Hydrogen Turbine Injector Ring for Uniform Mixing and Flashback Prevention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines face challenges in handling and efficiently combusting hydrogen fuel due to its different flammability and combustion properties compared to liquid hydrocarbon fuels, requiring new injector nozzles and combustors designed specifically for hydrogen.
Innovation Solution
The engine incorporates a combustion system with an injector ring and a hydrogen manifold cavity partitioned into isolated compartments, featuring tangentially and radially sloped conduits for hydrogen and air mixing, along with a metallic foam flame arrestor to prevent flashback, enabling efficient hydrogen combustion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If liquid hydrocarbon fuel injectors are used for hydrogen combustion, then the existing fuel supply system can be utilized, but uniform mixing and stable combustion of hydrogen cannot be achieved due to different flammability and combustion properties
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor is divided into multiple zones with different air-to-fuel ratios, allowing optimized combustion conditions for hydrogen in each zone. The fuel injection system is segmented into multiple injectors with different spray patterns and timing to achieve uniform mixing and stable combustion across the combustion chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection parameters (pressure, timing, duration) are specifically optimized for hydrogen properties such as lower density, higher flammability, and faster burning rate compared to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. This ensures reliable combustion stability while maintaining system adaptability.
2Device complexity
If hydrogen is introduced directly into the combustor without specialized mixing structures, then the system complexity is reduced, but uniform mixing of hydrogen and air cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses pneumatic mixing structures including swirl generators and turbulent mixers that leverage gas dynamics to achieve uniform hydrogen-air mixing. These structures create controlled turbulence and eddy currents that enhance mixing efficiency without requiring complex mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
Porous media are incorporated into the injector design to promote uniform distribution of hydrogen fuel throughout the air stream. The porous structure creates numerous small flow paths that enhance mixing while maintaining a relatively simple overall injector geometry.
3Reliability
If flashback prevention structures are added to the combustor, then combustion safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Flame arrestor media are introduced as an intermediary substance between the fuel-air mixture and the combustion zone. These media absorb heat and interrupt flame propagation paths, preventing flashback to the fuel supply system while adding minimal structural complexity to the combustor design.
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
Facilitates uniform mixing and stable combustion of hydrogen, allowing for variable fuel staging and enhanced control over engine performance, including flame stability and thermoacoustic stability.
Implementation Method 1
The hydrogen manifold cavity may include a metallic foam flame arrestor
Implementation Method 2
metallic foam flame arrestor to prevent flashback
Implementation Method 3
first hydrogen feed conduits (60) that are tangentially-sloped... second hydrogen feed conduits (62) that are radially and tangentially sloped
Implementation Method 4
an injector ring (42) and a hydrogen manifold cavity (52) partitioned into isolated compartments
Implementation Method 5
introducing a hydrogen and air mixture into the combustion chamber (40)... stable combustion of hydrogen
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
A gas turbine engine (20) includes an annular combustion chamber (40) and an injector ring (42). The annular combustion chamber (40) is disposed about an axis (A) and has first and second axial ends (40a, 40b) and radially inner and outer walls (40c, 40d). The injector ring (42) is disposed about the axis (A) at the first axial end (40a, 40b) and is configured to introduce a hydrogen and gas mixture into the combustion chamber (40). The injector ring (42) includes gas feed conduits (66) that open into a central mixing region (64), a hydrogen manifold cavity (52) that has first and second isolated compartments (54, 56), first hydrogen feed conduits (60) that extend off of the first isolated compartment (54) and open into the central mixing region (64), and second hydrogen feed conduits (62) that extend off of the second isolated compartment (56) and open into the central mixing region (64).