Fuel Injector Boss With Serpentine Cooling Against Hydrogen Flashback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional gas turbine combustors struggle with burning high levels of hydrogen and/or pure hydrogen, leading to flame holding or flashback issues, which can cause severe damage to the injector.
Innovation Solution
A fuel injection assembly with a serpentine cooling passage and a mixing channel design that includes a fuel injector and a boss coupled to the combustion liner, featuring a serpentine cooling passage and a mixing channel with premix tubes to deliver hydrogen and air to a secondary combustion zone without causing flame holding or flashback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If traditional combustion systems burn high levels of hydrogen and/or pure hydrogen, then NOx emissions are significantly reduced or eliminated, but flame holding or flashback conditions occur causing severe damage to the injector
Solution Approach 1:
The serpentine cooling passage pre-cools the hydrogen fuel before it reaches the injection point, reducing its temperature and combustion velocity. This preliminary cooling action prevents the fuel from causing flashback or flame holding conditions while still allowing efficient combustion in the secondary zone, thus protecting the injector while maintaining low NOx emissions
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling passage provides localized cooling to the hydrogen fuel in specific regions (through the serpentine path in the boss) rather than uniform cooling throughout the system. This allows the fuel to be cooled to safe injection temperatures while maintaining optimal combustion characteristics in the combustion zones, resolving the contradiction between emission reduction and injector protection
2Object-generated harmful factors
If hydrogen is delivered to the secondary combustion zone, then clean combustion is achieved, but flame holding conditions may occur damaging the injector
Solution Approach 1:
The serpentine cooling passage performs preliminary cooling of the hydrogen fuel before injection, preparing it in advance to prevent harmful flame holding conditions while enabling clean combustion in the secondary zone
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling passage acts as an intermediary element between the hydrogen storage and the injection point, modifying the fuel's temperature characteristics to enable safe delivery to the combustion zone without causing damage
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 design effectively delivers hydrogen and air to a secondary combustion zone, reducing NOx emissions and preventing injector damage by mitigating flame holding and flashback conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The boss defines a serpentine cooling passage that extends from an inlet on the flange portion to an outlet on the interior surface
Data Source
AI summary
Fuel injection assemblies and combustors are provided. The fuel injection assembly includes a fuel injector that is configured to couple to an outer sleeve of the combustor. The fuel injection assembly further comprises a boss that is spaced apart from the fuel injector and is configured to couple to a combustion liner of the combustor. The boss includes a flange portion, an annular wall portion extending from the flange portion, and an interior surface. The boss defines a serpentine cooling passage that extends from an inlet on the flange portion to an outlet on the interior surface.