The Boeing Company
High altitude internal combustion engine/turbocharger exhaust combustor

Abstract:

An aircraft propulsor that includes an exhaust combustor is disclosed. The aircraft propulsor can include an internal combustion engine and a turbocharger. The turbocharger can be spooled while motoring the internal combustion engine. For example, when restarting the internal combustion engine at high altitude, an injector and an igniter can provide fuel to the exhaust and combust fuel to spool the turbocharger, decreasing load on the engine during restarting. In another example, an electric turbocharger can be driven with an electric motor to spool the turbocharger.