Three-Stream Turbine Engine With Booster-Assisted Condenser Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The positioning of a condenser in the bypass air flow passage of a turbine engine increases resistance, reducing efficiency and thrust due to the need for additional pressure from the fan to overcome this resistance.
Innovation Solution
A separate airflow passage is used for cooling air to cool the condenser, with a booster fan increasing the pressure of this cooling air to compensate for the resistance, thereby maintaining efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the condenser is positioned in the bypass air flow passage, then the condenser can be cooled by bypass air, but the resistance in the bypass air flow passage increases, reducing efficiency and thrust
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the air flow into three separate streams: core air flowing through the combustor and turbine, bypass air flowing around the core components, and cooling air specifically directed to the condenser. This segmentation allows each air stream to serve its specific function without interfering with others, resolving the contradiction by preventing the condenser from impeding the bypass air flow while still achieving condenser cooling through the dedicated cooling air stream.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cooling air as an intermediary substance to transfer heat from the condenser. This cooling air acts as a mediator that absorbs heat from the condenser and transports it away, enabling the condenser to be cooled without requiring it to be positioned in the bypass air flow passage, thus eliminating the resistance problem while maintaining cooling effectiveness.
2Temperature
If the condenser is positioned in the bypass air flow passage, then the condenser can be cooled by bypass air, but additional pressure from the fan is required to overcome resistance, reducing thrust
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the air flow paths so that cooling air for the condenser is drawn from a location upstream of the condenser and delivered through a separate passage. This segmentation ensures that the condenser does not create resistance in the main bypass air flow path, allowing the fan to generate maximum thrust without having to overcome additional resistance from condenser cooling requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the condenser cooling function from the bypass air flow path and creates a separate cooling air stream. By taking out the cooling requirement from the main bypass flow, the system eliminates the harmful interaction where the condenser would impede bypass air flow and reduce thrust, while still achieving the necessary cooling through the extracted cooling air stream.
3Loss of energy
If a separate cooling air passage is used with a booster fan, then flow impediments are minimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cooling air as an intermediary substance that is drawn from the bypass air stream and directed through a separate passage to cool the condenser. This intermediary approach allows the system to maintain simple overall architecture while achieving efficient cooling, as the cooling air is simply a portion of the existing bypass air that is routed differently rather than introducing a completely new complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the bypass air serve multiple functions: it provides cooling for the condenser (through the extracted cooling air stream), maintains engine thrust (by flowing around the core components), and can be used for other cooling purposes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems, thereby minimizing device complexity while achieving efficient operation.
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 minimizes flow impediments, maintaining engine efficiency and thrust by using a separate cooling air stream to cool the condenser, aided by a booster fan to overcome pressure drops.
Implementation Method 1
a condenser positioned in the cooling air duct to transfer heat from the combustion gases to the cooling air and to condense the water from the combustion gases
Implementation Method 2
a condenser positioned in the cooling air duct to transfer heat from the combustion gases to the cooling air and to condense the water from the combustion gases
Implementation Method 3
with a booster fan increasing the pressure of this cooling air to compensate for the resistance
Implementation Method 4
The fan includes a plurality of fan blades that rotates to increase the pressure of a volume of air
Implementation Method 5
The combustor combusts compressed air and fuel to generate combustion gases
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine engine includes a cooling air duct for cooling air positioned radially between a core air flow path for core air and a bypass airflow passage for bypass air. A heat exchanger is positioned in the cooling air duct to transfer heat from a heat source from within the turbine engine. The heat exchanger may be a condenser. The turbine engine may further include a steam system that extracts water from the combustion gases, vaporizes the water to generate steam, and injects the steam into the core air flow path, the steam system including the condenser to transfer heat from the combustion gases to the cooling air and to condense the water from the combustion gases. The turbine engine may further include a booster fan to increase the pressure of the cooling air and the core air.