Sundstrand Corporation

Melvin K Lafferty

Jack R Shekleton

Douglas C Johnson

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 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 shrould 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 40/20 in the outer wall 20 of the combuston 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 preslected axial relation.

Gas turbine engine with fuel mainfold 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 opening (96) immediately upstream of the leading edges (98) of the vanes (58) constituting the nozzle (60) along with apertures (102) in a front turbine shroud (30) and aligned with leading edges (98). Air from the engine compressor (18) is flowed through the apertures (102) and the opening (96).

Annular combustor for a turbine engine without film cooling

The expense of fabricating an annular combustor for use with a small diameter gas turbine engine is minimized in a construction including a bell-shaped housing 52, an axially extending sleeve 66 within the housing 52, an annular liner 74 within the housing 52 and about the sleeve 66 and including inner, outer and radial walls 80, 76, 78, respectively, spaced from the sleeve 66 and the housing 52 and all being formed of sheet metal. A circular fuel manifold 108 with angularly spaced fuel dispensing openings 122 is disposed between the housing 52 and the outer wall 76 and a plurality of open ended, elongated tubes 112 extend through the outer wall 76 and are in fluid communication with respective openings 122 in the fuel manifold 108 to introduce air and fuel generally tangentially into the liner 74.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Melvin K Lafferty