United Technologies Corporation

John B McVey

Thomas J Rosfjord

Jan B Kennedy

Walter M Presz, Jr

Timothy S Snyder

Michael J Werle

Robert W Paterson

Edward J Britt

Barry C Schlein

Aaron S Hu

Andrew S Perrucci

Roy Pelmas

A Hall effect thruster for propelling spacecraft and satellites includes at least two acceleration channels, each of the channels has a closed end and an open end, and a plurality of flux guides adjacent each of the channels. The plurality of flux guides includes an innermost flux guide, an outermost flux guide, and at least one intermediate flux guide. Each intermediate flux guide helps provide a magnetic field to each of two adjacent acceleration channels.

Multichannel hall effect thruster

A premix liquid fuel nozzle has longitudinal air entrance slots (24) into a cylindrical chamber (20). A centerbody (42) produces an axially increasing flow area toward the chamber outlet (32). Liquid fuel is atomized in a specified location (58) adjacent the conical centerbody (42). This area has a high axial shear velocity producing thorough vaporization and uniform mixing before combustion.

Tangential entry fuel nozzle

A mixing device is comprised of a pair of nested flow separator conduits (202, 204) with convolutions (201, 206) on the outlet ends (203, 205) and means of adjusting the relative position of the convolutions on one of the outlet ends relative to the convolutions on the other outlet end. The relative movement of the convolutions (201, 206) provides a method to modulate the rate of mixing between flows passing through the flow separator conduits (202, 204). Exemplary embodiments of the invention include application of the mixing device as a furnace (20) and as a gas turbine combustor (150).

Mechanism for controlling the rate of mixing in combusting flows

A burner for a gas turbine combustor has a perforated plate facing the combustor and a plurality of gaseous fuel premixing tubes conveying a lean premixed fuel through the plate. A gas pilot extending through the plate projects jets of fuel parallel to the plate between the tube locations nearest the pilot. Ignition stability at turndown is maintained.

Low NOx combustion

In a combustion process streams of fuel, oxidant or combinations of fuel and oxidant pass simultaneously through a combustion region over opposite sides of a plate disposed therein having downstream extending convolutions which create pairs of large scale oppositely rotating vortices. These vortices cause the fuel and oxidant to mix rapidly with each other. A recirculation zone is disposed immediately downstream and adjacent the edge of the convoluted plate, and in one embodiment is created by a step-wise discontinuity in the flowpath. The mixing occurs without introducing large momentum losses and, when the mixture is ignited immediately downstream of the convoluted plate, the flame propagates with a larger than normal spreading angle.

Growing community of inventors

Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

John B McVey