Tangential annular combustor with premixed fuel and air for use on gas turbine engines

• US 9,052,114 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Creative Power Solutions USA Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Creative Power Solutions USA Incorporated
• Inventors: Toqan, Majed, Gregory, Brent Allan, Regele, Jonathan David, Yamane, Ryan Sadao
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez, William H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera, Carlos A
• Application Number:
  US12/771,338
• Time in Patent Office: 1,866 Days
• Field of Search: 607/33, 607/53, 607/59, 608/04, 607/37
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 2900/00015 Trapped vortex combustion chambers
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/04 Air inlet arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/286 having fuel-air premixing devices F23R3/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/346 for staged combustion
• CPC Class Codes: F23R 3/58 Cyclone or vortex type combustion chambers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A combustion device used in gas turbine engines to produce propulsion or rotate a shaft for power generation includes an annular combustor with a system of fuel and air inlet passages and nozzles that results in a staged combustion of premixed fuel and air. The fuel and air inlets are placed at various longitudinal locations circumferentially, and can take on different configurations where all nozzles inject a fuel-air mixture or some may inject only air. The combustion device provides an optimal mixing of fuel and air, creates an environment for combustion that reduces pollutant emissions reducing the need for costly pollution control devices, enhances ignition and flame stability, reduces piloting issues, allows increased fuel flexibility, decreases the required size of the first stage nozzle guide vane (NGV), and improves vibration reduction.

Claims

1. A method of mixing combustion reactants for combustion for a gas turbine engine consisting of the steps of:

providing a combustor, the combustor includes;

an outer shell, an inner shell, and a perforated front wall that connects the outer shell to the inner shell so as to form an annular volume arranged about a centerline of the combustor, and an annular discharge opening opposite to the front wall arranged about the centerline of the combustor;

circumferentially spaced first nozzles in the outer shell between the front wall and the annular discharge opening, only the circumferentially spaced first nozzles reside in a first plane that is normal to a longitudinal direction of the annular volume; and

circumferentially spaced second nozzles in the outer shell between the circumferentially spaced first nozzles and the front wall, only the circumferentially spaced second nozzles reside in a second plane that is normal to the longitudinal direction of the annular volume;

concurrently;

injecting a first pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the annular volume through all of the circumferentially spaced first nozzles residing in the first plane, the circumferentially spaced first nozzles each applying the first pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the annular volume in a direction that is angularly offset from a tangent line relative to the outer shell forming a flow field through the annular volume rotating about the centerline of the combustor, the flow field flowing through the annular volume in a direction from the perforated front wall to the annular discharge opening;

injecting a second pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the flow field through the annular volume through all of the circumferentially spaced second nozzles residing in the second plane, the circumferentially spaced second nozzles each applying the second pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the annular volume in the direction that is angularly offset from the tangent line relative to the outer shell; and

injecting compressor discharge air through the perforated front wall into the flow field through the annular volume;

the concurrent steps of injecting a first pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the annular volume through all of the circumferentially spaced first nozzles residing in the first plane, injecting a second pre-mixed fuel-air mixture into the flow field through the annular volume through all of the circumferentially spaced second nozzles residing in the second plane, and injecting compressor discharge air through the perforated front wall into the flow field through the annular volume creating fuel-air staging for enhancing combustion and reducing NOx and CO emissions.

2. The method according to claim 1, in which the first pre-mixed fuel-air mixture has a first fuel-air ratio, the second pre-mixed fuel-air mixture has a second fuel-air ratio, and the first fuel-air ratio is greater than the second fuel-air ratio.