Can-annular combustor burner with non-uniform airflow mitigation flow conditioner

Abstract

Can-annular burners for gas turbine engines with flow conditioners having locally varying, asymmetrical patterns of circumferential perforations, to promote uniform fuel-air mixture among all premixers in the burner basket. Any one or more of the perforation pattern, pattern density, perforation profiles and perforation cross sectional area is locally varied to alter circumferential airflow into the burner basket, which in turn mitigates non-uniform thru-flow variations across the burner's air inlet plane. In some embodiments, the flow conditioner asymmetric perforation patterns are tailored for individual burner locations within the engine's combustor section annular ring, which mitigates non-uniform thru-flow variation among different respective burners in the combustor section annular ring. Thru-flow uniformity within each burner and among all the combustor section burners promotes uniform engine combustion.