Woodward, Inc.

Siemens Energy, Inc.

Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.

Woodward Governor Company

Paul G Hicks

Fei Philip Lee

Timothy J Miller

Robert J Pederson

William W Pankey

Clinton A Mayer

Bidhan Dam

Jimroy Arner McCormack

Erik Pederson

William M Kieffer

A gas turbine combustor assembly includes a primary combustion chamber in fluid communication with a primary fuel injector and a primary air inlet. A torch igniter is carried by the primary combustion chamber, and includes an auxiliary combustion chamber housing comprising a mixing chamber and a throat region converging downstream of the mixing chamber. An air swirler including a plurality of swirl openings surrounding an outlet of an auxiliary fuel injector is coupled to the auxiliary combustion chamber proximate the mixing chamber. An ignition source projects into the mixing chamber of the auxiliary combustion chamber.

Torch igniter

An internal combustion engine with a piston having a piston head with a resonance cavity opening onto the head, and where a fuel nozzle located in a cylinder head is positioned to inject a fuel such as natural gas into the combustion chamber where resonance formed within the resonance cavity will ignite the fuel without the need of a spark plug. Inlet and exhaust ports in the cylinder head allow for air and combustion gas enter or leave the combustion chamber.

Advanced lean burn injector igniter system

An arrangement for a gas turbine engine includes a combustor for producing a working medium by combustion of a mixture of fuel and an oxidant, a turbine section comprising a stationary vane carrier on which a first row of stationary vanes is arranged, and a transition duct for leading the working medium from the combustor to the turbine section. The transition duct has a forward end that adjoins the combustor and an aft end that adjoins the stationary vane carrier. The transition duct has a transition duct axis extending from the forward end to the aft end along a straight line. The transition duct axis is normal to a vane axis of a stationary vane in the first row of stationary vanes.

Transition duct arrangement in a gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine which has at least a combustor section and a turbine cylinder section, wherein the combustor section includes a transition piece coupled to a vane carrier assembly, wherein the vane carrier assembly includes a plurality of holes that correspond with one or more holes of the transition piece, and wherein at least one of the pluralities of holes is adapted to receive a pin-type member therein for shifting the transition piece toward an upstream or downstream end. A system and method for shifting a transition piece in a gas turbine engine includes at least moving a pin-type member from a first position to a second position, where the movement shifts the transition piece in a direction towards an upstream end or a downstream end.

Adjustable transition support and method of using the same

A fuel injector having a body with a bore, which defines a fuel manifold. The injector also has a variable-area injector arrangement having a pintle with a conical head and a pintle spring connected to the body. The pintle spring urges a tip of the pintle to seal against an exit orifice of the body, such that application of pressurized fuel within the body causes the pintle to move. Above some threshold pressure, the pressurized fuel causes the conical head to move out of contact with the exit orifice of the body. This, in turn, provides a corresponding variable area for passage of the pressurized fuel through the exit orifice about the conical head of the pintle. The injector further includes a swirler configured to create a swirling action in the flow of pressurized fuel through the fuel manifold, wherein the manifold is upstream of the exit orifice.

Variable-area fuel injector with improved circumferential spray uniformity

The disclosure provides a fuel injection nozzle. The fuel injection nozzle includes a nozzle body, with the nozzle body defining a central bore. A fuel atomizer is disposed in the central bore. The fuel atomizer defines a spill-return bore and a swirl chamber. The swirl chamber is in fluid communication with the central bore. The spill-return bore includes a return swirler approximate the swirl chamber. An air supply pump is coupled to the fuel atomizer and is in fluid communication with the spill-return bore. The air supply pump is configured to selectively inject air into the swirl chamber through the spill-return bore.

Dual action fuel injection nozzle

An improved fuel injection apparatus and method have a variable area injector arrangement in which a pintle defines a pilot orifice extending through a tip of the pintle for supplying a pilot flow of fuel through the fuel injector at low fuel pressures, and in particular when the pintle tip is sealed against a variable flow orifice of the variable area injector arrangement.

Piloted variable area fuel injector

A fuel injector is provided. The fuel injector includes an injector support and a heat shield coupled to the injector support. The heat shield only interacts with the injector support by way of contacts such as point contacts, line contacts or surface contacts. Further, the heat shield includes a body portion, a radially extending flared end portion and a radially directed shoulder interposed between the body portion and the flared end portion. The shoulder portion acts as a flexure point that flexes and absorbs thermal expansion of the heat shield.

Thermal protection for fuel injectors

A fuel injector and turbine engine incorporating the fuel injector are provided. The fuel injector includes an active cooling system that insulates fuel flowing through the fuel injector from heat energy within the turbine engine. The cooling system includes a cooling air passage that includes an inlet and an outlet. The inlet and outlet are in fluid communication with the interior of an engine case of the turbine engine. The inlet is at a higher air pressure location than the outlet such that air is siphoned through the cooling air passage. A portion of the cooling air passage includes a heat exchanger for extracting heat energy from the cooling air. The cooling air passes through the fuel injector after it has passed through the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is positioned external to the engine case and in thermal communication with the ambient.

Growing community of inventors

Holland, MI, United States of America

Paul G Hicks