Unitary Integrated Flow Scoops for Combustor Fuel-Air Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combustor systems in turbine engines lack efficient airflow and fuel mixing configurations, leading to suboptimal combustion efficiency and increased pressure losses.
Innovation Solution
The integration of integrated air scoops, bifurcated orifices, and splash plates within the combustor system, which enhance airflow direction and fuel mixing, utilizing fluid dynamics to improve combustion efficiency and reduce pressure losses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional fuel injectors and air flow paths are used, then the combustor system is simpler, but combustion efficiency is suboptimal and pressure losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into unified components: the air scoop combines airflow direction with fuel manifold integration, the splash plate merges fuel distribution with flow direction, and the diffuser integrates multiple airflow path functions. This merging reduces the number of separate components while achieving superior combustion efficiency through coordinated fuel-air mixing and optimized flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The combustor flow path is segmented into distinct functional zones: the air scoop section for primary airflow direction, the fuel manifold section for fuel distribution, the splash plate section for fuel atomization and secondary flow direction, and the diffuser section for flow stabilization. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together to improve overall combustion efficiency.
2Loss of energy
If conventional fuel injectors and air flow paths are used, then the design is simpler, but pressure losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The diffuser component features curved, aerodynamic surfaces that gradually expand the flow path cross-section. This curvature design reduces flow separation and minimizes pressure losses by creating smooth transitions in the airflow, avoiding sharp angles that would cause turbulence and energy dissipation.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated air scoop acts as an intermediary component between the air flow path and the fuel injection system. It coordinates the timing and positioning of fuel injection with airflow patterns, ensuring optimal mixing conditions that reduce pressure losses while maintaining combustion efficiency.
3Productivity
If integrated air scoops with fuel manifolds are used, then fuel-air mixing is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated air scoop and fuel manifold are designed with optimized geometric parameters including scoop angle, manifold positioning, orifice locations, and passage cross-sections. These parameters are carefully selected to achieve superior fuel-air mixing while remaining compatible with additive manufacturing capabilities, allowing complex three-dimensional geometries to be fabricated as single integrated parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated components serve multiple functions simultaneously: the air scoop directs airflow, the integrated fuel manifold distributes fuel, the splash plate atomizes fuel and directs flow, and the diffuser stabilizes the mixture. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of parts while achieving improved mixing, and the designs are optimized for additive manufacturing which can handle the geometric complexity.
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 proposed design enhances airflow into the combustor chamber, improves fuel-air mixing, and achieves higher combustion efficiency with lower smoke emissions, while allowing for additively manufactured components with tighter clearances.
Implementation Method 1
The first and second integrated scoops can interlock and seal by pushing the wedge into the bifurcated orifice
Implementation Method 2
an integrated air scoop attached to the inner combustor case at the lumen that directs air from the air flow path into the central combustor chamber
Implementation Method 3
a splash plate with a first and second face, the splash plate extending through the lumen into the central combustor chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A combustor system for an aerial vehicle can include an outer case with a first and second end, an inner combustor case with a lumen, a central combustor chamber, an air flow path between the outer case and inner combustor case, an integrated air scoop attached to the inner combustor case at the lumen that directs air from the air flow path into the central combustor chamber, a wedge within the integrated air scoop, a second integrated air scoop attached to the outer case, a bifurcated orifice integrated into the second integrated air scoop, a fuel manifold and fuel orifice within the first integrated air scoop, and a splash plate with a first and second face, the splash plate extending through the lumen into the central combustor chamber. The first and second integrated scoops can interlock and seal by pushing the wedge into the bifurcated orifice.