Multi-Tube Hydrogen Combustor Nozzle Cooling and Fuel-Air Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbines using hydrogen fuel face challenges with flame heating the combustor structure, leading to reliability issues and difficulty in uniformly mixing fuel and air, particularly in nozzles lacking swirlers.
Innovation Solution
A combustor nozzle design featuring a multi-tube structure with a fuel tube, dispersion plate, and impact connector that efficiently cools the nozzle tip and uniformly mixes fuel and air, using a heat transfer support and impact connector to disperse and cool the fuel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If hydrogen fuel or fuel containing hydrogen is burned in a gas turbine combustor, then carbon dioxide emission is reduced, but the flame heats the combustor structure causing reliability problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of fuel combustion heat into a beneficial cooling mechanism. The high-temperature flame that would normally damage the combustor structure is redirected to cool the nozzle tip through a cooling passage, transforming the harmful thermal energy into a protective cooling effect that extends component life
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cooling passage as an intermediary structure between the flame and the nozzle tip. This cooling passage acts as a thermal mediator, allowing the flame heat to be transferred to cooling air that then cools the nozzle tip, preventing direct thermal damage while maintaining combustion efficiency
2Device complexity
If a multi-tube nozzle is used without a swirler, then the structure is simplified, but fuel and air cannot be uniformly mixed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the fuel injection system into multiple separate tubes, each capable of injecting fuel and air independently. This segmentation allows for better control over fuel-air mixing by adjusting individual tube parameters, achieving uniform mixture without requiring a complex swirler structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a radial dimension to fuel injection by positioning multiple tubes at different radial positions and orientations. This spatial arrangement creates multiple injection directions that enhance mixing efficiency without adding rotational complexity, achieving uniform mixture through geometric configuration rather than dynamic swirling
3Device complexity
If the nozzle tip is not cooled, then the structure is simpler, but the nozzle tip deteriorates due to high temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-cooling mechanism where the nozzle tip uses its own structural features (cooling passages) to cool itself. The cooling air flows through passages within the nozzle tip structure, allowing the component to regulate its own temperature without external intervention, thereby extending service life while maintaining structural simplicity
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 cools the nozzle tip and uniformly mixes fuel and air, enhancing the nozzle's life and durability by efficiently managing heat and combustion processes.
Implementation Method 1
a heat transfer support which protrudes from the support protrusion and which is in contact with the tip plate
Implementation Method 2
a dispersion plate spaced apart from the front plate and connected to the fuel tube, the dispersion plate forming a dispersion space in which fuel discharged from the fuel tube is diffused
Implementation Method 3
The combustor mixes the compressed air introduced from the compressor with fuel and burns a mixture thereof
Data Source
AI summary
A combustor nozzle, a combustor including the combustor nozzle, and a gas turbine including the combustor. The combustor nozzle may include a plurality of mixing tubes through which air and fuel flow, a multi-tube into which the mixing tubes are inserted, the multi-tube supporting the mixing tubes, a fuel tube formed inside the multi-tube and through which fuel flows, a tip plate coupled to a tip of the multi-tube, a front plate spaced apart from the tip plate, the front plate forming a cooling space, and a dispersion plate spaced apart from the front plate and connected to the fuel tube, the dispersion plate forming a dispersion space in which fuel discharged from the fuel tube is diffused.