Gas Turbine Combustor Resonator Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine combustors face challenges in reducing vibration and NOx emissions due to heat transfer from the combustion chamber to the resonator, with current solutions either overheating the resonator or inadequately addressing vibration reduction.
Innovation Solution
A gas turbine combustor design featuring a tubular body with an air passage that includes an upstream region, a downstream region, and a direction change region, where the resonator openings are oriented towards the downstream region, allowing for effective absorption of combustion-generated pressure waves and reducing the need for special cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the resonator is attached to the combustion liner with the resonance chamber open toward the combustion chamber, then vibration reduction is achieved, but the resonator becomes high in temperature requiring special cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an air passage as an intermediary medium between the combustion chamber and the resonator. The air passage includes an upstream region, a direction change region, and a downstream region, which mediates the heat and pressure wave transfer. This intermediary structure allows the resonator to be positioned in a cooler zone while still effectively absorbing combustion pressure waves, thus resolving the contradiction between vibration reduction and temperature control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the radial dimension by positioning the resonator in the radial direction away from the combustion chamber, connected through the air passage. The direction change region in the air passage creates a spatial arrangement that separates the thermal field (combustion chamber) from the acoustic field (resonator), allowing effective vibration reduction without direct thermal exposure.
2Temperature
If the resonator is attached to the flow sleeve with the resonance chamber open toward the air passage, then resonator temperature is reduced, but vibration reduction effectiveness is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The air passage is segmented into three distinct regions: an upstream region extending along the outer peripheral surface, a direction change region connecting upstream to downstream, and a downstream region extending along the inner peripheral surface. This segmentation allows each region to perform a specific function in managing pressure wave propagation and heat transfer, thereby improving vibration reduction effectiveness while maintaining lower resonator temperature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating different flow characteristics in different regions of the air passage. The upstream region has one flow pattern, the direction change region transitions the flow, and the downstream region has another flow pattern optimized for resonator coupling. This localized optimization ensures effective vibration reduction at the resonator location while maintaining overall system efficiency.
3Temperature
If special cooling is applied to the resonator, then resonator temperature is controlled, but combustion temperature must be increased which may increase NOx
Solution Approach 1:
The air passage serves as a thermal barrier that mediates heat transfer from the combustion chamber to the resonator. By designing the air passage with specific geometry (upstream region, direction change region, downstream region), the patent creates a thermal buffer that protects the resonator from high temperatures without requiring active cooling systems that would increase combustion temperature and NOx emissions.
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 reduces combustion-induced vibration and prevents NOx increase by absorbing pressure waves and maintaining lower resonator temperatures, eliminating the need for special cooling structures.
Implementation Method 1
a resonator including at least one opening that is open toward the air passage... effectively absorption of combustion-generated pressure waves
Data Source
AI summary
A gas turbine combustor includes: a tubular body; an air passage; and a resonator. The air passage includes: an upstream region that extends along an outer peripheral surface of the tubular body; a downstream region that extends along an inner peripheral surface of the tubular body and is located at a first side of the combustion chamber in the axial direction; and a direction change region that connects the upstream region to the downstream region in a radial direction of the tubular body and is adjacent to the upstream region such that an area of a section of the air passage which is orthogonal to the axial direction changes at a position between the upstream region and the direction change region. The opening is open toward a space of the air passage which is located downstream of the upstream region.