Hydrogen Fuel Nozzle Assembly for Combustor Flashback Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines using hydrogen fuel face challenges with flashback and auto-ignition due to high burn temperature and volatility, leading to undesired flame propagation and overheating of combustion section components.
Innovation Solution
A fuel nozzle assembly with multiple bodies forming gaseous fuel and compressed air channels, along with swirled airflow and flame shaping passages, controls flame propagation and maintains temperature below auto-ignition levels, ensuring safe and efficient combustion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If hydrogen fuel is used in the combustor, then combustion efficiency is improved, but flashback and auto-ignition occur due to high burn temperature and volatility
Solution Approach 1:
A cooling airflow is introduced as an intermediary substance between the hydrogen fuel and the combustion zone. This cooling air, supplied through dedicated passages in the fuel nozzle assembly, acts as a thermal buffer that prevents flashback and auto-ignition while allowing efficient combustion to occur. The cooling airflow mediates the interaction between the volatile hydrogen fuel and the combustion process.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature parameter of the airflow near the fuel nozzle is actively modified by introducing cooling air. This changes the local thermal environment from a high-temperature zone that would cause auto-ignition to a controlled-temperature zone that prevents flashback. The parameter change enables safe handling of hydrogen fuel while maintaining combustion efficiency.
2Power
If hydrogen fuel is used in the combustor, then energy output is improved, but overheating of combustion section components occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling airflow serves as a thermal mediator between the high-energy hydrogen combustion and the combustion section components. By introducing this intermediate cooling layer, the patent protects components from direct exposure to extreme temperatures while allowing the energy output from hydrogen combustion to be maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling air is supplied in advance of the combustion zone to create a protective thermal barrier. This beforehand cushioning of cool air prevents the combustion section components from being subjected to overheating conditions, enabling sustained high power output without thermal damage.
3Use of energy by moving object
If high burn temperature is achieved with hydrogen fuel, then combustion efficiency is improved, but flame propagation becomes uncontrolled
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling airflow acts as a controllable intermediary that regulates flame propagation. By adjusting the cooling air flow rate, operators can control the thermal environment and thus manage flame propagation characteristics, maintaining combustion efficiency while preventing uncontrolled flame spread.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback mechanism where the cooling airflow responds to combustion conditions to regulate flame propagation. The cooling air rate can be adjusted based on combustion intensity, creating a self-regulating system that maintains stable, controlled flame propagation while preserving high combustion efficiency.
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 effectively prevents flashback and maintains uniform flame distribution, enhancing combustion efficiency and safety when using hydrogen fuel, while maintaining component integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a first swirler provided within the gaseous fuel channel, and a second swirler provided within the first compressed air channel
Implementation Method 2
The use of hydrogen fuel in the combustion section is known. Generally, air and fuel are mixed, and then the fuel is burned in the presence of the air to produce hot gas
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine engine has a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow arrangement. The combustion section has a combustor liner and dome wall collectively forming at least a portion of a combustion chamber. The dome wall has a fuel nozzle opening. The combustion section has a fuel nozzle assembly extending through the fuel nozzle opening. The fuel nozzle assembly has a first body, a second body, a first swirler and a second swirler.