Gas Turbine Particle Separator With Ejector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air particle separators for gas turbine engines are inadequate in effectively separating foreign materials from the flow stream, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage to the engine.
Innovation Solution
A gas turbine engine air particle separator system that utilizes a bifurcated flow path to separate foreign materials, with an ejector mechanism that entrains the dirty flow with a pressurized fluid stream to remove contaminants, and a controller to regulate the flow, ensuring a clean flow path for the engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing air particle separators are used, then the system structure is simple, but the separation effectiveness is insufficient leading to foreign materials entering the engine
Solution Approach 1:
The separator housing is divided into multiple functional zones: a dirty flow path for contaminant removal, a clean flow path for purified air, and a bifurcated flow path that splits the incoming stream. This segmentation allows different flow paths to perform specific separation functions, improving overall separation effectiveness while maintaining manageable system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
An ejector mechanism is introduced as an intermediary device that uses a pressurized fluid stream to entrain and remove foreign materials from the dirty flow path. This intermediary mechanism enhances separation effectiveness by actively pulling contaminants away from the clean flow path without requiring complex mechanical moving parts
2Reliability
If a bifurcated flow path with ejector mechanism is used, then foreign materials are effectively removed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ejector mechanism utilizes pneumatic principles where a pressurized fluid stream (gas or liquid) flows through the ejector nozzle to create a low-pressure zone that entrains foreign materials. This pneumatic approach achieves effective contaminant removal without complex mechanical moving parts, reducing structural complexity while maintaining high removal efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The ejector mechanism combines multiple functions into a single device: it receives the dirty flow, uses pressurized fluid to entrain contaminants, and directs the cleaned flow to the engine. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining effective contaminant removal
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 separates foreign materials from the working fluid, ensuring a relatively clean flow for the gas turbine engine, reducing the risk of damage and improving engine performance.
Implementation Method 1
an ejector mechanism that entrains the dirty flow with a pressurized fluid stream
Data Source
AI summary
A gas turbine engine is disclosed having a particle separator and an ejector disposed downstream of the particle separator and structured to entrain a dirty flow from the separator. A container of working fluid can be placed in flow communication with the ejector to provide an ejector flow to entrain the dirty flow from the particle separator. Alternatively and/or additionally, the ejector can be configured to use a flow of working fluid from the gas turbine engine as an ejector flow.