Split Cooling Enclosure for Gas Turbine Purge Valves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine fuel components, particularly three-way purge valves, face significant heating issues due to their proximity to high-temperature combustors, leading to coke formation and operational issues from air, fuel oil, and heat interactions, which existing cooling methods fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A cooling enclosure system for gas turbine fuel components, featuring a split housing body with detachable halves and end plates, incorporating cooling air inlets and outlets, and a conduit system to efficiently direct cooling air to the components, preventing coking by maintaining them at a lower temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling air is directed to fuel components in the turbine compartment, then the temperature of fuel components is reduced, but the cooling air temperature remains too high (300°F) to prevent coking
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separable half-housing portions that can be assembled around the fuel component in situ. This segmentation allows the cooling enclosure to be installed without disassembling turbine components, enabling effective cooling while maintaining system integrity and avoiding the high temperature problem by properly enclosing the component.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling enclosure housing is designed to fit around and enclose the fuel component (purge valve) within the existing turbine compartment structure. This nested configuration allows the cooling system to be integrated into the existing high-temperature environment while creating a protected thermal zone around the sensitive component.
2Temperature
If a enclosed cooling housing is used to direct cooling air to the purge valve, then cooling efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separable half-housing portions that can be assembled around the fuel component in situ. This segmentation simplifies installation and maintenance while maintaining the enclosed cooling environment, thereby improving temperature control without permanently increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing includes removable end plates and separable half-housing portions that can be easily assembled and disassembled. This dynamic design allows for simple installation and maintenance operations, offsetting the initial structural complexity with operational simplicity.
3Ease of operation
If the housing is made separable with removable end plates, then ease of installation and maintenance is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separable half-housing portions with removable end plates, allowing the enclosure to be assembled around existing fuel components without complete disassembly. This segmentation enables easy installation and maintenance while the modular design actually simplifies manufacturing compared to a monolithic structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The half-housing portions and end plates are designed with pre-formed sealing surfaces and alignment features that ensure proper assembly. This preliminary design of assembly features simplifies both manufacturing and field installation, reducing the complexity burden.
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 system effectively reduces the temperature of gas turbine fuel components, preventing coke formation and ensuring the operational integrity of valves and piping by maintaining them below the coking threshold, even in high-temperature environments.
Implementation Method 1
The stagnate fuel oil in a liquid fuel lines is often exposed to the turbine compartment air temperatures of up to 200° F., and turbine surfaces of up to 800° F.
Implementation Method 2
cooling liquid fuel components subject to conduction and radiation heating
Implementation Method 3
The heat from the combustor radiates towards compartments, such as the fuel, oil, piping and valves, sitting in the turbine enclosure.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling enclosure for a valve includes an elongated housing body having a pair of housing portions and a pair of removable end plates, the pair of housing portions separable along at least one longitudinally-extending seam. Fastener devices are provided for securing the pair of housing portions engaged along the at least one longitudinal extending seam. One or more apertures are provided for accommodating a like number of valve fittings, and cooling air inlet and outlet openings are also provided in the housing body for supplying and removing cooling air to the housing body.