Multi-point Injection Fuel Nozzle for Compact Gas Turbine Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine combustion designs face challenges in achieving high-energy combustion while minimizing emissions, combustion instability, structural wear, and maintaining a compact combustor size, as existing solutions often result in larger swirls or flames that increase instability and structural damage.
Innovation Solution
A multi-point injection mini mixing fuel nozzle assembly with a thermal management conduit, featuring radially oriented air inlet ports and fluid passages, which produces a compact, non- or low-swirl premixed flame, reducing combustor size and instability, and mitigating structural wear through efficient thermal energy management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If an axially oriented vane or swirler is incorporated in serial combination with a fuel injector to improve fuel-air mixing and atomization, then higher-energy combustion is achieved, but large combustion swirls or longer flames are produced that increase combustion instability and may induce structural damage
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel injection system is segmented into multiple independent injectors arranged radially around the combustor centerline, each injecting fuel at different radial positions. This segmentation allows the fuel to be distributed across multiple locations simultaneously, achieving high-energy combustion without requiring large swirls or long flame paths that would cause instability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from axial fuel injection to radial fuel injection, changing the dimensional orientation of fuel delivery. By injecting fuel radially outward from the combustor centerline at multiple angular positions, the system achieves improved mixing and high-energy combustion while maintaining a compact, stable flame structure without excessive swirl.
2Power
If larger combustion swirls or longer flames are produced to achieve higher-energy combustion, then fuel-air mixing is improved, but the length of the combustor section must be increased which increases gas turbine engine weight and packaging
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor is segmented into multiple radial injection zones with fuel injectors positioned at different radial distances from the centerline. This allows fuel-air mixing to occur simultaneously at multiple locations throughout the combustor volume, achieving high-energy combustion in a compact axial length without requiring elongated flame paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the radial dimension for fuel injection rather than relying on axial flame length. By injecting fuel radially outward at multiple angular positions, the system achieves thorough mixing and high-energy combustion within a compact axial footprint, reducing overall combustor length and engine packaging requirements.
3Reliability
If fuel residence time within the fuel nozzle is decreased by reducing the area of the fuel circuit to minimize structural wear and fuel coking, then structural wear is reduced, but the fuel is no longer available for secondary functions
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel delivery system is segmented into multiple independent radial injection ports, allowing fuel to be distributed through multiple pathways simultaneously. This segmentation increases the total effective fuel circuit area while maintaining short residence times in each individual pathway, preventing coking while preserving fuel availability for multiple functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single axial fuel circuit to multiple radial fuel circuits distributed around the combustor. This dimensional change increases the total fuel delivery capacity and reduces residence time in each circuit branch, preventing structural wear while maintaining fuel availability for secondary functions through the distributed multi-pathway system.
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 achieves high-energy combustion with reduced emissions and instability, shorter flame lengths, and decreased structural wear, enhancing gas turbine engine efficiency and performance by maintaining or reducing combustor size.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal management conduit defined by the fluid communication of the first fluid passage and the second fluid passage and the thermal communication of the second fluid passage in adjacent arrangement with the first fluid passage
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to a fuel injector for a gas turbine engine. The fuel injector includes an end wall, a centerbody, an outer sleeve surrounding the centerbody from the end wall toward the downstream end of the fuel injector, and a thermal management conduit. The centerbody includes an axially extended outer wall and inner wall extended from the end wall toward a downstream end of the fuel injector. The outer wall, the inner wall, and the end wall together define a fluid conduit extended in a first direction toward the downstream end of the fuel injector and in a second direction toward an upstream end of the fuel injector. The outer sleeve and the centerbody define a premix passage radially therebetween and an outlet at the downstream end of the premix passage. The outer sleeve defines a plurality of radially oriented first air inlet ports in circumferential arrangement at a first axial portion of the outer sleeve. The outer sleeve defines a plurality of radially oriented second air inlet ports in circumferential arrangement at a second axial portion of the outer sleeve. The outer sleeve further defines a first fluid passage arranged between each first air inlet port and extended from the end wall. A fluid passage wall extends from the end wall within the first fluid passage to define a second fluid passage extended from the end wall within the first fluid passage. The outer sleeve further defines a first injection port in fluid communication with the first fluid passage and a second injection port in fluid communication with the second fluid passage. The thermal management conduit is defined by the fluid communication of the fluid conduit and the first fluid passage and the thermal communication of the second fluid passage in adjacent arrangement with the first fluid passage.