Gas Turbine Combustor Panel Peak-Valley Gridded Pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine combustor panels face excessive heat loads, leading to oxidation, cracking, and thermal stresses, with existing cooling methods experiencing leakage and inefficiencies due to particle deposition, which reduces cooling effectiveness and shortens panel life.
Innovation Solution
A combustor panel with a peak-valley gridded pattern featuring recessed cells with angled sidewalls and effusion holes, designed to funnel impinging air and prevent particle deposition by directing flow through effusion holes, minimizing stagnation and insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cooling methods are used with flat panels, then the structure is simple, but particle deposition occurs on the panel surface reducing cooling effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming the panel surface with a peak-valley gridded pattern consisting of convex peaks and concave valleys. This curved surface geometry prevents particle deposition by eliminating flat stagnation regions where particles would accumulate, thereby maintaining cooling effectiveness without requiring additional active cleaning mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel surface is segmented into a gridded pattern of repeating peak-valley units. This segmentation creates multiple localized flow paths that direct cooling air efficiently across the entire panel surface while preventing particle accumulation in any single region, thus maintaining overall cooling effectiveness.
2Temperature
If impingement cooling air is directed toward the panel, then cooling is improved, but leakage through effusion holes reduces cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The curved peak-valley surface geometry optimizes the distribution of impingement cooling air by directing flow along the contours of the peaks and into the valleys. This curvature-based flow management reduces premature leakage through effusion holes and improves heat transfer efficiency at the panel surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The effusion holes are strategically positioned within the valley regions of the gridded pattern, creating local zones where cooling air is retained longer to maximize heat transfer before leakage occurs. This localized positioning optimizes the balance between cooling effectiveness and air retention.
3Ease of manufacture
If the panel surface is made flat for simplicity, then manufacturing is easier, but stagnation regions form causing particle accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is manufactured with a peak-valley gridded pattern that eliminates flat stagnation regions. While this adds some manufacturing complexity compared to a flat surface, the curvature-based design prevents particle accumulation and maintains cooling effectiveness, representing an acceptable trade-off for improved performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel surface transitions from a two-dimensional flat plane to a three-dimensional gridded pattern with peaks and valleys. This dimensional change creates flow paths that prevent stagnation and particle accumulation while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through established forming techniques.
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
The peak-valley gridded pattern enhances cooling efficiency by reducing particle adherence and maintaining effective heat transfer, thereby extending the life and performance of combustor panels in gas turbine engines.
Implementation Method 1
Impingement cooling is a process of directing relatively cool air from a location exterior to the combustor toward a back or underside of the panels
Implementation Method 2
The angled sidewalls of each recessed cell may be angled to funnel an impinging air into a respect effusion hole
Implementation Method 3
Leakage of impingement cooling air may occur through effusion holes without the panel or between adjacent panels at gaps that exist between the panels and thus form film cooling over a surface of the panels
Implementation Method 4
designed to funnel impinging air and prevent particle deposition by directing flow through effusion holes, minimizing stagnation and insulation
Implementation Method 5
Convective cooling may be achieved by air that is trapped between the panels and a shell of the combustor
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
Combustor panels of gas turbine engines and gas turbine engines are described. The combustor panel (400) includes a hot side configured to be exposed to combustion within a gas turbine engine, a cold side (402) opposite the hot side of the combustor panel, the cold side configured to receive cooling flow thereon, and a peak-valley gridded pattern (404) formed on the cold side, the peak-valley gridded pattern comprising a plurality of recessed cells (406) arranged in a grid pattern, with each recessed cell having a peak (408), angled sidewalls (410), and an effusion hole (412) located at a bottom of the angled sidewalls.