser diode 10 to emit a light 28 which exhibits intensity pulses (due to coherent interference) related to the distance L to the target 26. A photodetector 30 provides a feedback signal indicative of the intensity of the light 28 to a distance measurement circuit 18. The laser diode 10 is driven by an up-ramp signal that reduces electronic processing and at a frequency that reduces speckle noise. The distance measurement circuit 18 blanks-out a portion of the feedback signal during discontinuities of the laser diode drive signal to minimize associated noise from distorting the distance measurement.

Laser diode distance measurement

A laser diode distance measurement device includes a laser diode assembly 10, comprising a laser diode and photodiode, which emits light 17 to a lens 19 which provides collimated light 20 incident on a float 22 which is covered with reflective tape on its top surface 24. The light 20 is reflected from the float 22 back to the laser diode assembly 10 which causes the assembly 10 to provide a signal having magnitude pulses (due to coherent interference) on a line 15 to a liquid level measurement circuit 14 related to the distance L to the float 22. Use of the collimated beam 20 and reflective tape on the float 22 minimizes speckle while providing adequate optical intensity feedback. The laser assembly 10 is driven by a sawtooth waveform signal that reduces electronic processing. The distance measurement circuit 14 blanks-out the feedback signal during discontinuities of the laser diode drive signal to minimize associated noise from distorting the distance measurement. Alternatively, the float may be omitted and the tube 11 made small enough to provide a meniscus effect curvature at a liquid surface 250 which provides a curved reflective surface to reflect the incident light 20, in a consistent fashion, back to the laser assembly 10.

Laser diode liquid-level/distance measurement

A detector for laser radiation that detects the presence of above-threshold radiation in one of a set of wavelength ranges employs a set of Fresnel lenses designed to focus radiation in a particular band onto a metal-coated film. A series of Fresnel lenses is designed with constant focal lengths, but each lens is designed to have that focal length at a specific wavelength. Only when the wavelength of the incident radiation matches the design wavelength of the Fresnel lens will the film be marked or machined. Radiation of differing wavelengths will be defocused to a degree that will reduce the intensity below the level that will mark or machine the film. An electronic based version of this spectroscopy detector can also be implemented.

Fresnel lens based spectroscopic detector

A broadband optical limiter for use in combination with a sensor system is operative to prevent irradiation of the sensor system by laser radiation of unknown wavelengths having intensity levels sufficient to damage or disable the sensor system. The broadband optical limiter is further operative to throughput, with minimal optical distortion at wide angle fields of view, electromagnetic radiation in the operating spectral band(s) of the sensor system. The broadband optical limiter includes a flat or spherically shaped sacrificial mirror that is operative to reflect electromagnetic radiation in the operating spectral band(s) of the sensor system and to be optically machined, i.e., vaporized, by focused laser radiation of unknown wavelengths having intensity levels sufficient to damage or disable the sensor system to create a reflective dead spot. The reflective dead spot prevents the focused laser radiation from being throughputted to the sensor system. The broadband optical limiter further includes optical components to focus incident electromagnetic and laser raidation onto the sacrificial mirror, to turn incident electromagnetic and laser radiation out of the field of view of the sensor system, and to turn electromagnetic radiation reflected by the sacrificial mirror back into the field of view of the sensor system.

Broadband optical limiter with sacrificial mirror to prevent irradiation

A combustion driven laser employs HBr as one of a plurality of lasing species. One embodiment of the invention lases simultaneously on the three species HF, HCl, HBr.

Multi-species, CW combustion driven laser employing hydrogen bromide

A linear capillary orifice injector for producing a chemical reaction in a combustion chamber is disclosed. The orifices are judiciously arranged to form a discrete pattern for achieving a high degree of shear mixing while attaining a uniform temperature and species profile particularly necessary for chemical lasers.

Linear capillary orifice injector

The matrix nozzle for mixing lasers in which an inner tube forms a path for he primary flow and a chamber around the inner tube opens around the outer periphery of the inner tube to form a flow path for the secondary gas flow. The exiting of the primary and secondary gases rapidly mix and cause lasing to take place. With this arrangement, the primary gas flow adds turbulence to the secondary gas flow as it exits and causes better mixing of the gases.

Matrix nozzle for mixing lasers

A chain reaction laser system which operates with two species lasing simultaneously is disclosed. The laser is combustion-driven and provides an output of continuous wave radiation. A fluorine interhalogen and atomic fluorine are mixed together with hydrogen to induce chemical reactions which provide two species of hydrogen halides which are vibrationally excited as well as atomic hydrogen and atomic fluorine. The latter, atomic fluorine, is then available to react with additional hydrogen in a chain reaction sequence. The various preferred reactants and two preferred structures are discussed. In a first embodiment the fluorine interhalogen and atomic fluorine which are both essential to the operation of the invention are both formed as they are needed in a reaction region at relatively high temperature and pressure. In a second embodiment one reactant is formed under conditions of relatively high temperature and pressure and the other at low temperature and pressure conditions.

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Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Richard A Meinzer