Systems and method for a variable inlet device of a compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10578124-B2
Application number	US-201715701050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 11, 2017
Priority date	Sep 11, 2017
Publication date	Mar 3, 2020
Grant date	Mar 3, 2020

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for a variable inlet device of a compressor. In one example, a compressor may include an impeller rotatable about a central axis and an inlet conduit including a variable inlet device (VID) positioned upstream of the impeller and adjustable between and open position and a closed position that restricts and generates pre-swirl flow to the impeller. The VID may include a plurality of adjacently arranged blades forming a ring around the central axis with inner surfaces of the blades forming a flow passage through the VID, each of the blades being pivotable, about an axis arranged tangent to the ring, between the open and closed position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A compressor, comprising:
an impeller rotatable about a central axis; and
an inlet conduit including a variable inlet device (VID) positioned therein, upstream of the impeller, and including a plurality of adjacently arranged blades forming a ring around the central axis with inner surfaces of the blades forming a flow passage through the VID, each of the blades being pivotable, about an axis arranged tangent to the ring, between an open and closed position; and
a recirculation passage formed by an outer casing of the compressor and surrounding the inlet conduit, the recirculation passage fluidly coupled with the inlet conduit via a bleed port and a recirculation port, the bleed port formed in a wall of the inlet conduit downstream of a leading edge of the impeller and the recirculation port formed in a wall of the inlet conduit upstream of an inlet end of the VID, the passage further including an actuation port that fluidly couples the recirculation passage to the inlet conduit at a position directly adjacent to the plurality of blades.

2. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein each blade of the plurality of blades includes an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end arranged upstream of the outlet end, and wherein the flow passage is formed within the inner surfaces of the blades, between the inlet end and the outlet end of each blade.

3. The compressor of claim 2 , wherein each blade includes side surfaces extending between the inlet end and the outlet end and wherein, for each blade, a first side surface of the side surfaces contacts a side surface of a first adjacent blade and a second side surface of the side surfaces contacts a side surface of a second adjacent blade.

4. The compressor of claim 2 , wherein an inlet end of the VID is formed by the inlet end of each blade and an outlet end of the VID is formed by the outlet end of each blade and wherein in the closed position the inlet end of the VID has a larger diameter than the outlet end of the VID.

5. The compressor of claim 4 , wherein outlet ends of adjacent blades of the plurality of blades overlap more than inlet ends of adjacent blades of the plurality of blades in the closed position.

6. The compressor of claim 4 , wherein in the open position, each of the inlet end of the VID and the outlet end of the VID have a larger diameter than the outlet end of the VID in the closed position and wherein a difference in diameter between the inlet end and the outlet end of the VID in the open position is decreased relative to the closed position.

7. The compressor of claim 2 , wherein, in the closed position, the outlet end of each blade is positioned closer to the central axis than the inlet end of each blade and the inlet end of each blade is positioned proximate to an inner wall of the inlet conduit.

8. The compressor of claim 1 , wherein, in the closed position, the inner surfaces of the blades are angled relative to flow through the inlet conduit and form a smooth surface with a plurality of spiral grooves facing the flow, where the blades are angled inward toward the central axis from an inlet end to an outlet end of the VID, the outlet end arranged downstream in the inlet conduit from the inlet end and wherein the plurality of spiral grooves is formed by overlapping inner surfaces of the blades.

9. The compressor of claim 1 , further comprising a channel arranged in the inlet conduit, upstream of the impeller and downstream of an inlet end of the VID, where the channel extends outward from the central axis so inner walls of the inlet conduit in a region of the channel are positioned further away from the central axis than inner walls of the inlet conduit in a region of the inlet conduit arranged upstream of the inlet end of the VID.

10. A method, comprising:
in response to engine operation relative to a surge threshold of a compressor, adjusting a variable inlet device (VID) positioned in and across an inlet conduit of the compressor, upstream of an impeller, between an open position where an inner surface of the VID does not restrict flow through the VID, from an inlet end to an outlet end of the VID, and a closed position where the inner surface narrows along a length of the VID and generates swirl flow at the outlet end of the VID, wherein the VID includes a plurality of adjacently arranged blades forming a ring around a central axis of the compressor, where inner surfaces of the plurality of adjacently arranged blades form the inner surface of the VID and a flow passage through the VID, and wherein each blade of the plurality of adjacently arranged blades includes an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end arranged upstream from the outlet end in the inlet conduit, wherein adjusting the VID between the open position and the closed position includes passively adjusting the VID between the open position and the closed position via an actuation port arranged in a wall of the inlet conduit, between the inlet conduit and a recirculation passage surrounding the inlet conduit and in fluid communication with the inlet conduit, upstream of the VID and downstream of a leading edge of the impeller, where the actuation port is positioned between the inlet end and the outlet end of the VID, adjacent to outer surfaces of the plurality of adjacently arranged blades.

11. A system for an engine, comprising:
a compressor including an impeller rotatable about a central axis and a variable inlet device (VID) arranged upstream of the impeller in an inlet conduit of the compressor, the VID comprising:
a plurality of blades arranged adjacent to one another to form a ring with an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end arranged upstream in the inlet conduit from the outlet end, where the plurality of blades is pivotable, from the inlet end to the outlet end, relative to the central axis; and

a controller including computer readable instructions stored on memory for:
in response to operation of the engine below a surge threshold of the compressor, adjusting the VID into a closed position where the plurality of blades overlap one another at the outlet end and inner surfaces of the plurality of blades form a narrowing, from the inlet end to the outlet end, smooth surface with a plurality of spiral grooves arranged around the ring; and
in response to operation of the engine above the surge threshold, adjusting the VID into an open position where the plurality of blades is not overlapping one another at the outlet end and inner surfaces of the plurality of blades form a gradually widening, from the inlet end to the outlet end, smooth surface without the plurality of spiral grooves.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a recirculation passage formed by an outer casing of the compressor and surrounding the inlet conduit, the recirculation passage fluidly coupled with the inlet conduit via a bleed port and a recirculation port, the bleed port formed in a wall of the inlet conduit downstream of a leading edge of the impeller and the recirculation port formed in a wall of the inlet conduit upstream of the inlet end of the VID.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein, in the closed position, inlet ends and outlet ends of the plurality of blades contact an inner wall of the inlet conduit and, in the open position, inlet ends of the plurality of blades contact the inner wall of the inlet conduit.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein a diameter of the outlet end of the VID is narrower in the closed position than in the open position and wherein each spiral groove of the plurality of spiral grooves is formed by overlapping side surfaces of two adjacent blades of the plurality of

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Zeng Tao
• Hu Leon

Classifications

• F05D2250/51

  Inlet · CPC title

• F04D29/441 Primary

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/462 Primary

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D27/0246

  by varying geometry within the pumps, e.g. by adjusting vanes · CPC title

• F04D27/0215

  Arrangements therefor, e.g. bleed or by-pass valves · CPC title