Delavan Inc.

Collins Engine Nozzles, Inc.

Mark Alan Caples

Jason Allen Ryon

Brett A Pfeffer

Troy Hall

Jacob Greenfield

Neal A Thomson

Andy W Tibbs

Daniel Edward Bleeker

Dustin Andrew Borror

Daniel Haggerty

Nicole L Nelson

John David Canny

Patrick Leer

A spacer for a fluid nozzle can include a body configured to fit within a sheath of the fluid nozzle such that a fluid tube positioned within the sheath is held bent over its longitudinal dimension by the body thereby altering a natural frequency of the fuel tube compared to if the fuel tube were not held bent.

Fluid nozzles and spacers

An injector includes a mounting flange having a mounting lug with fastener bore therethrough that passes through the mounting flange. A support beam extends along an outer surface of the mounting flange from the mounting lug to a hub of the mounting flange. The support beam includes an outer surface spaced apart from the outer surface of the mounting flange and two opposed lateral surfaces each extending from the outer surface of the support beam toward the outer surface of the mounting flange. The outer surface of the support beam includes a contour and/or the support beam includes a stiffening beam that is wider than the width between the opposed lateral surfaces of the support beam.

Flange bending support

An injector includes a feed arm extending from an inlet fitting to a nozzle body opposite the inlet fitting. The nozzle body includes a spray outlet in fluid communication with the inlet fitting for issuing a spray of fluid supplied at the inlet fitting. The inlet fitting of the feed arm includes a receptacle therein for receiving a fluid supply manifold inside the inlet fitting of the feed arm.

Injector fittings

An injector for a gas turbine engine includes a feed arm including a primary and a secondary fluid passage. An inlet assembly is fixed at an upstream end of the feed arm having at least one inlet in fluid communication with the primary and the secondary fluid passages. A tip assembly is fixed at a downstream end of the feed arm having a fluid outlet in communication with the primary and secondary fluid passages for issuing a spray of fluid. The primary and secondary fluid passages are monolithically formed within the feed arm. At least one of the primary and secondary fluid passages includes a nonlinear section configured to provide increased residence time for cooling fluid in the first and second fluid passages.

Thermal management for injectors

A strainer body strainer body has a conical or bullet-like shape and includes a tip portion, a midsection, and a base portion. The midsection connects the tip portion to the base portion such that the tip portion, midsection, and base portion are aligned with one another along a straining axis defined by the strainer body. The strainer body includes a plurality of layers fused to one another and angled relative to the straining axis. The plurality of layers define flow passages that extend through the strainer body to impound particulate entrained in fluid traversing the strainer body through the flow passages of the strainer body.

Strainers

One embodiment includes a fuel injector for a gas turbine engine. The fuel injector has an inlet fitting for receiving fuel. The fuel injector also has an outlet fitting for delivering fuel through a nozzle to a combustor of the gas turbine engine. An injector support extends between the inlet fitting and the outlet fitting and has an internal bore therethrough. A fuel tube extends from the inlet fitting through the internal bore of the injector support to the outlet fitting. The injector support has a greater coefficient of thermal expansion than the fuel tube. At room temperature the fuel tube is under compressive stress such that the fuel tube is buckled. As a result of differential thermal expansion of the fuel tube and the injector support during engine operation the fuel tube is relieved of compressive stress.

Compensating for thermal expansion via controlled tube buckling

A fuel injector for a gas turbine engine includes an injector body having a feed arm with a nozzle body mounted thereto. A fuel conduit fluidly connects a fuel inlet portion of the feed arm to a fuel circuit in the nozzle body to form a fuel path through the injector body and an insulative gap is defined between the fuel conduit and an inside of the feed arm wall to thermally insulate the fuel path of the injector body. An aperture through the feed arm wall provides fluid communication between the insulative gap and ambient conditions existing on an outside of the feed arm wall.

Active purge mechanism with backflow preventer for gas turbine fuel injectors

A nozzle for a fuel injector can include an outer air swirler having an inner surface with the outer air swirler having a groove on the inner surface and a prefilmer located concentrically within the outer air swirler with the prefilmer having at least one detent finger to engage the groove on the inner surface of the outer air swirler. The nozzle can also include a fuel swirler located concentrically within the prefilmer and configured to convey fuel to a forward end of the nozzle with the fuel swirler having at least one tab extending axially at an aft end, and an inner air swirler having a cylindrical forward end located concentrically within the fuel swirler and an aft support extending radially outward to contact the outer air swirler with the cylindrical forward end contacting at least one tab of the fuel swirler to hold the fuel swirler in place.

Retention feature for fuel injector nozzle

A machined spring for injector applications includes opposed first and second spring bases separated apart along a longitudinal axis. A spring body connects the first and second spring bases. The spring body includes a generally annular wall with a plurality of spring channels defined therethrough, such as machined channels. Exemplary applications for such machined springs include liquid strainers, valve components, and structural components for accommodating thermal expansion in injectors.

Machined springs for injector applications

A nozzle includes an inlet at an upstream end of the nozzle, a discharge outlet at a downstream end of the nozzle, and a fluid delivery passage extending between the inlet and the discharge outlet. Exterior and interior walls of the nozzle have downstream tip ends that are relatively longitudinally movable at one or more interfaces. An internal insulating gap is interposed between the interior and exterior walls to insulate fuel from ambient temperature conditions exterior to the nozzle. One or more flexible seal structures internal to the nozzle isolate a portion of the insulating gap from any ambient fluid entering into the gap through the one or more interfaces while providing relative movement between interior and exterior walls of the nozzle.

Flexure seal for fuel injection nozzle

An air blast fuel injector for a gas turbine engine includes an elongate feed arm having an inlet fitting for receiving fuel and for distributing the fuel to first and second fuel delivery conduits extending through the feed arm. A nozzle body is operatively connected to the feed arm. The nozzle body includes an on-axis inner air circuit and fuel circuitry radially outboard of the inner air circuit for delivering fuel to a fuel swirler outboard of the inner air circuit. The fuel circuitry includes a first fuel circuit configured and adapted to deliver fuel to the fuel swirler from the first fuel conduit of the feed arm and a second fuel circuit configured and adapted to deliver fuel to the fuel swirler from the second fuel conduit of the feed arm.

Growing community of inventors

Ankeny, IA, United States of America

Mark Alan Caples