Gas Turbine Combustor Dome with Integrated Fuel Manifold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional combustion systems for gas turbine engines face challenges with larger nozzle requirements, necessitating improved designs that allow for efficient airflow management and thermal expansion accommodation while maintaining ease of maintenance and reducing weight and complexity.
Innovation Solution
The combustion system incorporates a combustor dome with circumferentially spaced nozzles and tiles that create inner and outer air circuits, using ceramic matrix composite materials and bayonet rings for axial confinement, allowing for efficient airflow distribution and thermal management, and integrating the fuel manifold within the combustor dome to simplify design and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If larger nozzles are used to meet performance requirements, then combustion efficiency is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel manifold is integrated directly into the combustor dome structure, merging two previously separate components (fuel manifold and combustor dome) into one unified structure. This eliminates the need for external fuel lines and complex routing, thereby maintaining large nozzle sizes for improved combustion efficiency while reducing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The combustor dome serves multiple functions: it acts as both the combustion chamber enclosure and the fuel manifold housing. This multi-functional design allows large nozzles to be accommodated within the dome structure without requiring separate external fuel delivery systems, thus improving combustion efficiency while avoiding increased complexity
2Productivity
If larger nozzles are used to meet performance requirements, then combustion efficiency is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the fuel manifold into the combustor dome, the design eliminates redundant structures and external fuel lines. This allows the use of larger nozzles for improved combustion efficiency while minimizing weight increase through structural consolidation rather than adding separate heavy components
3Temperature
If tiles are mounted around nozzles to create air circuits, then thermal management is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor dome is segmented into multiple tile sections that can be independently mounted around each nozzle. Each tile creates its own air circuit for thermal management. This segmentation allows for localized thermal control without requiring a completely complex integrated system, as each tile is a relatively simple modular component
Solution Approach 2:
The tiles are designed to nest around the nozzles in a concentric arrangement, with the air circuits formed between the tiles and nozzles. This nested configuration achieves effective thermal management through multiple air circuits while maintaining a compact structure that doesn't excessively increase device complexity
4Reliability
If bayonet rings are used for axial confinement of tiles, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The confinement system is segmented into multiple bayonet rings positioned at different axial locations. Each ring provides independent confinement at critical positions, improving reliability through distributed constraint rather than a single complex continuous structure. The modular ring design simplifies manufacturing and assembly compared to a monolithic confinement system
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 enhances combustion efficiency, reduces weight and fuel line complexity, and decouples thermal growth between the combustor and engine case, enabling larger nozzle sizes and easier maintenance by integrating the fuel manifold within the combustor dome.
Implementation Method 1
A channel forming the inlet of the outer air circuit can be proximate an upstream surface of the tile for cooling of the tile by airflow passing into the radial swirler
Implementation Method 2
The inner and outer air circuits can be configured to issue 40% to 50% of airflow passing through the combustor dome through the inner air circuit, and to issue 50% to 60% of the airflow through the outer air circuit
Implementation Method 3
Each tile can include a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes an inner combustor wall (104) and an outer combustor wall (106) radially outboard of the inner combustor wall (104). The inner and outer combustor walls define a combustion space therebetween with an upstream inlet (110) and a downstream outlet (112). A combustor dome (102) connects between inner and outer combustor walls at the upstream inlet of the combustion space. The combustor dome (102) includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart nozzles and a plurality of tiles (134) mounted to the combustor dome to fluidly separate a downstream side of the combustor dome (102) from an upstream side of the combustor dome (102).