Plug-Resistant Effusion Cooling Holes for Gas Turbine Combustors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines face issues with fine sand and dust particles accumulating in effusion cooling holes, leading to reduced cooling efficiency and increased maintenance costs, particularly in desert environments.
Innovation Solution
The design of plug-resistant effusion cooling holes with an elliptical opening, an inlet section with a bellmouth, a converging section, a metering section, and an outlet section, where portions of these sections are defined outside the wall thickness, reducing plugging and enhancing airflow, and the use of additive manufacturing for self-supporting structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If effusion cooling holes are used to cool combustor liner, then cooling efficiency is improved, but the holes become prone to plugging by sand and dust particles
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling holes are designed with curved surfaces including a bellmouth inlet section and a converging section that transitions from a larger diameter to a smaller diameter outlet. This curved geometry prevents particles from impacting and adhering to the hole surfaces, reducing plugging while maintaining effective cooling airflow through the combustor liner.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling holes feature an asymmetric design with the inlet section positioned offset from the liner surface and the converging section creating a non-uniform flow path. This asymmetric configuration directs airflow in a manner that prevents particle accumulation and maintains reliable cooling performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If additive manufacturing is used to create self-supporting structures, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but material usage and weight must be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor liner incorporates a porous structure with distributed effusion cooling holes that allow controlled airflow through the material. This porous design provides structural support while enabling cooling functionality, optimizing the balance between material usage and weight for additive manufactured components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling holes extend in multiple dimensions through the liner thickness with inlet sections positioned offset from the surface. This three-dimensional configuration allows the structure to support itself during manufacturing while minimizing material usage and achieving optimal weight-to-strength ratio.
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
This configuration significantly reduces the accumulation of sand and dust particles, maintaining cooling efficiency and extending the lifespan of combustor liners while minimizing material usage and weight.
Implementation Method 1
the first liner defining a plurality of effusion cooling holes configured to form a film of cooling fluid on the second surface of the first liner
Data Source
AI summary
A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes a liner having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and defining a plurality of effusion cooling holes. At least one of the effusion cooling holes includes an inlet section and a converging section downstream of the inlet section. The at least one of the effusion cooling holes includes a metering section downstream of the converging section. The at least one of the effusion cooling holes includes an outlet section downstream of the metering section. The outlet section is proximate to the second surface. The inlet section, the converging section, the metering section and the outlet section extend along a longitudinal axis, with the inlet section asymmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis and the metering section symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis.