Solar Turbines Inc.

Solar Turbines Incoporated

Christopher Zdzislaw Twardochleb

Mario Eugene Abreu

John Frederick Lockyer

Donald J Cramb

James W Blust

Thomas J C Rogers

Rasoul Paydar

Alexander Ilich Krichever

Hongyu Wang

Robert Anthony Corr, Ii

Jonathan Gerrard Duckers

James Wilfrid Blust, Ii

Norm Turoff

David Marc Stansel

James Gregory Roesch

Gary A Frey

A fuel injector for a combustor of a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The fuel injector includes a gas gallery and a gas passage. The gas gallery is an annular passage configured to circumferentially distribute gas fuel. The gas passage includes an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is distal to the gas gallery and includes an inlet area with a circular shape. The outlet adjoins the gas gallery and includes an outlet area including an annular sector shape. The gas passage is configured to diffuse the gas fuel and discharge the gas fuel from the outlet and into the gas gallery.

Fuel injector with a diffusing main gas passage

A fuel injector for a gas turbine engine may include a flow path for a fuel-air mixture extending longitudinally through the fuel injector, and a fuel gallery extending circumferentially around the flow path. The fuel gallery may be adapted to inject a liquid fuel into the flow path. The fuel injector may also include an annular casing positioned circumferentially around the fuel gallery to define an insulating chamber around the gallery. The fuel injector may also include an annular cover extending around the fuel injector to define a metering chamber. The fuel injector may further include one or more purge holes fluidly coupling the metering chamber to the insulating chamber, and one or more metering holes fluidly coupling the metering chamber to a volume exterior to the fuel injector.

Gas turbine fuel injector with metering cavity

A liquid fuel injection spoke for a gas turbine engine. The liquid fuel injection spoke may include an inlet end and an outlet end. The liquid fuel injection spoke may further include a head located at the inlet end and a stem extending along a longitudinal axis from the head to the outlet end. The stem may define a fluid passageway therein. The head may include a cavity with an inner wall. The inner wall may include an annular protrusion.

Method and apparatus for swaged liquid injector spoke

When starting a dual fuel turbine engine on liquid fuel, a flow of air assist into a combined pilot gaseous fuel and air assist tube is supplied. The velocity of the flow of air assist is increased as it is expelled through an outlet of the tube. The flow of air assist is directed into a first end of a pilot injector barrel. Additional air is drawn into the first end of the pilot injector barrel from an enclosure containing both the first end of the pilot injector barrel and the tube outlet. Liquid pilot fuel is supplied at a second end of the pilot injector barrel, and this fuel is atomized by the flow of the air assist and additional air. The atomized pilot liquid fuel may then be combusted.

Combination air assist and pilot gaseous fuel circuit

A fuel injector for a gas turbine engine may include an injector housing extending along a longitudinal axis and configured to be fluidly coupled to a combustor of the turbine engine. The fuel injector may also include a flow path for a fuel air mixture to the combustor extending longitudinally within the injector housing, and a gallery for liquid fuel encircling the flow path. The gallery may include a plurality of fuel spokes that are configured to deliver liquid fuel from the gallery to the flow path. The gallery may extend from a feed end to a terminal end that overlaps the feed end. The feed end may be a region where liquid fuel enters the gallery and the terminal end may be a region where the gallery terminates.

End-fed liquid fuel gallery for a gas turbine fuel injector

A fuel injector includes a flow path for fuel air mixture to a combustor extending longitudinally through the fuel injector. The fuel injector may also include a liquid fuel gallery at least partially encircling the flow path. The gallery may include a plurality of fuel spokes configured to deliver liquid fuel from the gallery to the flow path. The fuel injector may also include an annular outer housing circumferentially positioned about the gallery to form an insulating air cavity at least partially around the gallery. The outer housing may include at least one purge hole to provide communication between the insulating air cavity and outside the outer housing of the injector.

Fuel injector with purged insulating air cavity

A fuel injector for a turbine engine may include a body member disposed about a longitudinal axis, and a barrel member located radially outwardly from the body member. The fuel injector may also include an annular passageway extending between the body member and the barrel member from a first end to a second end. The first end may be configured to be fluidly coupled to a compressor of the turbine engine and the second end may be configured to be fluidly coupled to a combustor of the turbine engine. The fuel injector may also include a perforated plate positioned proximate the first end of the passageway. The perforated plate may be configured to direct compressed air into the annular passageway with a first pressure drop. The fuel injector may also include at least one fuel discharge orifice positioned downstream of the perforated plate. The at least one fuel discharge orifice may be configured to discharge a fuel into the annular passageway with a second pressure drop. The second pressure drop may have a value between about the first pressure drop and about 1.75 times the first pressure drop.

Phase and amplitude matched fuel injector

A fuel nozzle for a turbine engine has a central body member with a pilot, a surrounding barrel housing, a mixing duct and an air inlet duct. The fuel nozzle additionally has a main fuel injection device located between the air inlet duct and the mixing duct. The main fuel injection device is configured to introduce a flow of fuel into the barrel member to create a fuel/air mixture which is then premixed with a swirler. The fuel/air mixture then further mixes in the mixing duct and exits the nozzle into a combustor for combustion. The geometry of the fuel nozzle ensures that pressure waves from the combustor do not create a time varying fuel to air equivalence ratio in the flow through the nozzle that achieves a resonance with the pressure waves.

Acoustically tuned combustion for a gas turbine engine

A pilot assembly for a fuel injector of a gas turbine engine may include a longitudinal passageway having an outlet end. A mass flow in the longitudinal passageway may generally flow towards the outlet end during operation of the engine. The pilot assembly may also include a liquid fuel nozzle that is positioned to direct a mixture of liquid fuel and air near the outlet end, and a compressed air inlet that is configured to direct air compressed by a compressor of the engine to a compressor discharge pressure into the longitudinal passageway without a substantial loss of pressure. The longitudinal passageway may also include a flow restriction section. The flow restriction section may be a narrowed section of the longitudinal passageway, in which an upstream side of the flow restriction section may have compressed air at substantially the compressor discharge pressure and a downstream side may have air at a lower pressure and a higher velocity. The pilot assembly may further include a nozzle for injecting one of assist air or gaseous fuel into the longitudinal passageway. The nozzle may be positioned at the flow restriction section or on an upstream side of the flow restriction section to reduce cross-talk.

Low cross-talk gas turbine fuel injector

Past airfoil configurations have been used to improve aerodynamic performance and engine efficiencies. The present airfoil configuration further increases component life and reduces maintenance by reducing internal stress within the airfoil itself. The airfoil includes a chord and a span. Each of the chord and the span has a bow being summed to form a generally 'C' configuration of the airfoil. The generally 'C' configuration includes a compound bow in which internal stresses resulting from a thermal temperature gradient are reduced. The structural configuration reduces internal stresses resulting from thermal expansion.

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Alpine, CA, United States of America

Christopher Zdzislaw Twardochleb