Method for reducing fuel nozzle coking in a gas turbine engine
AssigneeRaytheon Technologies Corporation
InventorsSami Chukrallah, Andre M. Ajami, Robert B. Davis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes a compressor section, a combustor fluidly connected to the compressor section via a primary flowpath, a turbine section fluidly connected to the combustor via the primary flowpath, and a plurality of fuel injectors disposed within the combustor. The plurality of fuel injectors including at least one start fuel injector. Also included is a controller having a memory and processor. The memory stores instructions configured to cause the at least one start fuel injector to pulse fuel through the start injector nozzle, thereby preventing stagnant fuel in the start injector nozzle from exceed a coking temperature threshold.
Claims19
A method for operating a fuel injector comprising:
- defining a pulse width of a fresh fuel pulse in a controller and pulsing a fresh fuel through a start injector nozzle using the fresh fuel pulse and thereby preventing stagnant fuel in the start injector nozzle from exceeding a coking temperature threshold of the stagnant fuel by forcing the stagnant fuel out of the start injector nozzle by providing the fresh fuel to the start injector nozzle for the pulse width;
- and
- wherein the pulse width is a predefined duration of time such that a volume of the fresh fuel pulsed through the start injector nozzle is at least 100% of a volume of the stagnant fuel.
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a compressor section;
- a combustor fluidly connected to the compressor section via a primary flowpath;
- a turbine section fluidly connected to the combustor via the primary flowpath;
- a plurality of fuel injectors disposed within the combustor, the plurality of fuel injectors including at least one start fuel injector;
- a controller including a memory and processor, the memory storing instructions configured to define a pulse width of a fresh fuel pulse,
- and the memory storing instructions configured to cause the at least one start fuel injector to pulse a fresh fuel through a start injector nozzle using the fresh fuel pulse, thereby preventing stagnant fuel in the start injector nozzle from exceeding a coking temperature threshold of the stagnant fuel;
- and
- wherein the pulse width of pulsing the fresh fuel through the start injector nozzle is a predefined duration of time such that a volume of the fresh fuel pulsed through the start injector nozzle is at least 100% of a volume of the stagnant fuel.
A method for improving a gas turbine engine comprising:
- updating an engine controller configured to control a start injector nozzle in a combustor by providing the controller a predefined fresh fuel pulse width and with instructions configured to cause the controller to cause at least one start fuel injector to pulse a fresh fuel through the start injector nozzle for the predefined fresh fuel pulse width, thereby preventing stagnant fuel in the start injector nozzle from exceed a coking temperature threshold, wherein the predefined fresh fuel pulse width of pulsing the fresh fuel through the start injector nozzle is a duration of time such that a volume of the fresh fuel pulsed through the start injector nozzle is at least 100% of a volume of the stagnant fuel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.