General Electric Company

Aaron J Glaser

Nicholas Ryan Overman

Michael Anthony Benjamin

Eric John Ruggiero

Brett A Rich

Adam Rasheed

Ephraim J Gutmark

Kapil Kumar Singh

Sarah Marie Monahan

Arin Elspeth Lastufka Cross

Daniel Louis Depperschmidt

Hannah Erin Bower

A method of operating a rotating detonation combustor includes providing a flow of air through an air inlet to flow into a detonation chamber, providing a flow of fuel from at least one fuel injector into the detonation chamber, mixing the flow of the fuel and the flow of the air in the detonation chamber to generate a fuel-air mixture, detonating the fuel-air mixture in the detonation chamber to generate rotating detonation waves within the detonation chamber, and controlling, during operation of the rotating detonation combustor from a first power operating state to a second power operating state, different from the first power operating state, the air inlet wall to control the flow of the air through the air inlet into the detonation chamber to control a discharge coefficient and an operating mode within the detonation chamber.

Method of operating a rotating detonation combustor

Systems and methods are provided herein useful to thrust augmentation in a gas turbine engine. In some embodiments, the systems include augmentors that incorporate a rotating detonation architecture. An exhaust system of a gas turbine engine includes an augmentor and a peripheral wall surrounding an exhaust system core. The augmentor comprises a detonation chamber disposed within the exhaust system core. The detonation chamber includes a channel formed in the peripheral wall. A core inlet path delivers a core air-fuel mixture and a pilot inlet path delivers a pilot air-fuel mixture to the detonation chamber. The core air-fuel mixture combusts in the detonation chamber along the midline the detonation chamber. The pilot air-fuel mixture detonates in the detonation chamber adjacent the peripheral wall to create a rotating detonation wave that supports the combustion reaction occurring along the midline of the detonation chamber.

Rotating detonation-enabled augmentor systems

An adaptive trapped vortex combustor for a gas turbine engine includes a combustion chamber, a fuel injector, and one or more chutes. The combustion chamber is defined by an outer liner, an inner liner, and a dome, and includes a primary combustion zone within the combustion chamber defining a vortex cavity for a trapped vortex, the vortex cavity having a volume therein, a secondary combustion zone within the combustion chamber, and an opening from the primary combustion zone to the secondary combustion zone. The fuel injector injects a fuel into the primary combustion zone. The one or more chutes provide an air flow to the primary combustion zone and/or the secondary combustion zone. A feature of the adaptive trapped vortex combustor is controllable such that a residence time of the fuel in the vortex cavity is controllable based on an operating condition of the gas turbine engine.

Adaptive trapped vortex combustor

In some embodiments, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful for spraying fuel in an augmented gas turbine engine. The embodiments may include a spray bar with a fuel injection aperture configured to inject a fuel jet into a fuel conduit; the fuel conduit having a fuel window to discharge the fuel jet into a core exhaust flow of an augmented gas turbine engine; a first channel directing a first air stream into the fuel conduit; and a second channel directing a second air stream into the fuel conduit. The first air stream and the second air stream cooperatively shape the fuel jet coming out of the fuel window.

Systems and methods for spraying fuel in an augmented gas turbine engine

In some embodiments, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful for spraying fuel in an augmented gas turbine engine. The embodiments may include a spray bar with a fuel injection aperture to inject a fuel jet into a fuel conduit; the fuel conduit having a fuel window to discharge the fuel jet into a core exhaust flow of an augmented gas turbine engine; a first airflow conduit having a first orifice to discharge a first air stream into the core exhaust flow; and a second airflow conduit having a second orifice to discharge a second air stream into the core exhaust flow. The first orifice and the second orifice may be paired with the fuel window to cooperatively shape the fuel jet coming out of the fuel window.

A detonation chamber for a pulse detonation combustor including: a plurality of duplex tab obstacles disposed on at least a portion of an inner surface of the detonation chamber wherein the plurality of duplex tab obstacles enhance a turbulence of a fluid flow through the detonation chamber.

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Aaron J Glaser