Gas Turbine Combustion Liner Seal Cooling Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas turbine engine combustor designs face challenges in effectively cooling turbine components and managing the temperature profile of exhaust gases, leading to potential thermal fatigue and reduced durability.
Innovation Solution
A combustion liner and aft seal assembly with strategically located inlets and outlets for cooling passageways, where the inlets are on the outer surface and outlets are radially inward, allowing cooling fluid to be directed into the exhaust gas stream or beyond the aft end of the combustion liner, with a seal engagement region that overlaps the aft seal and includes a supply passageway parallel to the inner surface, enhancing cooling efficiency and temperature control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling passages are added to the combustion liner, then cooling efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The combustion liner is segmented into multiple functional zones with dedicated cooling passages for different regions (e.g., primary cooling passages for the combustion chamber, secondary cooling passages for the exhaust gas stream). This segmentation allows targeted cooling of specific areas without requiring a complete system overhaul, thereby improving cooling efficiency while managing complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling passages are nested within the thickness of the combustion liner itself, utilizing the existing structural volume for dual purposes (combustion containment and cooling fluid transport). The passages are arranged concentrically and axially within the liner walls, maximizing cooling coverage without adding external complexity or increasing the overall device footprint.
2Temperature
If cooling fluid is directed into the exhaust gas stream, then temperature control is improved, but loss of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling fluid is directed into the exhaust gas stream at specific localized points along the combustion liner, rather than uniformly throughout. The cooling passages are strategically positioned to inject cooled fluid at locations where temperature control is most critical, allowing precise local temperature management while minimizing the total volume of cooling fluid required and thus reducing energy loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temperature parameter of the exhaust gas stream by introducing cooled cooling fluid at controlled rates and locations. By adjusting the flow rate, temperature, and injection points of the cooling fluid, the system optimizes temperature control while minimizing energy loss through precise parameter management rather than blanket cooling.
3Reliability
If the seal engagement region is extended, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal engagement region is merged with the cooling passage system, where the sealing function and cooling function are combined in a single integrated structure. The seal engagement region includes both sealing surfaces and cooling passages, allowing the same structural element to perform multiple functions (sealing and cooling), thereby improving sealing reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal engagement region is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a sealing interface and as a cooling distribution system. The same structural region provides sealing contact surfaces while simultaneously housing cooling passages that deliver cooled fluid to the seal area, enhancing sealing reliability through thermal management without adding separate dedicated sealing components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively cools turbine components, prolongs the life of blades and vanes, and optimizes the temperature profile of gases exiting the combustor, improving the overall performance and durability of the gas turbine engine by efficiently directing cooling fluid into the primary gas flow path.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of cooling passages (402) in the seal engagement region (206), each having an inlet (404) and an outlet (406)
Implementation Method 2
The cooling fluid may be directed into the exhaust gas stream or beyond the aft end of the combustion liner
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods may be provided in which a combustion liner (202) is configured to be included in an aft end of a combustor for a gas turbine engine. An aft seal may be movably engaged with the combustion liner in a seal engagement region (206). The combustion liner may comprise an inlet (404) formed in an outer surface of the combustion liner to receive a cooling fluid, and an outlet (406) in fluid communication with the inlet via a passageway formed within the combustion liner, the outlet disposed in an inner surface of the combustion liner in the seal engagement region (206).