Furcating Nozzle Combustor Cap for Gas Turbine Emissions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The design and construction of fuel nozzle assemblies in gas turbine engines impact exhaust emissions and power output, and also complicate installation, maintenance, and servicing, with existing solutions not effectively addressing these issues.
Innovation Solution
A multi-tube fuel nozzle assembly with a combustor cap featuring integrated furcating nozzles that partition the air-fuel mixture, enabling convective heat transfer to cool the combustor cap and potentially reduce emissions and manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If the fuel nozzle assembly design is optimized for combustion performance, then exhaust emissions and power output are improved, but installation, maintenance, and servicing become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel nozzle assembly is divided into modular components including a replaceable nozzle insert with mixing tubes and a separate combustor cap with furcating nozzles. This segmentation allows the complex combustion optimization to be contained in a small, easily replaceable insert while the main combustor cap remains simple and accessible for maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex mixing and combustion optimization functions are extracted into a separate nozzle insert that can be removed and replaced without disassembling the entire combustor assembly. This extracts the complexity from the main system while preserving the optimized combustion performance.
2Productivity
If the combustor cap is exposed to high temperature combustion gases, then combustion efficiency is maintained, but the combustor cap temperature increases causing thermal stress and reduced equipment lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
A cooling flow is introduced as an intermediary between the hot combustion gases and the combustor cap wall. This cooling flow acts as a thermal barrier, allowing the cap to maintain structural integrity at lower temperatures while the combustion process continues efficiently just beyond the cooling layer.
Solution Approach 2:
A pneumatic cooling system uses pressurized cooling air introduced through the furcating nozzles to create a protective boundary layer on the combustor cap inner surface. This hydraulic/pneumatic barrier prevents direct thermal contact between combustion gases and the cap, reducing thermal stress and extending equipment lifetime.
3Productivity
If multiple separate components are used for fuel injection and air mixing, then combustion control is improved, but the number of parts increases manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions including fuel injection, air mixing, flow partitioning, and cooling are merged into an integrated combustor cap assembly with built-in furcating nozzles. This consolidation reduces the total number of separate parts while maintaining sophisticated combustion control through the integrated design of mixing tubes and furcating nozzles.
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 reduces emissions, lowers manufacturing costs, and extends equipment lifetime by using convective heat transfer to cool the combustor cap, while simplifying maintenance and installation procedures.
Implementation Method 1
enabling convective heat transfer to cool the combustor cap
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a multi-tube fuel nozzle assembly. The multi-tube fuel nozzle assembly includes a support structure defining an interior volume configured to receive an air flow. The combustor cap assembly also includes multiple mixing tubes disposed within the interior volume. Each mixing tube of the multiple mixing tubes is configured to mix air and fuel to form an air-fuel mixture. The multi-tube fuel nozzle assembly further includes a combustor cap coupled to the support structure. The combustor cap includes multiple furcating nozzles integrated within the combustor cap. Each furcating nozzle of the multiple furcating nozzles is coupled to a respective mixing tube of the multiple mixing tubes. Also, each furcating nozzle of the multiple furcating nozzles is configured to receive a flow of the air-fuel mixture and to partition the flow of the air-fuel mixture into multiple air-fuel mixture flows.