Air cycle machine with magnetic bearings

USRE36101E · kind E · reissue

Assignee

• Barber-Coleman Company · US

Inventors

• Michael J. Andres · Roscoe, US
• Terry L. Coons · Dayton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 8, 1995
• Grant date: Feb 16, 1999
• Expiry date: Jun 8, 2015

Classification

• Technology area (CPC —): General

Abstract

An air cycle machine for producing a supply of cooled air and including a compressor rotor fixed to a shaft which is driven by a turbine rotor, the turbine serving to expand air which is pressurized by the compressor. Magnetic bearings support the shaft radially in a housing for rotation about a precisely established axis while a magnetic thrust bearing keeps the shaft in a precisely fixed axial position. The housing and the bearings are constructed as two split sections to permit the housing and the bearings to be separated radially and facilitate repair and/or replacement of the shaft and other internal components.