General Electric Company

Ivan Elmer Woltmann

John Alan Manteiga

Rollin G Giffin, Iii

Jeffrey Carl Mayer

Donald Patrick McHugh

Lawrence Paul Timko

Frank Gerald Bachman

Sean Stacey Archer

Timothy J Freking

Ralph Henry Winslow

Frank A Geiser

Thurmond Douglas Senter

Ivan E Kenworth

A gas turbine engine augmentor includes an annular trapped vortex cavity pilot having a cavity forward wall, a cavity radially outer wall, and a cavity aft wall, an annular cavity therebetween, and cavity fuel injector tubes operably disposed through the outer wall into the cavity. Circumferentially spaced apart radial flameholders with integral spraybars and/or radial spraybars interdigitated with the radial flameholders radially inwardly into an exhaust flowpath of the augmentor just forward and upstream of the trapped vortex cavity pilot at a radially outer portion of a combustion zone of the exhaust flowpath. An annular trapped dual vortex cavity pilot version is operable for producing trapped dual counter-rotating inner and outer vortices of fuel and air mixtures.

Augmentor with trapped vortex cavity pilot

A gas turbine engine augmentor radial fuel spray bar has a counterswirling spray bar heat shield. Two embodiments of the heat shield include one with a cambered airfoil cross-section and another with a twisted airfoil cross-section and may have varying or constant degree of camber or twist, respectively, along a radial length of the spray bar heat shield. The spray bar may have one or more spray bar fuel tubes within the heat shield, openings in the heat shield, and fuel holes in the tubes operable for injecting fuel through the openings. A gas turbine engine augmentor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radial flameholders may incorporate a plurality of the augmentor radial fuel spray bars with one or more of the augmentor radial fuel spray bars circumferentially disposed between one or more circumferentially adjacent pairs of the radial flameholders.

Augmentor radial fuel spray bar with counterswirling heat shield

A combustion control system controls a turbine engine that includes a fuel manifold and a plurality of fuel injectors. The control system includes a fuel pulsator and a controller. The fuel pulsator is coupled in flow communication with the plurality of injectors and the fuel manifold. The controller is coupled to the fuel pulsator such that the pulsator is between the controller and the fuel manifold. The controller is variably selectable and configured to facilitate promoting stable combustion.

Apparatus for reducing gas turbine engines emissions

Methods for operating gas turbine engines

A turbofan engine augmenter includes an exhaust casing and a combustion liner therein which define therebetween a cooling duct for receiving bypass air. A diffusion liner adjoins the combustion liner and defines with the casing an outer inlet for receiving the bypass air, and a radially inner inlet for receiving core gases. A ring flameholder includes an aft facing radial wall adjoining the diffusion liner, and an integral axial wall adjoining the combustion liner. A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart radial flameholders extend inwardly from the casing and through the diffusion liner forward of the ring flameholder, and each includes a first fuel spraybar for injecting fuel into the core gases. A mixer defined by a plurality of injector chutes extends radially inwardly through the diffusion liner, with the chutes being spaced between respective pairs of the radial flameholders. Each injector chute includes an inlet for receiving the bypass air, and an outlet at an opposite end for injecting the bypass air into the core gases.

Augmenter with integrated fueling and cooling

A cooled ignition flameholder assembly includes a first heat shield having first and second spaced apart chambers. A fuel spraybar is disposed inside the first chamber, and a hollow baffle is disposed inside the second chamber. A second heat shield is joined to the first heat shield for closing the second chamber with the baffle therein. The baffle includes an inlet for receiving cooling air which is discharged through a plurality of outlet holes for impingement cooling the first and second heat shields. An ignition bulb is disposed adjacent to the second chamber and receives an igniter tip and a fuel injector tip for initiating combustion.

Gas turbine engine ignition flameholder with internal impingement cooling

A plurality of circumferentially displaced hollow members are positioned between an outer bypass duct and the center body of the core engine. Each of the hollow members is open at the radially outward end thereof for receiving relatively cool gas from the bypass duct. Each hollow member is formed with an opening in the side thereof extending substantially the full length of the hollow member near the trailing edge thereof for discharging bypass gas from the bypass duct in a direction facilitating thorough mixing of the bypass gas and core gases. A pivoted vane is provided in this opening of each of the hollow members and these vanes are controlled to vary the airflow through the aforementioned openings. Radially extending spraybars or fuel rods are provided within each hollow member adjacent opposite sides thereof so as to be cooled by the bypass air flowing through the hollow member. The spraybars are provided with a plurality of openings adjacent the sidewalls of the hollow members and corresponding openings are provided in these walls so that fuel, during augmentor operation, is directed into the area between adjacent hollow members. The aft end of each hollow member is formed as a relatively wide flat surface which acts as a flameholder for the fuel supplied from the spraybars and burned in the augmentor. The forward end of each hollow member is curved to an angle corresponding generally to the swirl angle of core gases exhausted from the core engine so as to effect a deswirling of this gas.

Gas turbine engine with augmentor and variable area bypass injector

An augmented mixed flow gas turbine engine is provided with a variable area bypass injector system which varies the area through which the bypass stream is injected into the core stream and which also selectively obtrudes cooling airflow to the augmentor liner. The ability to vary the area through which the bypass stream is injected into the core stream permits the mixed flow gas turbine engine of this invention to operate efficiently over a wide range of bypass ratios and further permits the total pressure of the bypass stream to be maintained at a level which will keep the engine inlet airflow matched to an optimum design level throughout a wide range of engine thrust settings. The ability to selectively obtrude cooling flow to the augmentor liner allows the augmentor cooling flow to be optimized for development of engine thrust during the augmented and non-augmented modes of operation and thereby further improve the operating range and efficiency of the engine of this invention.

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West Chester, OH, United States of America

Ivan Elmer Woltmann