Prefilming fuel/air mixer
AssigneeWoodward, Inc.
InventorFei Philip Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A turbine combustor assembly includes a fuel/air mixer assembly having a plurality of fuel/air mixer elements and a fuel injector coupled to the fuel/air mixer assembly. Each of the fuel/air mixer elements includes: a fuel/air mixer body having an internal cavity extending axially between an air inlet and an air outlet; and a prefilmer residing within an interior cavity of the fuel/air mixer body, the prefilmer including an axial inner air flow passage extending coaxially with an axial centerline of the internal cavity of the fuel/air mixer body and a radial fuel injection port into the air flow passage. The fuel injector is arranged to direct fuel into a plurality of the fuel/air mixer elements via the fuel injection port of the prefilmer of each fuel/air mixer element.
Claims16
A method for providing a fuel/air mixture in a turbine combustor assembly, the method comprising:
- receiving fuel at a fuel injector coupled to a fuel/air mixture assembly, the fuel/air mixture assembly comprising a plurality of fuel/air mixer elements, each of the fuel/air mixer elements comprising at least one prefilmer located within an interior cavity of the respective fuel/air mixer element, where receiving fuel at the fuel injector comprises receiving the fuel at a tip portion of the fuel injector, the tip portion comprising a central fuel outlet and a plurality of peripheral fuel outlets, each of the peripheral fuel outlets being fluidically coupled to a respective fuel injection port of each prefilmer;
- radially directing the fuel from the fuel injector into an axial inner air flow passage of the at least one prefilmer of each fuel/air mixture element;
- and
- axially directing air through the axial inner air flow passage of the at least one prefilmer of each fuel/air mixture element.
A method for providing a fuel/air mixture in a turbine combustor assembly, the method comprising:
- receiving fuel at a fuel injector coupled to a fuel/air mixture assembly, the fuel/air mixture assembly comprising a plurality of fuel/air mixer elements, each of the fuel/air mixer elements comprising at least one prefilmer located within an interior cavity of the respective fuel/air mixer element;
- radially directing the fuel from the fuel injector into an axial inner air flow passage of the prefilmer of each fuel/air mixture element;
- axially directing air through the axial inner air flow passage of the prefilmer of each fuel/air mixture element;
- axially directing additional air through the interior cavity of each respective fuel/air mixer element;
- and
- shielding the radially directed fuel from the axially directed air traversing the interior cavities.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.