Fuel Nozzle With Segmented Galleries For Varying Gas Heating Value
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nozzle assemblies for gas turbines with can combustors face challenges in efficiently managing air and air/fuel mixture flows when using gas fuels with varying heating values, affecting combustion completeness, emissions, and thermal efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A fuel nozzle assembly with a housing having separate ports and galleries for low and high calorific gas supplies, featuring a fuel system with control and shutoff valves that automatically switch between different gas supplies, and injection holes with radial and tangential angles for swirling fuel, allowing for dual or bi-gas operation to optimize combustion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single nozzle assembly is used for both low calorific gas and high calorific fuel, then device complexity is reduced, but combustion stability and efficiency deteriorate due to inability to optimize injection patterns for different fuel types
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle assembly is segmented into multiple independent galleries (first gallery for high calorific fuel, second and third galleries for low calorific gas) with separate injection holes. This segmentation allows each gallery to be optimized for its specific fuel type, maintaining combustion stability while managing device complexity through a unified housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The nozzle assembly is designed with multi-functionality to handle both high calorific fuel and low calorific gas through a single housing structure. The housing universally accommodates multiple galleries that can be selectively activated based on fuel type, reducing the need for completely separate nozzle systems while maintaining optimization capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate ports and galleries are provided for different fuel supplies, then adaptability to varying heating values is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed dynamically to automatically select and switch between different fuel supplies based on detected heating value. The system can transition between using only the first gallery, only second/third galleries, or combinations thereof, providing adaptability without requiring manual reconfiguration or overly complex control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel system incorporates automatic detection and selection capabilities that allow it to self-regulate which galleries to activate based on the heating value of the supplied fuel. This self-service approach reduces the need for external control complexity while maintaining high adaptability to different fuel types.
3Productivity
If injection holes are configured with radial and tangential angles for swirling, then combustion efficiency is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different injection holes in different galleries are assigned specific local qualities with unique radial and tangential angles optimized for their respective fuel types. The first gallery injection holes have angles optimized for high calorific fuel, while second and third gallery holes have angles optimized for low calorific gas, allowing each location to have the precise quality needed without requiring all holes to meet the same stringent tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection hole parameters (radial and tangential angles) are changed according to the fuel type and gallery location. By varying these parameters locally across different galleries rather than using uniform angles throughout, the system achieves high combustion efficiency while distributing precision requirements across different manufacturing zones rather than concentrating them all at the same tolerance level.
4Reliability
If automatic switching between fuel supplies is implemented, then combustion completeness is improved, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor fuel heating value and automatically adjust which galleries are active accordingly. This feedback loop ensures combustion completeness by selecting the appropriate fuel supply configuration while managing control system complexity through automated decision-making rather than manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel supply configuration is made dynamic with automatic switching capabilities between different gallery combinations based on real-time fuel properties. The system can transition between single-gallery and multi-gallery operation modes, providing the combustion completeness needed for varying fuel types while keeping control complexity manageable through automated dynamic adjustment.
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 combustion stability and efficiency by allowing for precise control of gas supplies and swirling patterns, improving combustion completeness and reducing emissions, while accommodating fuels with varying heating values.
Implementation Method 1
The third portion of injection holes may each include a radial and tangential angle that provide radially outward swirling for the high calorific fuel in the third gallery
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel nozzle assembly for a gas turbine combustion chamber includes a housing having a first port connected to a first low calorific gas supply, a second port separate from the first port and connected to a second low calorific gas supply, and a third port separate from the first port and the second port and connected to a high calorific fuel supply. The fuel nozzle assembly may further include a first gallery in the housing connected to the first port, a second gallery in the housing separate from the first gallery and connected to the second port, and a third gallery in the housing separate from the first and second galleries and connected to the third port. The fuel nozzle assembly may further include a plurality of injection holes circumferentially disposed in the housing and configured to inject gas from each respective gallery into a can combustor.