USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Yu-Tai Lee

Thomas W Bein

Michael E Slipper

Paul A Coffin

The present invention's nozzle is especially suitable for use in a shipboard air-discharge maneuverability device known as a 'bow thruster.' As typically embodied, the inventive nozzle includes a nozzle wall and an arc-shaped vane. The nozzle wall has a circular nozzle inlet and an elliptical nozzle outlet, and is configured so that the geometric major axis of the nozzle outlet is horizontal. The arc-shaped vane: is upwardly bowed in the nozzle wall's transverse direction; joins the nozzle wall along its two horizontally opposite sides in the nozzle wall's longitudinal direction; extends most or all of the longitudinal distance between the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet; has a transversely intermediate section that, taken in the transverse direction, is generally uniform in thickness; has two transversely lateral sections that, taken in the transverse direction, gradually thicken toward the two respective joints of the arc-shaped vane with respect to the nozzle wall.

Twin-nozzle bow thruster for hovercraft

A high-pressure vane-axial fan assembly is provided. A rotor assembly has a plurality of rotor blades disposed circumferentially around and extending radially outward from a hub. Each rotor blade has an airfoil cross-section and is constructed to define a straight-ruled leading edge that extends outward from the hub. The rotor blade is rotated along its span relative to the straight-ruled leading edge. The plurality of rotor blades defines a solidity of greater than 1. A stator assembly has a plurality of stator vanes disposed circumferentially around and extending radially from the frame. There are a lesser number of stator vanes than rotor blades. The stator assembly is positioned adjacent the rotor assembly such that an axial gap is defined between the trailing edge of the rotor blades and the leading edge of the stator vanes. The axial gap increases with radial distance from the hub as defined by the shape of the trailing edge of the rotor blades and the shape of the leading edge of the stator vanes. The axial gap is a minimum of the rotor blade's axial chord length along a central portion thereof.

Quiet and efficient high-pressure fan assembly

A centrifugal compressor or pump has a vaneless diffuser within which a radially extending passage is formed between a fixed plate surface and a profile contoured shroud surface establishing a pinch point location of minimum passage area intermediate inlet and outlet ends of the diffuser passage. Convergent and divergent flow portions of the diffuser passage respectively extend to and from the pinch point to establish continuous convergent flow from the inlet end and divergent flow toward the outlet end for exit outflow at a flow angle less than that of a convergent inflow angle from the inlet end imposed along an initial profile segment.

Growing community of inventors

McLean, VA, United States of America

Yu-Tai Lee