Fibrous Media Drift Eliminator for Gas Turbine Inlet Air

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional gas turbine engines face issues with water droplet shedding and associated damage due to increased air velocity, which requires significant space, additional materials, and routine maintenance for drift eliminators, leading to pressure losses and reduced output.

Innovation Solution

A fibrous media pad is used as both a wetted media pad and a drift eliminator with an air gap in between, featuring chevron and wavy channels to enhance evaporation efficiency and capture water droplets, eliminating the need for thermoplastic components and reducing maintenance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional drift eliminators are used to capture water droplets, then water droplet damage is reduced, but device complexity and space requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewater droplet damage preventionVSAvoiddrift eliminator structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the wetted media pad and drift eliminator into a single integrated fibrous media assembly. The same fibrous material that facilitates evaporative cooling also captures water droplets through its structure, eliminating the need for separate thermoplastic drift eliminator components and reducing overall device complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The fibrous media pad serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a wetted media for evaporative cooling, a drift eliminator for water droplet capture, and a space-saving integrated component. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by making one component perform the roles previously requiring separate components

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If conventional drift eliminators are used to capture water droplets, then water droplet damage is reduced, but pressure losses increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewater droplet damage preventionVSAvoidpressure loss

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes the porous structure of the fibrous media pad to capture water droplets. The porous nature allows the media to intercept and retain water droplets through capillary action and inertial impaction as air passes through, providing effective drift elimination without the pressure penalty of conventional solid-component drift eliminators

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

3Productivity

If air velocity is increased to improve cooling efficiency, then cooling performance improves, but water shedding increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling efficiencyVSAvoidwater shedding

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the physical parameters of the media structure by using fibrous material with specific pore sizes and surface properties. This allows the system to maintain effective water droplet capture at higher air velocities where conventional media would fail, thus enabling increased cooling efficiency without excessive water shedding

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The fibrous media pad is designed as a replaceable component that can be easily replaced when worn or contaminated. This disposable approach allows for simpler maintenance compared to conventional drift eliminators that require complex disassembly and cleaning, resolving the maintenance contradiction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

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 increases evaporative cooling efficiency, reduces pressure losses, and allows for higher airstream velocity, optimizing water consumption and eliminating the need for additional water streams, thus enhancing the overall performance and efficiency of the gas turbine engine.

Implementation Method 1

cooling the ambient air flow through latent cooling or through sensible cooling. Such heat exchangers often may utilize a wetted media pad to facilitate the cooling of the ambient air flow. These wetted media pads may allow heat and/or mass transfer between the ambient air flow and a coolant flow such as a flow of water.

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEvaporation: Evaporation

Implementation Method 2

The ambient air flow interacts with the coolant flow in the wetted media pad for heat exchange therewith.

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Implementation Method 3

capturing water droplets flowing downstream of the wetted media pad in the fibrous media drift eliminator

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFiltration: Filter (physical)

Data Source

PatentUS10260421B2Fibrous media drift eliminator

Publication Date: 2019.04.16 GE INFRASTRUCTURE TECH LLC

AI summary

The present application provides an inlet air system for cooling an inlet air flow to a compressor of a gas turbine engine. The inlet air system may include a wetted media pad and a drift eliminator positioned downstream of the wetted media pad with an air gap therebetween. The drift eliminator may include a fibrous media pad.