Combustor Attachment Cooling Channels for Hotspot Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional combustors in gas turbine engines experience reduced cooling airflow in the vicinity of combustor panel attachment features, leading to potential structural damage and oxidation due to high temperatures, as conventional designs often lack sufficient effusion and impingement holes in these areas to prevent hotspot formation.

Innovation Solution

The combustor design incorporates a central longitudinal axis with a core passage and offshoot passages that provide fluid communication between the diffuser chamber and the annular cooling cavity, along with peripheral channels on the attachment feature to enhance cooling airflow to the attachment features, including a washer with grooves to align with apertures in the nut, ensuring effective cooling airflow distribution.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If conventional combustor designs are used with standard attachment features, then the combustor structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but cooling airflow is reduced in the vicinity of attachment features leading to hotspot formation and potential structural damage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling airflow temperatureVSAvoidattachment feature complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by providing effusion holes and impingement holes specifically at the attachment features where cooling is most needed, rather than uniformly distributing cooling holes throughout the combustor panel. This localized approach addresses the hotspot formation problem at attachment features without requiring a complete redesign of the entire cooling system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent cooling pathways: effusion holes for diffuse cooling, impingement holes for directed cooling, and peripheral channels for additional cooling airflow. This segmentation allows each cooling mechanism to be optimized for its specific function and location.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If effusion holes and impingement holes are added to attachment features, then cooling airflow to attachment features is enhanced preventing hotspot formation, but the manufacturing complexity and device complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment feature cooling reliabilityVSAvoidattachment feature manufacturing ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple cooling functions into the attachment feature by integrating effusion holes, impingement holes, and peripheral channels directly into the attachment feature structure. This consolidation ensures that cooling is provided at the critical location without requiring separate cooling components, thereby improving reliability while managing manufacturing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If peripheral channels are added to attachment features, then cooling airflow distribution is enhanced and hotspot formation is reduced, but the device complexity and structural complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling airflow distributionVSAvoidattachment feature structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Peripheral channels are added specifically to the attachment feature geometry to provide localized cooling enhancement at the periphery of the attachment feature, where hotspots are most likely to form. This targeted approach improves cooling reliability without requiring a complete redesign of the entire attachment feature structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 reduces hotspot formation and enhances cooling airflow to the attachment features, thereby protecting the combustor components from thermal damage and extending operational life by ensuring consistent and efficient cooling.

Implementation Method 1

the passage and the gap jointly provide fluid communication between a diffuser chamber and the annular cooling cavity

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluid communication:

Implementation Method 2

The peripheral channel may extend from the base portion to the tip portion

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluid flow through channel:

Implementation Method 3

This configuration effectively reduces hotspot formation and enhances cooling airflow to the attachment features, thereby protecting the combustor components from thermal damage

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection cooling: Convection

Data Source

PatentEP3453968B1Cooling configurations for combustor attachment features

Publication Date: 2021.10.27 RTX CORP

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Figure 3A~3B

AI summary

A combustor panel (110) may include an attachment feature (106). Because conventional attachment features of conventional combustor panels may be insufficiently cooled, the present disclosure provides various combustor configurations for reducing hotspots in the vicinity of attachment features (106) and/or for providing cooling airflow to and in the vicinity of attachment features (106).