Rolls-royce Corporation

Peter Havercroft

Sidney E Slattery

Harry Henshaw

Brian Henderson

The head assembly of a combustion chamber, within which burning of mixed fuel and air takes place, is fixed to surrounding structure in a manner which enables differential expansions of the parts of which the assembly is comprised, without generating stresses through reaction of one part upon another.

Combustors for gas turbine engines

Known porous laminates of the kind wherein ambient atmosphere each side of the laminate is connected via holes and passageways, the latter lying within the laminate thickness in planes parallel with the faying faces, suffer from airflow energy loss which arises from the changes in direction undergone by the airflow while in transit from one side of the laminate to the other side thereof. The invention provides extra holes on the high pressure side of the laminate, over those points in the passages wherein the greatest change in direction of flow occurs, so as to re-energize the airflow which has reached those points via the relevant holes of the known arrangement.

Porous sheet structure for a combustion chamber

The combustion equipment of a gas turbine engine comprises an annular flame tube and a support casing both subjected to relatively high temperatures. Engine acceleration or engine deceleration causes the temperature in the combustion equipment to increase or decrease respectively, and this results in either expansion or contraction of the annular flame tube and the support casing. The annular flame tube has a greater rate of thermal expansion/contraction than that of the support casing and this results in distortion or cracking of the combustion equipment if the annular flame tube and support casing are rigidly mounted to each other. To overcome this problem a relatively flexible support structure which has a generally U-shaped cross-section is positioned radially between the annular flame tube and the support casing, and a first limb of the flexible support structure is secured to the annular flame tube and a second limb of the flexible support structure is secured to the support casing, and the flexible support structure permits relative radial movement of the annular flame tube and the support casing.

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Derby, United Kingdom

Peter Havercroft