Segmented Fuel Manifold for Gas Turbine Combustion Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines face issues with lean blowout and detrimental tangential acoustics due to sudden changes in operating conditions, which can lead to hazardous situations and engine performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
A fuel manifold system with actively controlled valves that divide the fuel distribution into two circumferential sections, ensuring adequate fuel flow and pressure to maintain stable combustion, while limiting fuel to other sections to prevent lean blowout and thermoacoustic instabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fuel is uniformly distributed to all combustor sections, then adequate fuel supply is maintained, but lean blowout and thermoacoustic instabilities occur during sudden deceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel manifold is segmented into multiple independent flow paths with individual control valves for different combustor sections. This allows selective fuel distribution to specific sections rather than uniform distribution to all sections, enabling the system to maintain combustion stability in protected sections while limiting fuel to sections prone to instabilities during transient conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different combustor sections are assigned different fuel supply characteristics through locally controlled valves. Sections identified as prone to lean blowout or thermoacoustic instabilities receive limited or reduced fuel during transient conditions, while other sections maintain adequate fuel supply. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by applying appropriate fuel management strategies to specific locations rather than uniformly across the entire system.
2Reliability
If fuel flow is increased to prevent lean blowout, then combustion stability improves, but thermoacoustic instabilities are triggered
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel distribution system is divided into separate controllable zones with independent valve control. This segmentation allows the system to increase fuel flow to specific combustor sections that require it for stability while simultaneously limiting or reducing fuel flow to other sections where increased fuel would trigger thermoacoustic instabilities. The selective zonal control resolves the contradiction by applying opposite fuel management strategies to different spatial regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes fuel flow parameters (flow rate, pressure) to different combustor sections based on real-time operating conditions. During sudden deceleration, the control system adjusts fuel parameters section-by-section, increasing flow to sections needing stability support while decreasing flow to sections prone to instabilities. This parameter differentiation allows simultaneous achievement of combustion stability and instability suppression.
3Manufacturing precision
If active fuel control valves are implemented, then fuel distribution precision improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex fuel control function is segmented into multiple simpler valve units, each controlling a specific combustor section. Rather than implementing a single complex centralized control system, the segmentation approach uses multiple independent simple valves that can be individually controlled. This reduces the complexity of each control element while achieving overall precise fuel distribution through coordinated operation of the segmented control units.
Data Source
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AI summary
A gas turbine engine (20) may include a fuel manifold (110; 210; 310; 410) extending circumferentially around a diffuser case (64) of the gas turbine engine (20). The fuel manifold (110; 210; 310; 410) may include a fuel supply inlet interface (112) for receiving fuel into the fuel manifold (110; 210; 310; 410) and a plurality of fuel delivery outlet interfaces (114) for delivering fuel to a combustor (56) of the gas turbine engine (20). The gas turbine engine (20) may also include a valve (120) coupled to the fuel manifold (110; 210; 310; 410). The valve (120) may be configured to control fuel distribution in the fuel manifold (110; 210; 310; 410). The valve (120) may be disposed between two fuel delivery outlet interfaces of the plurality of fuel delivery outlet interfaces (114). The valve (120) may be configured to at least decrease fuel flow to one of the plurality of fuel delivery outlet interfaces (114). The valve (120) may be configured to at least decrease fuel flow to half of the plurality of fuel delivery outlet interfaces (114).