Parker-hannifin Corporation

General Electric Company

United Technologies Corporation

Robert Thane Mains

Rex Jay Harvey

Peter Laing

Barry Walford Savel

Michael Peter Wrubel

Alfred Albert Mancini

James Neil Cooper

Jeffrey R Lehtinen

Charles B Graves

Harold C Simmons

Kiran Patwari

Curtis H Scheuerman

Todd M Neill

Frank Menti, Jr

Raman Ras

In a fuel injector circuit for a gas turbine engine, a fuel staging valve assembly for distributing fuel into multiple zones in the combustor, the staging valve assembly, including a pilot valve operatively interconnected with at least one main valve, having high pressure and no leak capabilities, which are used to open, close and modulate the mass flow rate volume of fuel within the fuel injection circuit, with the position of the normally-closed valve being controlled by the pressure difference between the nozzle fuel supply circuit and a separately supplied signal circuit. As long as the desired pressure differential is maintained, fuel flow may be modulated without affecting the position of the valve, with the valve seats and valve seals being so configured as to prevent fuel leakage into the downstream nozzle circuit under these conditions.

Gas turbine fuel system staging valves

A gas turbine engine fuel injector conduit includes a single feed strip having a single bonded together pair of lengthwise extending plates. Each of the plates has a single row of widthwise spaced apart and lengthwise extending parallel grooves. Opposing grooves in each of the plates are aligned forming internal fuel flow passages through the strip from an inlet end to an outlet end. The feed strip includes a substantially straight middle portion between the inlet end and the outlet end. In one alternative, the middle portion has a radius of curvature greater than a length of the middle portion. The feed strip has at least one acute bend between the inlet end and the middle portion and a bend between the outlet end and the middle portion. The feed strip has fuel inlet holes in the inlet end connected to the internal fuel flow passages.

Fuel injector laminated fuel strip

A fuel injector nozzle for dispensing fuel in the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine, includes an elongated, multi-layered, convoluted nozzle feed strip having an internal passage for directing fuel through the length of the strip from the inlet end to an outlet end; and a cylindrical, multi-layered fuel dispensing nozzle unitary with the feed strip and fluidly connected to the outlet end of the feed strip for dispensing the fuel. The multi-layered feed strip and nozzle allows complex porting of fuel circuits through the injector. The internal fluid passages through the feed strip and nozzle are formed by etching.

Multi-circuit, multi-injection point atomizer

Multi-circuit multi-injection point atomizer

An airblast fuel nozzle has an injector head with an extension or support strut. An annular valve spool with a fuel discharge orifice is fixed to the head and a metering assembly surrounds the valve spool. The metering assembly includes an axially-slidable annular valve sleeve and a metal bellows. The bellows, a compression spring, and one or more shims between the valve spool and the injector head provide a preset bias on the valve sleeve such that the valve sleeve initially closes or minimizes the fuel metering area through longitudinally-extending fuel swirl slots spaced about the valve spool at the discharge orifice. When fuel under pressure flows through the injector, the fuel pressure overcomes the preset bias of the sleeve and moves the valve sleeve axially with respect to the valve spool, thereby increasing the fuel metering area through the fuel swirl slots and allowing fuel to flow (with a swirling component) therethrough. The fuel flows through a convoluted path through a fuel circuit surrounding the bellows and valve sleeve, around the bellows, and between the valve sleeve and valve spool to the fuel swirl slots. The convoluted fuel path and fuel metering at the tip of the fuel injector reduces vaporization and coking of the fuel. The bellows, springs and shims provide for easily configuring the metering valve assembly to optimize fuel flow for the particular requirements of the engine.

Airblast fuel nozzle with swirl slot metering valve

A gas turbine fuel nozzle and method of fuel flow provide resistance to coking of the fuel by means of a multiple passage heat transfer cooling circuit. Fuel streams to primary and secondary sprays of pilot and main nozzle tips are arranged to transfer heat between the pilot primary fuel stream and each of the main secondary fuel stream and the pilot secondary fuel stream. This protects the fuel in the streams from coking during both low flow, lower engine heat conditions and high flow, high engine heat conditions. This nozzle and flow can protect engines with both single tip and dual tip nozzles.

Multiple passage cooling circuit method and device for gas turbine

A fuel nozzle for the combustor of gas turbine engines includes evacuated radial and axial bellows concentrically mounted to the fuel passages to prevent coking of the fuel passages and maintain the structural integrity of the integral parts and particularly the weld joints and the method of construction is disclosed.

Fuel nozzle with combined radial and axial bellows

A fuel nozzle tip having primary and secondary circuits wherein a disc-shaped filter (54) is clamped against the primary body (12) by a retainer plug (56), and wherein the filter cooperates with the primary body to secure the swirl plug (38) in compression therebetween.

Fuel nozzle with disc filter

A nozzle for atomizing fuel for combustion in a gas turbine engine. During normal operation of the engine, the nozzle uses a portion of the air supplied to the combustion chamber by the engine compressor to atomize fuel flowing through the nozzle. During start-up and low power operation of the engine when flow of engine air through the nozzle would otherwise be of insufficient velocity to cause good atomization of the fuel, additional air from a separate external source is introduced at high velocity into the nozzle in the manner of an ejector. The additional air imparts high velocity to the engine air within the nozzle so that the air from both sources acts on the fuel at the nozzle discharge orifice at high velocity to effect good atomization and spray pattern of the fuel. The nozzle is designed in such a manner as to cause no significant restriction of engine air flow through the nozzle under high power operation of the engine when the external air source is shut off.

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Euclid, OH, United States of America

Robert Thane Mains