Granted Patent B2

US 12,345,204 · App. 17/877,566 · Granted Jul 1, 2025

Inventor: Gary D. Roberge (Tolland, CT)

Assignee: RTX Corporation

F02C7/224F02C3/20F02C3/22F02C9/56

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. A method of controlling a fuel power transfer system for an engine, the fuel power transfer system comprising:

a fuel pump,

a multi-position valve in fluid communication with the fuel pump and a combustion chamber of the engine,

a fuel turbine operatively coupled to the fuel pump and a gearbox via a common shaft and having a primary discharge port in fluid communication with the combustion chamber,

a primary heat exchanger in fluid communication between the multi-position valve and the fuel turbine,

the gearbox operatively coupled to the fuel turbine and the fuel pump and configured to transfer power from the fuel turbine to the engine via a power transfer shaft and a power transfer clutch, and

a motor-generator operatively coupled to the gearbox via an accessory shaft and an accessory clutch and selectively configurable to operate in a motor mode or in a generator mode,

the method comprising:

determining, by a processor, a startup condition in response to an engine start command;

selecting, by the processor, the motor mode of the motor-generator in response to the startup condition;

controlling, by the processor, the multi-position valve to enable fluid communication between the fuel pump and the combustion chamber of the engine by directing an output of the fuel pump to the combustion chamber and bypass the output from the primary heat exchanger in response to the startup condition;

controlling, by the processor, the accessory clutch to engage the motor-generator selected in the motor mode to provide operative force to the fuel pump via the gearbox in response to the startup condition;

determining, by the processor, an auxiliary heat condition;

controlling, by the processor, the multi-position valve to direct at least a portion of the output of the fuel pump to an auxiliary heat exchanger in fluid communication with the combustion chamber of the engine in response to the auxiliary heat condition;

determining, by the processor, an intermediate operating power condition;

controlling, by the processor, at least one of the accessory clutch or the power transfer clutch in response to the intermediate operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, at least one of a primary turbine discharge valve or a secondary turbine discharge valve of the fuel turbine in response to the intermediate operating power condition.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-position valve is in fluid communication with a cryogenic fuel supply.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, an operating power condition;

controlling, by the processorr, the multi-position valve in response to the operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, at least one of the accessory clutch or the power transfer clutch in response to the operating power condition.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

selecting, by the controller, the generator mode of the motor-generator in response to the operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, an electrical load disconnect relay in response to the operating power condition.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the processor, a primary discharge port pressure of the primary discharge port of the fuel turbine and a secondary discharge port pressure of a secondary discharge port of the fuel turbine; and

determining, by the processor, the operating power condition or the intermediate operating power condition based on the primary discharge port pressure and the secondary discharge port pressure.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

controlling, by the processor, the primary turbine discharge valve in fluid communication between the combustion chamber and the primary discharge port of the fuel turbine in response to the intermediate operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, the secondary turbine discharge valve in fluid communication between the combustion chamber and a second discharge port of the fuel turbine in response to the intermediate operating power condition,

wherein each of the primary turbine discharge valve and the secondary turbine discharge valve is configured to interrupt fluid communication between the fuel turbine and the combustion chamber.

7. An article of manufacture including a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining, by the processor, a startup condition of an engine in response to an engine start command;

controlling, by the processor, a motor-generator in response to the startup condition, the motor-generator operatively coupled to a gearbox via an accessory clutch and an accessory clutch and selectively configurable to operate in a motor mode or in a generator mode, wherein the gearbox is configured to transfer power from a fuel turbine to the engine via a power transfer shaft and a power transfer clutch, and the fuel turbine is operatively coupled to a fuel pump and the gearbox via a common shaft;

controlling, by the processor, a multi-position valve to enable fluid communication between the fuel pump and a combustion chamber of the engine by directly providing an output of the fuel pump to the combustion chamber and bypass the output from the primary heat exchanger in response to the startup condition;

selecting, by the processor, the motor mode of the motor-generator in response to the startup condition;

controlling, by the processor, the accessory clutch to engage the motor-generator selected in the motor mode to provide operative force to the fuel pump via the gearbox in response to the startup condition;

determining, by the processor, an operating power condition;

controlling, by the processor, the multi-position valve in response to the operating power condition;

controlling, by the processor, at least one of the accessory clutch or the power transfer clutch in response to the intermediate operating power condition;

determining, by the processor, an intermediate operation power condition;

controlling, by the processor, at least one of the accessory clutch or the power transfer clutch in response to the intermediate operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, at least one of a primary turbine discharge valve or a secondary turbine discharge valve of the fuel turbine in response to the intermediate operating power condition.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 7 , wherein the multi-position valve is in fluid communication with a cryogenic fuel supply.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 7 , wherein the fuel turbine having a primary discharge port in fluid communication with the combustion chamber of an engine, and wherein a primary heat exchanger is in fluid communication between the multi-position valve and the fuel turbine.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 7 , wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting, by the processor, the generator mode of the motor-generator in response to the operating power condition; and

controlling, by the processor, an electrical load disconnect relay in response to the operating power condition.

Assignments (4)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (26)