Turbine Combustor Heat Shield Multi-Angled Cooling Apertures

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current turbine engine combustors face inefficiencies in cooling and temperature management, particularly in regions with varying temperature gradients, which can lead to reduced performance and increased manufacturing costs.

Innovation Solution

The combustor design incorporates a heat shield with a combination of cooling apertures, including first apertures with a 30-degree included angle and second apertures with a 15-degree included angle, strategically distributed to enhance cooling effectiveness while minimizing manufacturing complexity, and a multi-walled structure to form cooling cavities that fluidly couple impingement and effusion apertures for efficient air flow and heat transfer.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If multiple cooling apertures with different angles are used in the heat shield, then cooling effectiveness across temperature gradients is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecooling effectivenessVSAvoidaperture configuration complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The heat shield employs different aperture included angles (first apertures with 30-degree angle, second apertures with 15-degree angle) in different regions to match varying temperature gradients. This local differentiation optimizes cooling effectiveness in high-temperature regions while reducing complexity in lower-temperature regions, directly resolving the contradiction between cooling performance and manufacturing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling apertures are segmented into at least two distinct sets with different included angles, allowing each segment to address specific thermal conditions in different regions of the heat shield. This segmentation enables targeted cooling where needed while simplifying the overall design by not requiring complex variable-angle apertures throughout.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Temperature

If cooling cavities are extended radially between heat shield and shell, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveheat transfer efficiencyVSAvoidcombustor structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling cavities are nested radially between the heat shield and the combustor shell, creating a compact multi-layered structure. This nesting approach allows efficient heat transfer pathways to be established without adding significant external complexity to the combustor assembly, as the cooling structure is integrated within the existing radial space.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

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 improves cooling effectiveness across temperature gradients, optimizing heat shield performance and reducing manufacturing costs by tailoring aperture distribution based on temperature regions, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the turbine engine combustor.

Implementation Method 1

Cooling cavities extend radially between the heat shield and the shell. These cooling cavities fluidly couple impingement apertures in the shell with effusion apertures in the heat shield

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Implementation Method 2

cooling effectiveness across temperature gradients, optimizing heat shield performance

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectConduction (thermal): Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 3

improves cooling effectiveness across temperature gradients

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectTemperature Gradient: Temperature Gradient

Data Source

PatentEP3066388B1Turbine engine combustor heat shield with multi-angled cooling apertures
Publication Date: 2024.04.10 RTX CORP
  • EP3066388B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3066388B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3066388B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A combustor for a turbine engine is provided that includes a combustor wall. The combustor wall includes a shell and a heat shield, which is attached to the shell. One or more cooling cavities are defined between the shell and the heat shield, and fluidly couple a plurality of apertures defined in the shell with a plurality of apertures defined in the heat shield. The apertures in the heat shield include a first aperture and a second aperture. An angle of incidence between the first aperture and a surface of the heat shield is different than an angle of incidence between the second aperture and the surface.