US 10,295,188 B2Granted

Fuel injector for a gas turbine engine combustion chamber

AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc

InventorsJonathan F Carrotte, Christopher L Ford

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A fuel injector includes a central member arranged on axis of fuel injector and a first member arranged around central member. A first swirler is arranged between central member and first member. A pilot fuel injector is arranged to supply fuel onto inner surface of first member. A second member is arranged between downstream end of first member and downstream end of shroud. A second swirler is arranged between upstream end of first member and upstream end of shroud and between downstream end of first member and upstream end of second member. A third swirler is arranged between downstream end of shroud and second member. A main fuel injector is arranged to supply fuel into an annular passage between first member and second member and a fourth swirler extends through first member.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A fuel injector, comprising:

a pilot fuel injector;
a main fuel injector;
and
a plurality of air swirlers,
wherein:
the fuel injector has an axis,
a shroud is arranged around the pilot fuel injector, the main fuel injector and the plurality of air swirlers, the shroud has a radially inner surface,
a central member is arranged on the axis of the fuel injector,
a first member is arranged coaxially around the central member, the first member having a radially inner surface and a radially outer surface,
a first air swirler is arranged radially between the central member and the first member, the first air swirler extends from the central member to the radially inner surface of the first member,
the pilot fuel injector is arranged to supply fuel into a passage at least defined by the radially inner surface of the first member,
a second member is arranged coaxially with and radially between a downstream portion of the first member and a downstream portion of the shroud, the second member having a radially inside surface and a radially outside surface,
a second air swirler is arranged radially between an upstream portion of the first member and an upstream portion of the shroud and radially between a downstream portion of the first member and the second member, the second air swirler comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes, each of the vanes of the second air swirler extending radially from the radially outer surface of the upstream portion of the first member to the radially inner surface of the upstream portion of the shroud and from the radially outer surface of the downstream portion of the first member to the radially inside surface of the second member, and
a third air swirler is arranged radially between the downstream portion of the shroud and the second member, the main fuel injector arranged to supply the fuel into an annular passage defined between the first member and the second member and a fourth air swirler extending through the first member.

11 more elements

A fuel injector comprising:

a pilot fuel injector;
a main fuel injector;
and
a plurality of air swirlers,
wherein:
a shroud is arranged around the pilot fuel injector, the main fuel injector and the plurality of air swirlers, the fuel injector has an axis, the shroud has a radially inner surface,
a central member is arranged on the axis of the fuel injector,
a first member is arranged coaxially around the central member,
a first air swirler is arranged radially between the central member and the first member, the first air swirler extending radially from the central member to the first member,
the pilot fuel injector is arranged within the first member to supply fuel into a passage at least defined by the first member,
a second member is arranged coaxially between a downstream portion of the first member and a downstream portion of the shroud,
a second air swirler is arranged radially between an upstream portion of the first member and an upstream portion of the shroud and radially between a downstream portion of the first member and the second member, the second air swirler comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced vanes, each of the vanes of the second air swirler extending radially from the upstream portion of the first member to the upstream portion of the shroud and from the downstream portion of the first member to the second member,
a third air swirler is arranged radially between the downstream portion of the shroud and the second member, the third air swirler extending radially between the downstream portion of the shroud and the second member, the main fuel injector arranged to supply the fuel into an annular passage between the first member and the second member and a fourth air swirler extending through the first member, and
wherein the third air swirler comprises a portion of each of the vanes of the second air swirler, the portion of each of the vanes of the second air swirler is arranged between the downstream portion of the shroud and the second member, the portion of each of the vanes of the second air swirler extending radially from the downstream portion of the shroud to the second member.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/247,340Filed 25 Aug 2016
Priority: GB 1516977.425 Sep 2015
Published: US 2017/0089582 A130 Mar 2017
Granted: 21 May 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

F23R 3/16
Characterised by the air-flow or gas-flow configuration: with devices inside the flame tube or the combustion chamber to influence the air or gas flow
F02C 3/04
Gas-turbine plants characterised by the use of combustion products as the working fluid: having a turbine driving a compressor
F23R 3/14
Inducing a vortex: by using swirl vanes
F23R 3/286
Characterised by the fuel supply: having fuel-air premixing devices