United Technologies Corporation

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

George W Beal

George P Liang

Gary J Dillard

Kurt J Hanloser

James R Grant, Jr

A turbofan engine uses fan air to cool bounding surfaces of the exhaust duct at all times. A portion of the fan air flow is used for augmentor combustion in the augmentation mode. In the non-augmented mode the flow for combustion is stopped and the cooling air is used to cool the tail cone and exit guide vanes. Infrared radiation is thereby reduced when non-augmented.

Gas turbine engine cooling air flow

A flameholder stabilization plate attaches to the lower part of a flameholding baffle disposed in an afterburner system of a turbofan engine. The plate includes extension tabs which extend laterally from a main body of the plate and block contact by cool fuel droplets entrained in a cold fan air stream flow with the baffle. The tabs disperse some large droplets into smaller ones which flow to a recirculation flame zone behind the baffle where a leaner fuel-air mixture is formed. Other large droplets of fuel are directed by the tabs to combustion zones at lateral sides of the baffle where a richer fuel-air mixture is formed. The leaner mixture in the recirculation zone will result in a more stable flame which, in turn, will more efficiently burn the richer mixture of fuel in the lateral combustion zones.

Flameholder stabilization plate for an aircraft engine afterburner system

An afterburner on a turbofan engine includes a flameholder means having an annular flameholder gutter positioned downstream of a first exhaust means of a core engine while said flameholder means also includes a plurality of radial gutter sections extending radially outward towards an outer wall of said afterburner and downstream of a second annular exhaust means of a bypass duct around said core engine; a plurality of said radial gutter sections having a manifold extending along the forward portion thereof, each manifold having an inlet at its inward end located downstream of said first exhaust means with said manifold directing a hot exhaust flow from said inlet to openings on each side of its associated radial gutter section in a portion downstream of said second annular exhaust means.

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Palm Beach Gardens, FL, United States of America

George W Beal