Solar Turbines Inc.

Other

International Harvester Company

Robie L Faulkner

Virendra M Sood

Graham E Ogborne

A thrust propulsion unit for an aircraft comprises an engine, such as a turbojet engine with afterburner or a rocket engine, capable of producing thrust by expulsion of hot gases at near sonic or greater velocity through a nozzle portal and a primary ejector connected to the engine comprising a primary air intake for directing ambient air to an intake end of a primary ejector duct and a primary ejector duct having a lateral cross sectional area greater than the nozzle portal. The primary ejector duct receives the gases expelled from the engine portal and the air from the primary air intake and expels them out an exhaust end with increased momentum. An auxiliary ejector may be provided including an auxiliary air intake for directing ambient air to an intake end of an auxiliary ejector duct and an auxiliary ejector duct having a lateral cross sectional area greater than the lateral cross section of the primary ejector duct, an intake end disposed to receive the gases expelled from the exhaust end of the primary ejector duct and the air from the auxiliary air intake and an exhaust end which may flare to form a diffuser. An ejector duct may include a flame holder assembly including ignitor and atomizer.

Turbojet engine with afterburner and thrust augmentation ejectors

Past fuel injection nozzles have attempted to provide a structure to reduce exhaust emissions, generally NOx. Such nozzles have failed to attain adequate reduction of exhaust emissions. The present fuel injector structure has resulted in reduced NOx emissions. The structure includes a housing having a central axis and a bore coaxial therewith. An enlarged diameter portion of the housing has a plurality of swirler vanes positioned therein. A frustoconical blending portion is connected between the enlarged diameter portion and the bore. The structure further includes an angled passages intersecting with the bore and being tangent thereto. The unique structure swirls the air and fuel as they meet and mix within the bore. The angular velocity of the air and fuel are additive and provide the fuel injector nozzle with a structure that results in reduced NOx emissions.

Low NOx injector with central air swirling and angled fuel inlets

Past systems have attempted to cool the combustor end or tip of fuel injection nozzles, however, such methods have failed to attain adequate cooling and life. The present system or structure for cooling a tip or combustion end of a fuel injection nozzle is accomplished with a twofold structure. First, a plurality of openings being acutely positioned in the combustor end about a plurality of base circles provide effective air-sweep cooling. Secondly, the convection cooling of a back face and a combustion face provides effective convection cooling. The two structures are combined to provide an effective, efficient cooling of the combustor end or tip. The combustor end of the fuel injection nozzle is maintained at a temperature low enough to prevent failure of the combustor end through oxidation, cracking and buckling and the air-sweep avoids carbon deposits on the combustor face.

Injection nozzle tip cooling

A propulsion system having an afterburning turbojet with turbine bypass ducts in which the afterburner fuel is added. The hot gas products and fuel mixture enters the afterburner at sonic velocity. The turbojet turbine bypass has a flow control connected to the exit of the combustor to control the amount of turbine bypass flow.

Turbojet engine with sonic injection afterburner

Gas turbine engines in which provision is made for introducing a liquid coolant into the combustor of the engine. This reduces the flame temperature in the combustor, thereby discouraging the formation of thermal NO.sub.x.

Gas turbine engine construction and operation

A split type fuel manifold for gas turbine engines which includes a simple check valve rather than the heretofore used individual valves or complex central valve for uniformly distributing fuel to an array of liquid fuel injectors supplied by the manifold.

Growing community of inventors

Alpine, CA, United States of America

Robie L Faulkner