SUPERSONIC SHOCK WAVE COMPRESSORDIFFUSER WITH CIRCULAR ARC CHANNELSAbstract of the DisclosureA supersonic shock wave compressor diffuser forms a concen-tric annulus about a radial compressor having a central axis.Circular channels diverge with an increasing divergence angleas they extend along an arcuate longitudinal center line from aninner circumference very near the periphery of the compressor tothe outer circumference of the diffuser. Shock waves may occurwithin the channels near the inner circumference of the diffuseror may occur within a vaneless diffusion space adjacent the per-iphery of the compressor and provide efficient energy conversionand reduce the velocity substantially below MACH 1 to furtherimprove the efficiency of the subsonic diffusion downstreamtherefrom. A logarithmic spiral is approximated by a circulararc subtended by the channel longitudinal axes to permit recoveryof angular momentum while the circular cross section of thechannels permits recovery of swirl velocity energy. The requireddiameter of the outer circumference of the diffuser is reduced byusing the shock waves to greatly reduce gas velocity within ashort distance, by the curvature of the channels and by the angleof incidence of the longitudinal channel axes.
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