General Electric Company

Girard Albert Simons

Willy Steve Ziminsky

Gilbert Otto Kraemer

Mark Allan Hadley

Jonathan Dwight Berry

John Joseph Lipinski

Daniel Doyle Vandale

Abhijit Som

A method of regulating the Wobbe number of a multi-composition gas fuel supplied to one or more combustors of a gas turbine includes: (a) providing a control system for regulating fuel and air flow to the one or more combustors; and (b) reforming a fraction of the gas fuel upstream of the one or more combustors to form hydrogen and carbon monoxide to be supplied to the one or more combustors with a remaining fraction of the fuel; wherein the fraction of fuel reformed is adjusted to maintain the Wobbe number of the fuel supplied to the one or more combustors within a predetermined range.

Wobbe control and enhanced operability through in-line fuel reforming

Disclosed is a combustor including a baffle plate having at least one through baffle hole and at least one fuel nozzle extending through the at least one through baffle hole. At least one diluent shroud is affixed to the at least one baffle plate and is configured to guide a diluent flow toward a mixing chamber of the at least one fuel nozzle. Further disclosed is a method for introducing a diluent flow into a mixing chamber of a fuel nozzle including urging the diluent flow from a plenum through a baffle plate gap between a baffle plate and an outer surface of the fuel nozzle. The diluent flow is directed via at least one diluent shroud extending from the baffle plate toward a plurality of air swirler holes extending through a fuel nozzle tip. The diluent flow is flowed through the plurality of air swirler holes into the mixing chamber.

Diluent shroud for combustor

A method of regulating the Wobbe number of a multi-composition gas fuel supplied to one or more combustors of a gas turbine comprising: (a) providing a control system for regulating fuel and air flow to the one or more combustors; and (b) reforming a fraction of the gas fuel upstream of the one or more combustors to form hydrogen and carbon monoxide to be supplied to the one or more combustors with a remaining fraction of the fuel; wherein the fraction of fuel reformed is adjusted to maintain the Wobbe number of the fuel supplied to the one or more combustors within a predetermined range.

A combustor for mixing a flow of compressed air from a compressor and a flow of fuel from a fuel source. The combustor may include a first swirler for mixing the flow of compressed air and the flow of fuel into a first fuel-air flow, a second flow source for providing a second flow downstream of the first swirler, and a second swirler for mixing the first fuel-air flow and the second flow.

Growing community of inventors

Anderson, SC, United States of America

Girard Albert Simons