Gas Turbine Combustor Air Extraction Port Design

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

In gas turbine engines, extracting air from the combustor for cooling purposes can disrupt the uniformity of the pressure field, which is undesirable.

Innovation Solution

The air extraction ports are designed with a specific ratio of inlet to final area and passage length, incorporating bends with radii proportional to the inlet hydraulic diameter, to minimize pressure perturbations and ensure a smooth airflow contraction, maintaining a local Mach number range that prevents turbulence.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If air is extracted from the combustor for cooling turbine components, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but pressure field uniformity deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveturbine component coolingVSAvoidpressure field uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The air extraction port is designed with a specific geometric configuration where the inlet area is greater than the final area, creating a contraction passage. This local geometric quality variation optimizes the flow characteristics at the extraction point, allowing effective cooling air extraction while minimizing disruption to the overall pressure field uniformity in the combustor

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The invention specifies particular parameter ranges for the extraction port: the ratio of inlet area to final area is between 1.0 and 1.6, and the passage length to inlet hydraulic diameter ratio is between 4 and 8. These parameter changes optimize the balance between extraction efficiency and pressure field preservation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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 design effectively extracts cooling airflow while maintaining a uniform pressure field in the combustor, reducing turbulence and ensuring efficient cooling of turbine components.

Implementation Method 1

The air extraction ports are designed with a specific ratio of inlet to final area and passage length, incorporating bends with radii proportional to the inlet hydraulic diameter, to minimize pressure perturbations and ensure a smooth airflow contraction, maintaining a local Mach number range that prevents turbulence.

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompressible flow:

Data Source

PatentEP3139091B1Apparatus and method for air extraction in a gas turbine engine
Publication Date: 2020.11.11 RTX CORP
  • EP3139091B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3139091B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3139091B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An air extraction port (58) at a combustor (18) of a gas turbine engine (10) includes a port inlet (68) at a combustor case (28) of the combustor having an inlet area, a port outlet (70) having a final area, and a fluid passage (72) extending from the port inlet to the port outlet to convey an airflow (60), the port inlet sized and configured to extract the airflow from the combustor case at the same nominal upstream Mach number with a tolerance of +/-0.05.