Tangential and flameless annular combustor for use on gas turbine engines

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/174,332, filed Apr. 30, 2009.

This invention relates to devices in gas turbine engines that aid in containing and producing the combustion of a fuel and air mixture. Such devices include but are not limited to fuel-air nozzles, combustor liners and casings and flow transition pieces that are used in military and commercial aircraft, power generation, and other gas turbine related applications.

Gas turbine engines include machinery that extracts work from combustion gases flowing at very high temperatures, pressures and velocity. The extracted work can be used to drive a generator for power generation or for providing the required thrust for an aircraft. A typical gas turbine engine consists of multistage compressor where the atmospheric air is compressed to high pressures. The compressed air is then mixed at a specified fuel/air ratio in a combustor wherein its temperature is increased. The high temperature and pressure combustion gases are then expanded through a turbine to extract work so as to provide the required thrust or drive a generator depending on the application. The turbine includes at least a single stage with each stage consisting of a row of blades and a row of vanes. The blades are circumferentially distributed on a rotating hub with the height of each blade covering the hot gas flow path. Each stage of non-rotating vanes is placed circumferentially, which also extends across the hot gas flow path. The included invention involves the combustor of gas turbine engines and components that introduce the fuel and air into the said device.

The combustor portion of a gas turbine engine can be of several different types: can/tubular, annular, and a combination of the two forming a can-annular combustor. It is in this component that the compressed fuel-air mixture passes through fuel-air nozzles and a combustion reaction of the mixture takes place, creating a hot gas flow causing it to drop in density and accelerate downstream. The can type combustor typically comprises of individual, circumferentially spaced cans that contain the flame of each nozzle separately. Flow from each can is then directed through a duct and combined in an annular transition piece before it enters the first stage vane. In the annular combustor type, fuel-air nozzles are typically distributed circumferentially and introduce the mixture into a single annular chamber where combustion takes place. Flow simply exits the downstream end of the annulus into the first stage turbine, without the need for a transition piece. The key difference of the last type, a can-annular combustor, is that it has individual cans encompassed by an annular casing that contains the air being fed into each can. Each variation has its benefits and disadvantages, depending on the application.

In combustors for gas turbines, it is typical for the fuel-air nozzle to introduce a swirl to the mixture for several reasons. One is to enhance mixing and thus combustion, another reason is that adding swirl stabilizes the flame to prevent flame blow out and it allows for leaner fuel-air mixtures for reduced emissions. A fuel air nozzle can take on different configurations such as single to multiple annular inlets with swirling vanes on each one.

As with other gas turbine components, implementation of cooling methods to prevent melting of the combustor material is needed. A typical method for cooling the combustor is effusion cooling, implemented by surrounding the combustion liner with an additional, offset liner, which between the two, compressor discharge air passes through and enters the hot gas flow path through dilution holes and cooling passages. This technique removes heat from the component as well as forms a thin boundary layer film of cool air between the liner and the combusting gases, preventing heat transfer to the liner. The dilution holes serve two purposes depending on its axial position on the liner: a dilution hole closer to the fuel-air nozzles will aid in the mixing of the gases to enhance combustion as well as provide unburned air for combustion, second, a hole that is placed closer to the turbine will cool the hot gas flow and can be designed to manipulate the combustor outlet temperature profile.

One can see that several methods and technologies can be incorporated into the design of combustors for gas turbine engines to improve combustion and lower emissions. While gas turbines tend to produce less pollution than other power generation methods, there is still room for improvement in this area. With government regulation of emissions tightening in several countries, the technology will need to improve to meet these requirements.

With regard to present invention, there is provided a novel and improved combustor design that is capable of operating in a typical fashion while minimizing the pollutant emissions that are a result of combustion of a fuel and air mixture. The invention consists of a typical annular combustor with air, fuel, premixed fuel-air nozzles and/or dilution holes that introduce the compressor discharge air and pressurized fuel into the combustor at various locations in the longitudinal and circumferential directions. The original feature of the invention is that the fuel and air inlets are placed in such a way as to create a region of combustion near the front wall. Separating the fuel and air injection nozzles in conjunction with placing the air nozzles downstream of the fuel nozzles enhances the mixing of the combustion reactants and creates a specific oxygen concentration in the combustion region that greatly reduces the production of NOx. In addition, the introduction of compressor discharge air downstream of the combustion region allows for any CO produced during combustion to be burned/consumed before entering the first stage turbine. In effect, the combustor will improve gas turbine emission levels, thus reducing the need for emission control devices as well as minimize the environmental impact of such devices. In addition to this improvement, the tangentially firing fuel and fuel-air nozzles directs any flame fronts to the adjacent burner, greatly enhancing the ignition process of the combustor.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a two-dimensional sketch showing the nozzles that attach to the outer combustor liner and have a circumferential and radial direction into the combustor (possible longitudinal direction of the nozzle not shown);

FIG. 2 is an isometric side view of an example annular combustor with the proposed staged fuel and air injection;

FIG. 3 is an isometric section view with the cutting plane defined by the engine centerline and a radius;

FIG. 4A is an isometric side view looking forward to aft that shows the front wall and the perforated front wall that the said invention may have;

FIG. 4B is a close up view of the image from FIG. 4A ;

FIG. 5A is an isometric front view of the example combustor from an aft to front perspective that shows the outlet and inlet nozzles; and

FIG. 5B is a close up view of the image from FIG. 5A .

FIG. 1 shows the general premise of an annular combustor with tangentially directed fuel-air nozzles. The combustor is composed of an outer shell (or liner) 1 , an inner shell (or liner) 2 , both of which can have a constant or varying radius in the longitudinal direction, and a front wall 9 that connects the inner and outer liners 1 , 2 . As seen in the FIG., an example configuration of the invention shows fuel nozzles 3 and pure air/premixed fuel-air nozzles 4 pointing mainly in a circumferential direction, where the angle 14 is formed between a line 12 tangent to the outer liner and the nozzle 3 , 4 centerlines 13 , but may have a radial or longitudinal component to its direction. These various nozzles 3 , 4 may share a common plane defined the longitudinal direction and a point along the engine centerline and may be equally spaced circumferentially or have pattern to the spacing in this direction. The various types of nozzles may introduce pure fuel 5 , pure air (compressor discharge air) 6 , or a premixed fuel-air 7 combination into the combustor volume created by the inner and outer shell 1 , 2 and the front wall 9 . The reactants that are injected by the fuel and air nozzles 3 , 4 combust within this region and create a flow field 8 through the combustor that rotates about the engine centerline.

FIG. 2 shows an example configuration for the invention where fuel nozzles 3 are placed upstream (to the left) of the air/premixed fuel-air nozzles 4 . The number of fuel nozzles 3 and air nozzles 4 may be at least one, up to an unlimited amount. Compressor discharge air is also introduced to the combustor volume through a perforated front wall 9 as seen in FIGS. 3 , 4 A and 4 B. The injection of fuel near the front wall in conjunction with the compressor discharge air that is injected downstream of the fuel nozzles 3 , creates the desired mixing and fuel-air staging effect that will create an optimal combustion environment that reduces NOx and CO emissions from the combustor. More specifically, the most air mixture that is injected through a downstream set of nozzles becomes diluted with flue gases as it travels/diffuses upstream towards the fuel rich combustion region. This diluted oxygen mixture reduces the flame temperature and provides the means in which low emission combustion takes place. The hot combustion products then exit the combustor through an annular opening 10 as seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B where it enters the first stage turbine of the gas turbine.

The present invention is described above with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made in the described embodiment without departing from the nature and scope of the present invention. Various changes and modifications to the embodiment herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof.