Sundstrand Corporation

Solar Turbines Inc.

Capstone Turbine Corporation

International Harvester Company

Other

Jack R Shekleton

Robert W Smith

Colin Rodgers

Michael W Sledd

Steven A Sachrison

Melvin K Lafferty

Roy W Vershure, Jr

Anthony P Batakis

John P Archibald

Douglas C Johnson

Curtis C Martin

Steven W Lampe

Nipulkumar Shah

Richard T LeCren

Anthony C Jones

Robert G Thompson

William Dean Treece

Thomas E Duffy

William A Compton

Ray C Ramirez

Timothy David

Ken W Sawyer

William Brower

Steve Heitz

Steven S Sachrison

Roy K Johanson

Linn C Shorb

The liquid fuel injector includes continuous air assist with both the liquid fuel injector tube and the surrounding air assist tube constrained or reduced in diameter at the discharge ends thereof. The associated gas turbine engine compressor provides combustion air to the combustor and also air for continuous air assist with a separate air pump. The air assist air may be cooled in a heat exchanger either before or after the separate air pump. The liquid fuel injector may be mounted within an annular air blast tube and directed tangentially at the inner wall of the combustor. A solenoid valve controlled purge line, together with solenoid valves in the liquid fuel and air assist lines can be utilized to purge any liquid fuel in the liquid fuel injector and manifold upon shutdown of the combustor. The liquid fuel injector can also be insulated and liquid fuel can be used to cool the fuel injector.

Liquid fuel injector system

Liquid fuel injector

Liquid fuel injector and injector system for a small gas turbine engine

The liquid fuel injector includes continuous air assist with both the liquid fuel injector tube and the surrounding air assist tube constrained or reduced in diameter at the discharge ends thereof The associated gas turbine engine compressor provides combustion air to the combustor and also air for continuous air assist with a separate air pump. The air assist air may be cooled in a heat exchanger either before or after the separate air pump. The liquid fuel injector may be mounted within an annular air blast tube and directed tangentially at the inner wall of the combustor. A solenoid valve controlled purge line, together with solenoid valves in the liquid fuel and air assist lines can be utilized to purge any liquid fuel in the liquid fuel injector and manifold upon shutdown of the combustor. The liquid fuel injector can also be insulated and liquid fuel can be used to cool the fuel injector.

Liquid fuel injector purge system

In a gas turbine engine having gaseous oxidant delivered to a turbine from a source such as a pressurized bottle via a conduit or duct, a compact annular combustor is provided which offers enhanced performance through incorporation of means for uniformly distributing portions of the oxidant utilized as a diluent, and for convective cooling of engine components.

Turbine including a stored energy combustor

A gas turbine engine 10 having a rotor 12 with turbine blades 14 and a nozzle 16 adjacent the turbine blades 14 for directing hot gases of combustion at the turbine blades 14. The engine 10 also includes an annular combustor 18 about the rotor 12 and an annular combustor housing 30 substantially surrounding the combustor 18 in generally concentric spaced relation. A fuel injection system is operatively associated with the combustor 18 for injecting fuel into a combustion space 28 to be combusted with air from a compressor 34. The fuel injection system may include a plurality of circumferentially spaced fuel injectors 68 disposed in an outer wall 20 of the combustor 18 together with a generally oval shaped manifold 70 in fluid communication with a primary fuel source and the fuel injectors 68. A turbine shroud 36 is provided to extend radially outward from the rotor to the outer wall of the combustor on the side of the nozzle 16 opposite the combustion space 28. The turbine shroud 36 is cooled by a film of air which passes through a plurality of circumferentially spaced orifices 40 in the outer wall 20 of the combustor 18. The engine 10 also includes an abutment member 38, 60 and a spacing member 66 between the combustor 18 and the housing 30. With this arrangement, the combustor 18 and the housing 30 can be maintained in generally concentric preselected axial relation.

Compact gas turbine engine

A turbine engine (10) includes a turbine wheel (12) coupled to a compressor (14) for driven movement, a nozzle (16) for directing gases of combustion at the turbine wheel (12), and an annular combustor (18) defining an annular combustion space upstream of the turbine wheel (12) in fluid communication with both the compressor (14) and the nozzle (16). The combustor (18) receives fuel from a source and air from the compressor (14) and combusts them in the combustion space to generate the gases of combustion. The combustor (18) is defined by an annular outer wall (20), an annular inner wall (22), and a radial wall (24) extending therebetween opposite the nozzle (16). The turbine engine (10) also includes at least one air blast fuel injector (26) disposed in the annular outer wall (20) of the combustor (18) for injecting atomized fuel generally tangentially of the outer wall (20) outwardly of a flame zone (28) within the combustion space. In order to achieve the objectives of the present invention, and to do so in a manner which does not require sophisticated fuel injector or combustor designs, the turbine engine (10) utilizes air film strips (36, 38, 40) and/or holes (20b, 22b, 24b) for cooling the combustor (18) with an air film on an inwardly facing surface of one or more of the walls (20, 22, 24) defining the combustor (18) while at the same time avoiding the filming of air onto the outer wall (20) radially outwardly of and generally axially coextensive with the flame zone (28).

Very high altitude turbine combustor

The expense of fabricating an annular combustor (10) for a gas turbine is minimized by providing a combustor housing (12) including a generally axially extending sleeve (14) and an annular liner (18) disposed within the housing (12) and about the sleeve (14). The annular liner (18) has concentric inner and outer axially extending walls (20, 22) spaced from the sleeve (14 ) and the housing (12), respectively, and also has a radially extending wall (24) spaced from the housing (12 ) and interconnecting the inner and outer walls (20, 22) at one end to define a combustion chamber (26). The liner (18) is spaced from the housing (12 ) and the sleeve (14 ) to define a compressed air flow path (28) extending from a radially outer compressed air inlet (30) to a radially inner compressed air outlet (32) in communication with the combustion chamber (26) axially remote from the radially extending wall (24). The annular combustor (26) is provided with a plurality of air blast fuel injectors (42, 44) for injecting a fuel/air mixture into the liner (18 ) in a generally tangential direction adjacent the radially extending wall (24). The annular combustor (10) also includes a plurality of open ended elongated tubes (36) in the outer wall (22) adjacent the compressed air inlet (30) to provide dilution air at a point upstream of a turbine nozzle (40) and a plurality of open ended elongated tubes (34 ) in the outer wall (22) intermediate the dilution air tubes (36) and the radially extending wall (24) to provide air for combustion. With this arrangement, the combustion air tubes (34) are sized to admit sufficient combustion air to ensure completion of combustion upstream of the plane defined by the dilution air tubes (36) while forming a flame zone extending from a point adjacent the radially extending wall (24) to a point no further downstream than the dilution air tubes (36).

Annular combustor

Difficulties in starting a turbine engine, particularly ones having a small volume combustor (83) with a low dome height, may be avoided by a method including the steps of a) forming the turbine engine compressor (48) of a low density, high temperature resistant ceramic material, b) directing pyrotechnic gases at a temperature of at least about 3,000.degree. F. against the blades (48) of the compressor, c) continuing the step of directing until the turbine rotor (44) is rotating at at least about 60 percent of rated speed and d) combusting fuel in the combustor (83) of the turbine engine to maintain the rotor (44) rotating at at least about 60 percent of rated speed.

Starting of a small turbojet

Undesirable high temperature gradients associated with inadequate mixing of dilution air with gases of combustion in turbines is avoided in a structure wherein dilution air is injected with a high degree of circumferential swirl through an opening (50) to the interior of an annular combustor (20) at the outlet (36) thereof which is connected to a turbine nozzle (46). The high circumferential swirl generates high 'g' forces causing rapid penetration of the dilution air in the radial direction through the combustion air stream and the length of the path of the combined stream, and thus residence time and thoroughness of mixing, can be controlled through the use of a baffle (60) overlying the opening (50) to direct the dilution air countercurrently to the gases of combustion prior to introduction into the stream thereof.

Method of obtaining a desired temperature profile in a turbine engine

In order to achieve ignition at altitude, particularly in relatively small combustors (10) with low fuel flow rates, a fuel injection system (20) includes an air nozzle (26), a fuel nozzle (28), and an air assist tube (34). The fuel nozzle (28) is disposed in a manner so as to direct fuel through the air nozzle (26) and includes a fuel metering orifice (30) or capillary tube (32) to control fuel flow therethrough. The air assist tube (34) is integrally associated with the fuel nozzle (28) downstream of the fuel metering orifice (30) or capillary tube (32) to accelerate fuel flowing through the fuel nozzle (28). With this arrangement, the air nozzle (26) may comprise an opening in a combustor wall (14) defining a combustion chamber (12) of a turbine engine combustor (10) wherein a combustor case (16) surrounds the combustor wall (14) to define an air flow path 18 in communication with a compressed air source whereby compressed air flows through the opening (26) and into the combustor (10) along with fuel from the fuel nozzle (28) and air from the air assist tube (34).

Air assist fuel injection system

Difficulties in downsizing annular combustors (20) due to orienting fuel injectors with respect to oxidant blast tubes are avoided in a construction for a combustor (20) including radially spaced annular walls (22, 24) and an interconnecting radial wall (26) defining an annular combustion chamber (32). A plurality of circumferentially spaced tubes (28, 30) extend through the radially outermost annular wall (24) and are directed generally tangentially into the combustion space (32). A plurality of fuel injectors (42) are provided for directing fuel radially inwardly into the space (32) and are circumferentially spaced about the combustion space (32) and located between the tubes (28).

Tangentially directed air assisted fuel injection and small annular

A hot gas generator includes a dual fuel injector (42) having spaced fuel discharge nozzles (48, 60) on the longitudinal axis (28) of a vessel (18) having a narrow inlet (22), an opposite narrow outlet (14) and an intermediate, enlarged chamber (24) which serves as a combustion chamber. The nozzle (60) injects a spray cone (64) of fuel in a cone angle that is sufficiently wide that a large angle exists between the fuel spray and the path (54) of high velocity combustion gases moving toward the outlet (14) to achieve excellent vaporization of fuel at fuel rich conditions without causing carbon buildup and/or the generation of black smoke in the exhaust.

Staged, coaxial, multiple point fuel injection in a hot gas generator

Lean flameout upon ignition in a turbine system including a turbine wheel (10) driven by motive gases including gases of combustion from a combustor (20) may be avoided by locating an orifice (130) downstream of the servo/.DELTA.P valve (52) that controls fuel flow to the fuel inlet (22) of the combustor (20).

Method for preventing lean flaeout at ignition of a stored energy system

Problems with the cooling of a turbine nozzle (60) and a turbine wheel (20) of a gas turbine engine when the engine is uprated may be avoided or minimized by employing a combustor (36) that is free of any means for providing cooling air films on the interior walls thereof and which allows the entry of only stoichiometric quantities of air into the interior of the combustor (36) at predetermined locations along the entire axial length thereof. Consequently, the entirety of the combustor (36) is available for combustion. Cooling of the nozzle (60) and components of the engine downstream thereof is handled by the provision of an annular array of small openings (102) immediately upstream of the leading edges (98) of the vanes (58) constituting the nozzle (60) to provide excellent mixing of dilution air and combustion gases thereat.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Jack R Shekleton