Gas Turbine Combustor Panel Cooling via Throttle Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Combustor panels in gas turbine engines are susceptible to structural damage and oxidation due to high temperatures, particularly at the interface between adjacent panels, leading to reduced operational life.
Innovation Solution
An annular throttle plate with arcuate segments is mounted to the diffuser side of the combustor shell, featuring orifice holes for cooling air inflow and gap impingement holes for outflow, which creates an intermediate chamber at an intermediate pressure between the diffuser and combustor pressures, facilitating effective cooling of the panels by directing cooling air directly to the gap between panels through angled gap impingement holes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cooling air is supplied to combustor panels, then the panels are protected from structural damage and oxidation, but the gap between adjacent panels prevents effective cooling at the interface
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling air flow path is segmented into multiple stages: diffuser chamber → intermediate chamber → combustor chamber. The throttle plate with orifice holes creates distinct pressure zones, and gap impingement holes direct cooling air to specific gap regions. This segmentation allows targeted cooling of the panel interfaces that would otherwise be inaccessible to direct cooling air flow.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate chamber is introduced between the diffuser chamber and the combustor chamber. This intermediate chamber serves as a mediator that receives cooling air from the diffuser chamber and redistributes it through the throttle plate and gap impingement holes to reach the panel gaps. The intermediate chamber enables indirect cooling of the panel interfaces, overcoming the limitation of direct cooling air access.
2Reliability
If cooling air flow is increased to improve cooling efficiency, then panel protection is enhanced, but pressure distribution and flow control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes controlled parameter changes in pressure and flow rate. The throttle plate with orifice holes creates a pressure drop that establishes an intermediate pressure zone. By adjusting the size and number of orifice holes and gap impingement holes, the cooling air flow rate and pressure distribution are optimized to achieve effective cooling without excessive complexity in flow control.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the cooling air flow path are given different qualities: the diffuser chamber provides high-volume flow, the intermediate chamber provides pressure regulation through orifice holes, and the gap impingement holes provide localized directed flow to panel interfaces. This local differentiation of flow characteristics enables efficient cooling while maintaining manageable pressure distribution.
3Power
If the combustor operates at high temperature to improve power output, then energy generation is enhanced, but the susceptibility of combustor panels to structural damage and oxidation increases
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling air is supplied to the combustor panels before the hot combustion gases can cause structural damage and oxidation. The cooling air flow path is pre-configured through the diffuser chamber, intermediate chamber, and gap impingement holes to deliver protective cooling air to the panel surfaces and interfaces, preventing thermal damage before it occurs during high-temperature operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hot combustion gases, which would normally cause thermal damage to the panels, are redirected to flow over the cooled panel surfaces. The cooling air creates a protective boundary layer that prevents direct contact between the hot gases and panel materials. The system converts the potentially harmful heat transfer into a beneficial protective cooling effect at the panel interfaces.
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 solution enhances cooling efficiency, reducing the risk of structural damage and oxidation at panel interfaces by ensuring consistent air flow and pressure distribution, thereby extending the operational life of combustor panels.
Implementation Method 1
The orifice holes and the gap impingement holes may be sized such that cooling air in the intermediate chamber is configured to be at an intermediate pressure that is between a diffuser pressure of the diffuser chamber and a combustor pressure of the combustor chamber
Implementation Method 2
flow of cooling air out of the intermediate chamber is substantially exclusively via the plurality of gap impingement holes
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A combustor of a gas turbine engine (20) includes a combustor shell (104) having a diffuser side facing a diffuser chamber (101) and a combustor side facing a combustor chamber (102). The combustor may include a first combustor panel (111) coupled to the combustor side of the combustor shell (104) and a second combustor panel (112) coupled to the combustor side of the combustor shell (104). A gap (109) may be defined between the first combustor panel (111) and the second combustor panel (112) and the combustor shell (104) may include a gap impingement hole (145) that is directly open to and is configured to deliver cooling air directly to the gap (109). In various embodiments, the combustor further includes a throttle plate (130) coupled to the diffuser side of the combustor shell (104).