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A fluid working apparatus (100) having an inlet side and an outlet side with the at least one rotor (114) having a plurality of blades (115) positioned in the housing. A circumferential inlet area is defined on the inlet side of the rotor (114) and a circumferential outlet area is defined on the out

A fluid working apparatus (100) having an inlet side and an outlet side with the at least one rotor (114) having a plurality of blades (115) positioned in the housing. A circumferential inlet area is defined on the inlet side of the rotor (114) and a circumferential outlet area is defined on the outlet side of the rotor (116). At least one return assembly (140, 142) is configured to return fluid flow from the outlet side of the rotor (114) to a circumferentially offset portion of the circumferential inlet area on the inlet side of the rotor (114) whereby a working fluid workingly engages a second subset of the rotor blades (115) before exiting the housing outlet (133). A method of working a fluid is also provided.

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1. A fluid working apparatus, comprising: a housing structure with a housing inlet and a housing outlet;a working assembly having an inlet side and an opposite outlet side with at least one rotor having a plurality of blades directly coupled to a hub so as to be positioned between the inlet and outl

1. A fluid working apparatus, comprising: a housing structure with a housing inlet and a housing outlet;a working assembly having an inlet side and an opposite outlet side with at least one rotor having a plurality of blades directly coupled to a hub so as to be positioned between the inlet and outlet sides, the working assembly positioned in the housing such that the rotor is rotatably supported therein;a circumferential inlet area defined between the housing structure and the inlet side of the working assembly;a circumferential outlet area defined between the housing structure and the outlet side of the working assembly; andat least one single return chamber configured to return fluid flow from the outlet side of the working assembly to the inlet side of the working assembly,whereby all of a working fluid flows through (a) the housing inlet in a direction towards a first circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area,(b) the first circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in a direction towards the outlet side of the working assembly while workingly engaging a first subset of the plurality of rotor blades,(c) a first circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area,(d) the single return chamber in a direction towards a second circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area,(e) the second circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in a direction towards the outlet side of the working assembly while exclusively workingly engaging a second subset of the plurality of rotor blades which is different than the first subset of the plurality of rotor blades,(f) a second circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area, and(g) the housing outlet. 2. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing structure includes an inner housing member and an outer housing member, andthe at least one return assembly is defined by boundary vanes extending radially between the inner and outer housing members, with adjacent pairs of boundary vanes defining each circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area and each circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area. 3. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of inlet vanes are positioned in the circumferential inlet area,a plurality of outlet vanes are positioned in the circumferential outlet area, andthe configurations of the inlet vanes, rotor blades and outlet vanes are designed as a function of the working fluid properties, flow velocity of the working fluid and the rotation speed of the at least one rotor as the working fluid travels from the housing inlet to the housing outlet. 4. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the working assembly further includes at least one stator having a plurality of blades positioned adjacent to the at least one rotor, andthe configuration of the stator blades is designed as a function of the working fluid flow to optimize velocity of the working fluid relative to the rotation speed of the at least one rotor as the working fluid travels from the housing inlet to the housing outlet. 5. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a given circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area, the first or second subset of rotor blades associated therewith and the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area associated therewith for a given pass of working fluid is defined as a working zone. 6. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area of a given working zone is generally coaxial with the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area of that working zone. 7. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area of a given working zone is circumferentially offset from the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area of that working zone. 8. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area of a given working zone is equal to the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area of that working zone. 9. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area of a given working zone is less than the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area of that working zone. 10. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 9, wherein vanes define each of the circumferential portions of the circumferential inlet area and a sealing member is provided between the vanes of adjacent working zones. 11. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area of a given working zone is greater than the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area of that working zone. 12. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 11, wherein vanes define each of the circumferential portions of the circumferential outlet area and a sealing member is provided between the vanes of adjacent working zones. 13. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising 1 to N working zones, wherein N is an integer equal to 2 or more, and the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in each working zone is equal. 14. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising 1 to N working zones, wherein N is an integer equal to 2 or more, and the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in at least one of the working zones is different than the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in at least one other of the working zones. 15. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area progressively increases from the first working zone to the Nth working zone. 16. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 15, wherein vanes define each of the circumferential portions of the circumferential inlet area,a sealing member is provided between the vanes of adjacent working zones, andthe circumferential width of the sealing member progressively decreases from the first working zone to the Nth working zone. 17. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising 1 to N working zones, wherein N is an integer equal to 2 or more, and the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area in each working zone is equal. 18. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising 1 to N working zones, wherein N is an integer equal to 2 or more, and the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area in at least one of the working zones is different than the circumferential width of the circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area in at least one other of the working zones. 19. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the flow velocity changes from one working zone to the next. 20. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the difference in flow velocity between adjacent working zones creates a substantially self-sealing pressure line between adjacent working zones. 21. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the at least one rotor rotates faster than a speed for which it was designed, working fluid spills over into a forward working zone. 22. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the at least one rotor rotates slower than a speed for which it was designed, working fluid spills back into the inlet of the same working zone. 23. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing structures has more than one housing inlet and each housing inlet is in fluid communication with a different circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area. 24. The fluid working apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the housing structure includes a number of housing outlets equal in number to the number of housing inlets with each housing outlet fluidly associated with a respective housing inlet. 25. A method of working a fluid comprising the steps of: passing all of the fluid through a first circumferential portion of a circumferential inlet area in a direction towards an outlet side of a working assembly while workingly engaging a first subset of a plurality of rotor blades, the plurality of rotor blades directly coupled to a hub so as to be positioned between an inlet side and an outlet side of the working assembly;passing all of the fluid through a first circumferential portion of a circumferential outlet area;passing all of the fluid through a single return assembly in a direction towards a second circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area;passing all of the fluid through the second circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area in a direction towards the outlet side of the working assembly while exclusively workingly engaging a second subset of the plurality of rotor blades which is different than the first subset of the plurality of rotor blades; andpassing al of the fluid through a second circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area. 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein adjacent pairs of boundary vanes define each circumferential portion of the circumferential inlet area and each circumferential portion of the circumferential outlet area, andconfigurations of the vanes and rotor blades are designed as a function of the flow velocity of the working fluid and the rotation speed of the at least one rotor.