General Electric Company

John Charles Intile

Thomas Edward Johnson

Lucas John Stoia

Kevin Weston McMahan

Timothy Andrew Healy

Joseph Vincent Citeno

Garth Curtis Frederick

Ronald Scott Bunker

Benjamin Paul Lacy

Patrick Benedict Melton

Willy Steve Ziminsky

Stanley Kevin Widener

Baifang Zuo

Kevin Richard Kirtley

Michael Douglas Arnett

Stanley Frank Simpson

Nirm Velumylum Nirmalan

Justin Varkey John

James Anthony West

Predrag Popovic

Jeremy Clyde Bailey

Scott William Szepek

Shiva Kumar Srinivasan

John Joseph Lynch

Mark William Pinson

William Lawrence Byrne

Karthick Kaleeswaran

Daniel Joseph Peczka

Ganesh Pejawar Rao

Madhavan Poyyapakkam

Sergey Alexandrovich Stryapunin

Bradley Steven Carey

Jason Mulherin

Tapie Rohm

A mold assembly for use in forming a component having an internal passage defined therein is provided. The component is formed from a component material. The mold assembly includes a mold that defines a mold cavity therein. The mold assembly also includes a lattice structure selectively positioned at least partially within the mold cavity. The lattice structure is formed from a first material that has a selectively altered composition in at least one region of the lattice structure. A channel is defined through the lattice structure, and a core is positioned in the channel such that at least a portion of the core extends within the mold cavity and defines the internal passage when the component is formed in the mold assembly.

Method and assembly for forming components having internal passages using a lattice structure

A method of recovering heat energy from a cooling medium used to cool hot gas path components in a turbine engine includes cooling one or more hot gas path components with the cooling medium; supplying spent cooling medium used to cool the one or more hot gas path components to a heat exchanger; supplying air (e.g., compressor discharge air) to the heat exchanger so as to be in heat exchange relationship with the spent cooling medium and thereby add heat to the compressor discharge air; and supplying the air heated in the heat exchanger to at least one combustor.

Method of recovering energy in a steam-cooled gas turbine

Certain embodiments of the invention may include systems, methods, and apparatus for detecting failure in gas turbine hardware. According to an example embodiment of the invention, a method for detecting a failure in a gas turbine is provided. The method can include monitoring a parameter associated with the turbine, wherein the monitored parameter comprises at least one turbine bucket temperature, detecting an event associated with operation of the turbine, wherein the event is based at least in part on the monitored parameter, and initiating shutdown of the turbine upon detection of the event wherein the monitored parameter is above a predetermined value for at least a predetermined time duration.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for detecting failure in gas turbine hardware

A system for supplying a working fluid to a combustor includes a fuel nozzle, a combustion chamber downstream from the fuel nozzle, and a flow sleeve that circumferentially surrounds the combustion chamber. A plurality of fuel injectors are circumferentially arranged around the flow sleeve to provide fluid communication through the flow sleeve to the combustion chamber. A distribution manifold circumferentially surrounds the plurality of fuel injectors, and a fluid passage through the flow sleeve and into the distribution manifold provides fluid communication through the flow sleeve to the plurality of fuel injectors.

System for supplying a working fluid to a combustor

A secondary fuel nozzle for a turbine includes a passive purge air passageway which provides purge air to the secondary nozzle at all times that the nozzle is in operation. The passive purge air passageway draws in air from a location adjacent an upstream end of the nozzle. Because of a pressure differential between air located at the downstream end of the nozzle and air located at the upstream end of the nozzle, purge air will run through the passive purge air passageway at all times the nozzle is in operation. There is no need for a supply of compressed purge air.

Fuel nozzle for a turbine engine with a passive purge air passageway

A combustor for a gas turbine includes a plurality of nozzles provided in an array; a baffle plate configured to provide a desired air flow distribution to the array of nozzles; and a casing comprising a plurality of holes in an outer surface. The casing extends from a headend of the combustor to the baffle plate. A method of distributing an air flow in a combustor of a gas turbine includes providing an air flow to the outer surface of the casing; directing the air flow around the baffle plate; and distributing the air flow through the baffle plate to the array of nozzles.

Combustor headend guide vanes to reduce flow maldistribution into multi-nozzle arrangement

A nozzle includes an inlet, an outlet, and an axial centerline. A shroud surrounding the axial centerline extends from the inlet to the outlet and defines a circumference. The circumference proximate the inlet is greater than the circumference at a first point downstream of the inlet, and the circumference at the first point downstream of the inlet is less than the circumference at a second point downstream of the first point. A method for supplying a fuel through a nozzle directs a first airflow along a first path and a second airflow along a second path separate from the first path. The method further includes injecting the fuel into at least one of the first path or the second path and accelerating at least one of the first airflow or the second airflow.

Apparatus and method for a gas turbine nozzle

A power generation system is provided and includes a compressor to increase a pressure of inlet ambient air and a turbine downstream from the compressor having a first stage and additional stages downstream from the first stage, the first stage structurally incorporating a combustor in which the compressed ambient air is mixed with fuel and in which the mixture is combusted to generate high temperature exhaust gas from which mechanical energy is derived in the first and additional stages.

Power generation system including afirst turbine stage structurally incorporating a combustor

A combustor cap is cooperable with an impingement plate in a turbine fuel nozzle and includes a plurality of cap segments independently securable to the impingement plate. The plurality of cap segments are radially and tangentially movable relative to the impingement plate.

Segmented combustor cap

Disclosed is a method and system for determining composition of a fuel entering a combustor. The method includes determining a temperature of the fuel entering the combustor, calculating a first estimated total fuel flow utilizing fuel properties and fuel nozzle effective area (A), and calculating a second estimated total fuel flow utilizing an aero-thermal cycle model analysis. The first estimated total fuel flow is compared to the second estimated total fuel flow and a lower heating value of the fuel is determined from a difference between the first estimated total fuel flow and the second estimated total fuel flow. A method and system for controlling a gas turbine includes calculating effects of the fuel composition on performance of the gas turbine and comparing one or more performance parameters to one or more parameter limits. One or more machine controls of the gas turbine are changed based on the results of the comparison.

Method and system to determine composition of fuel entering combustor

Methods and systems for analyzing combustion dynamics of a combustor system in the time domain are provided. The combustor system includes an inlet pipe coupled in flow communication with a combustion chamber. The method includes determining a characteristic equation of a wave traveling in the inlet pipe, determining an acoustic pressure oscillation in the combustion chamber, and determining a pressure fluctuation in the inlet pipe using the characteristic equation and the determined acoustic pressure oscillation.

Methods and systems for analysis of combustion dynamics in the time domain

A method facilitates assembling a gas turbine engine including a combustor assembly and a nozzle assembly. The method comprises providing a transition piece including a first end, a second end, and a body extending therebetween, where the body includes an inner surface, an opposite outer surface, coupling the first end of the transition piece to the combustor assembly, and coupling the second end of the transition piece to the nozzle assembly such that a turbulator extending helically over the outer surface of the transition piece extends from the transition piece first end to the transition piece second end to facilitate inducing turbulence to cooling air supplied to the combustor assembly.

Method and apparatus to facilitate cooling turbine engines

A method and apparatus for cooling a combustor liner and transitions piece of a gas turbine include a combustor liner with a plurality of turbulators arranged in an array axially along a length defining a length of the combustor liner and located on an outer surface thereof; a first flow sleeve surrounding the combustor liner with a first flow annulus therebetween, the first flow sleeve having a plurality of rows of cooling holes formed about a circumference of the first flow sleeve for directing cooling air from the compressor discharge into the first flow annulus; a transition piece connected to the combustor liner and adapted to carry hot combustion gases to a stage of the turbine; a second flow sleeve surrounding the transition piece a second plurality of rows of cooling apertures for directing cooling air into a second flow annulus between the second flow sleeve and the transition piece; wherein the first plurality of cooling holes and second plurality of cooling apertures are each configured with an effective area to distribute less than 50% of compressor discharge air to the first flow sleeve and mix with cooling air from the second flow annulus.

Method and apparatus for cooling combustor liner and transition piece of a gas turbine

A method and apparatus for cooling a combustor liner and transitions piece of a gas turbine include a combustor liner with a plurality of circular ring turbulators arranged in an array axially along a length defining a length of the combustor liner and located on an outer surface thereof; a first flow sleeve surrounding the combustor liner with a first flow annulus therebetween including a plurality of axial channels (C) extending over a portion of an aft end portion of the liner parallel to each other, the cross-sectional area of each channel either constant or varying along the length of the channel, the first flow sleeve having a plurality of rows of cooling holes formed about a circumference of the first flow sleeve for directing cooling air from the compressor discharge into the first flow annulus; a transition piece connected to the combustor liner and adapted to carry hot combustion gases to a stage of the turbine; a second flow sleeve surrounding the transition piece a second plurality of rows of cooling apertures for directing cooling air into a second flow annulus between the second flow sleeve and the transition piece; wherein the first plurality of cooling holes and second plurality of cooling apertures are each configured with an effective area to distribute less than 50% of compressor discharge air to the first flow sleeve and mix with cooling air from the second flow annulus.

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Simpsonville, SC, United States of America

John Charles Intile