General Electric Company

Alvaro Alexander Briceno

Karim Younsi

Timothy John Sommerer

Ramanujam Ramabhadran

Charles E Cook

Badri Narayan Ramamurthi

Andrey Meshkov

Mark Wayne McWaters

Jason Fredrick Trotter

The present disclosure relates to gas turbine engine operation in which an igniter assembly is provided with an electrical energy input (e.g., an electrical waveform) that is configured to increase a likelihood of igniting a fuel-air mixture surrounding the igniter assembly. In certain embodiments, the igniter assembly is supplied with an augmented electrical waveform that may reduce a quantity of sparks generated by the igniter assembly before successful light-off (e.g., ignition) of the fuel-air mixture is achieved (e.g., as compared to a quantity of sparks generated to achieve ignition by an igniter assembly that receives an electrical energy input in the form of a conventional electrical waveform). Accordingly, the augmented electrical waveform may reduce wear (e.g., via oxidation) on electrodes of the igniter assembly, such as a primary electrode (e.g., a center electrode) and a secondary electrode (e.g., an outer shell electrode) disposed about the primary electrode.

Electrical waveform for gas turbine igniter

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Latham, NY, United States of America

Alvaro Alexander Briceno