Sundstrand Corporation

Nipulkumar Shah

Jack R Shekleton

Colin Rodgers

Robert G Thompson

John Corrado

A compact gas turbine engine having improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions, better starting capability, and longer operational life is provided at low cost through the use of a combustor incorporating tangential fuel injection in conjunction with certain strategically placed and sized oxidant inlet jets. The oxidant inlet jets include deflector jets which deflect a generally circumferentially spiralling flow of gases within the combustor in a manner causing fuel and oxidant to recirculate for a longer period of time within a primary combustion zone, to thereby improve combustion efficiency and reduce undesirable emissions. Apparatus and methods for regulating injection of the fuel and oxidant in or primary, secondary, and dilution zones of the combustor in a manner providing improvements in fuel efficiency, high altitude starting and other advantages are also defined.

Combustor for a gas turbine engine

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.

Annular combustor for a turbine engine with tangential passages sized to

Difficulties in cooling the vanes or blades (46) making up a turbine nozzle (40) in a gas turbine may be minimized or eliminated by placing interior passages (62) of the blades or vanes (46) in fluid communication with the compressor (14) and providing outlet passages (64) for the passages (62) in the rear turbine shroud (42). The passages (64) are preferably angled so that their downstream ends (68) open downstream. Consequently, eductor or ejector-like formations are present and when cooling air for a combustor (30) flowing in a cooling air path (28) passes across the ends (68), a region of lower pressure is formed to positively assure the flow of cooling air through the vanes or blades (46).

Turbine nozzle cooling

In order to provide an expansive central recirculating gas zone (40) in a combustor (10), and in a manner wherein the combustion chamber (20) is of compact volume, a stored energy combustor (10) comprises a vessel (12) having narrow, spaced-apart inlet and outlet ends (14, 16) interconnected by a wall (18) defining a relatively wise combustion chamber (20). The combustion chamber (20) is generally annular and a wall (18) defining the combustion chamber (20) includes an upstream wall region (18a) and a downstream wall region (18c) interconnected by a generally annular side wall region (18b). The inlet end (14) and outlet end (16) are generally tubular extensions of the vessel (12) leading to and from the combustion chamber (20) and oxidant is swirled in the tubular extension (14) leading to the combustion chamber (20) and directed in a swirling annulus into the combustion chamber (20) outwardly of a fuel injector (28). The combustion chamber (20) is formed such that at least the upstream wall region (18a) has an inner surface of gentle radius joining the generally annular side wall region (18b) to the tubular extension (14) of the vessel (12) leading to the combustion chamber (20). With this arrangement, the swirling oxidant annulus expands radially outwardly in a generally conical fashion within the combustion chamber (20) upon exiting the tubular extension (14) while sticking to at least the upstream wall region (18a) of the wall (18) defining the combustion chamber (20).

Stored energy combustor

The cooling and mounting of vanes 50 in a turbine nozzle 24 between shrouds 28, 29 is facilitated by impaling the vanes 50 with threaded fasteners 54, 70 and conducting relatively cool air from the compressor 15 through the grooves 72 between adjacent threads 70 of the threaded fastener 54.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Nipulkumar Shah