Inline Fluid Damper for Gas Turbine Fuel Lines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanical vibrations in gas turbine engine assemblies cause fluid fluctuations in fuel lines, leading to combustion instabilities and feedback loops of instability, which result in coherent acoustic coupling fluctuations.
Innovation Solution
An inline fluid damper device is placed inside the fuel lines, comprising a flow-through conduit and an indirect flow conduit that divide the fluid into portions, with the indirect flow conduit creating a longer path for fluid flow, thereby reducing pressure and flow fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the fluid flows directly through the fuel line, then the flow rate is high, but pressure and flow fluctuations occur due to mechanical vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel line is divided into multiple parallel flow paths by the flow diverter, creating separate channels for different portions of the fluid. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high overall flow rate while reducing fluctuations in each individual path, thereby improving pressure stability without sacrificing productivity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a damper device is added to reduce fluid fluctuations, then pressure stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow diverter is positioned inside the existing fuel line conduit, with flow-through conduits nested within the outer conduit and indirect flow conduits utilizing the annular space between them. This nested configuration allows the damper device to be integrated into the existing fuel line structure without requiring separate external components, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining pressure stability improvements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the flow path is lengthened to dampen fluctuations, then pressure stability improves, but flow rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path is segmented into multiple parallel channels (flow-through conduits and indirect flow conduits) rather than using a single long path. This allows the fluid to travel longer distances through multiple routes simultaneously, dampening fluctuations while maintaining high overall flow rate through the combined parallel paths.
Solution Approach 2:
Not all fluid portions are forced through the longer indirect flow conduits; only a portion of the fluid takes the extended path while other portions flow through shorter flow-through conduits. This partial application of the lengthening effect provides sufficient damping for stability while avoiding excessive flow rate reduction.
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 inline fluid damper device effectively reduces fluid pressure and flow fluctuations, improving stability by dividing the fluid flow and increasing the path length for the fluid, thus mitigating the effects of mechanical vibrations and combustion instabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The flow-through conduit and the indirect flow conduit are configured to dampen one or more flow fluctuations or pressure fluctuations in the fluid flowing in the larger exterior conduit by dividing the fluid into a first portion that flows along the center axis through the flow-through conduit and a second portion that concurrently flows outside of the flow-through conduit along the center axis and along a different direction
Implementation Method 2
The indirect flow conduit creates a longer flow path for the second portion of the fluid to flow from the first end to the second end relative to a flow path created by the flow-through conduit for the first portion of the fluid to flow from the first end to the second end
Data Source
AI summary
An inline fluid damper device comprises a flow-through conduit configured to be placed inside a larger exterior conduit through which a fluid flows. The flow-through conduit is elongated and extending around a center axis. The damper device also comprising an indirect flow conduit coupled with the flow-through conduit. The indirect flow conduit is also configured to be placed inside the larger exterior conduit. The flow-through conduit and the indirect flow conduit are configured to dampen one or more flow fluctuations or pressure fluctuations in the fluid flowing in the larger exterior conduit by dividing the fluid into a first portion that flows along the center axis through the flow-through conduit and a second portion that concurrently flows outside of the flow-through conduit along the center axis and along a different direction.