Gas Turbine Combustor Mixer Vane Centerbody Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lean-staged liquid-fueled aeroengine combustors face combustion instabilities and high NOx and particulate matter emissions, which affect the stability and efficiency of gas turbine engines.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a main mixer with a swirler and swirler hub featuring a fuel manifold, inner and outer vanes, and a centerbody with effusion/film cooling passages and thermal barrier coatings, which controls airflow and fuel injection to stabilize combustion and reduce emissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If lean-staged liquid-fueled combustors are used, then NOx and particulate matter emissions are reduced, but combustion instabilities occur
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor is divided into multiple stages with distinct fuel injection zones. The main fuel injection occurs in an inner annular region while outer annular regions receive less or no fuel, creating a segmented fuel distribution pattern that stabilizes combustion while maintaining lean overall equivalence ratio for low emissions
Solution Approach 2:
Different equivalence ratios are applied to different spatial zones within the combustor. The inner region operates with a richer mixture for stable flame anchoring, while outer regions operate leaner for emissions control, creating local quality variations that resolve the stability-emissions contradiction
2Stability of the object's composition
If fuel injection is increased to improve combustion stability, then combustion stability improves, but NOx and particulate matter emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
Fuel injection is segmented into inner and outer annular regions with different injection rates. The inner region receives higher fuel concentration for stability, while the outer region receives reduced fuel for emissions control, allowing simultaneous achievement of both goals through spatial segmentation
3Temperature
If thermal barrier coatings and effusion/film cooling passages are added to the centerbody, then centerbody thermal protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The centerbody incorporates effusion cooling passages that utilize porous material structures to allow controlled coolant flow through the wall thickness. This provides effective thermal protection by creating a cooling film on the hot side while managing heat flux, integrating thermal management directly into the structural component
Solution Approach 2:
The centerbody employs composite construction combining thermal barrier coatings (TBC) on the hot gas exposure surface with effusion cooling passages through the wall. This multi-layer composite approach provides enhanced thermal protection by combining the benefits of surface insulation with internal active cooling, achieving superior temperature management despite increased manufacturing complexity
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 stability, reduces NOx and particulate emissions, and improves dynamic stability by promoting efficient fuel-air mixing and cooling, thereby mitigating combustion dynamics and maintaining efficient engine performance.
Implementation Method 1
The centerbody includes a multiple of effusion/film cooling passages arranged in a circular distribution through an upstream wall of the centerbody to extend through a sidewall and form non-circular exits
Implementation Method 2
an inner surface of the centerbody coated with a thermal barrier coatings (TBC)
Implementation Method 3
a swirler along an axis; and a swirler hub along the axis, the swirler hub having a fuel manifold and a centerbody
Data Source
AI summary
A main mixer including a swirler along an axis, the swirler including an outer swirler with a multiple of outer vanes, and a center swirler with a multiple of center vanes and a swirler hub along the axis, the swirler hub including a fuel manifold and an inner swirler with a multiple of inner vanes that support a centerbody, the multiple of inner vanes interconnect the fuel manifold and the centerbody.