DISTRIBUTED COOLING FOR GAS TURBINE ENGINE COMBUSTOR

• US 20130025287A1
• Filed: 07/29/2011
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rtx Corporation
• Original Assignee: United Technologies Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Cunha, Frank J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,978,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 60/772
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/00018 Manufacturing combustion chamber liners or subparts
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/03042 Film cooled combustion chamber walls or domes
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/03043 Convection cooled combustion chamber walls with means for guiding the cooling air flow means for creating turbulence F23R2900/03045
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/03044 Impingement cooled combustion chamber walls or subassemblies
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/03045 Convection cooled combustion chamber walls provided with turbolators or means for creating turbulences to increase cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/002 Wall structures F23R3/02 and F23R3/007 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/06 Arrangement of apertures along the flame tube

Abstract

A combustor component of a gas turbine engine includes a refractory metal core (RMC) microcircuit for self-regulating a cooling flow.

Claims

1. A combustor component of a gas turbine engine comprising:

a liner panel with a refractory metal core (RMC) microcircuit which provides a self-regulating feedback.

2. The combustor component as recited in claim 1, wherein said liner panel is a generally planar forward liner panel.

3. The combustor component as recited in claim 1, wherein said RMC microcircuit includes a semi-circular inlet.

4. The combustor component as recited in claim 1, wherein said RMC microcircuit forms at least one divergent island.

5. The combustor component as recited in claim 4, further comprising a fastener which mounts through said divergent island to support said liner panel to a shell.

6. The combustor component as recited in claim 5, further comprising a combustor case, said shell mounted to said combustor case.

7. The combustor component as recited in claim 1, wherein said RMC microcircuit forms a first divergent island and a second divergent island.

8. The combustor component as recited in claim 7, further comprising a flow separator island between said first divergent island and said second divergent island.

9. The combustor component as recited in claim 8, further comprising a semi-circular inlet defined along an axis which intersects said flow separator island.

10. The combustor component as recited in claim 8, further comprising a fastener which mounts through said first divergent island to support said liner panel to a shell.

11. The combustor component as recited in claim 8, further comprising a dilution hole which penetrates through said second divergent island.

12. The combustor component as recited in claim 9, further comprising a multiple of cooling enhancement features downstream of said flow separator island.

13. The combustor component as recited in claim 12, wherein said multiple of cooling enhancement features include pedestals.

14. The combustor component as recited in claim 12, wherein said multiple of cooling enhancement features include flow straighteners.

15. The combustor component as recited in claim 12, wherein said multiple of cooling enhancement features include laser holes.

16. The combustor component as recited in claim 12, further comprising a multiple of exit slots downstream of said flow separator island.

17. A method of cooling a combustor of a gas turbine engine comprising:

self-regulating a cooling flow through a refractory metal core (RMC) microcircuit within a liner.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising self-regulating the cooling flow in response to a sink pressure.

19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the self-regulating includes feeding back a first portion of the cooling flow through a first feedback loop and a second portion of the cooling flow through a second feedback loop.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein a velocity imbalance between the first feedback loop and the second feedback loop modulates the cooling flow toward a side of said RMC microcircuit.