Controlling soot
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsPeter Swann, Christopher P Madden
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas turbine engine comprising a variable geometry combustor having fuel injectors, a rich-burn zone, a quick-quench zone, and a lean-burn zone, and further comprising quench ports for admitting quench air to the quick-quench zone; a variable geometry airflow arrangement for the variable geometry combustor, which is configured to vary an airflow through the fuel injectors and/or the quench ports; and a control system configured to control the variable geometry airflow arrangement in dependence upon an airflow delivered to the combustor, a fuel flow to the fuel injectors, and a target index of soot emissions to control the quantity of soot produced by combustion.
Claims19
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a variable geometry combustor having fuel injectors, a rich-burn zone receiving fuel from the fuel injectors to produce a flame, a quick-quench zone to quench the flame, a lean-burn zone to continue combustion after quenching, and quench ports;
- a variable geometry airflow arrangement for the variable geometry combustor, the variable geometry airflow arrangement configured to vary an airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor through at least one of the fuel injectors and the quench ports;
- and
- a control system configured to control the variable geometry airflow arrangement in dependence upon (i) the airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor, (ii) a fuel flow to the fuel injectors, and (iii a target index of soot emissions to control a quantity of soot produced by combustion, wherein
- the quench ports constitute at least part of the variable geometry airflow arrangement and admit a quench air into the quick-quench zone, the quench air being a portion of the airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor, and
- the quench ports comprise a first row of quench ports axially separated from a second row of quench ports, a first portion of the quench air through the first row of quench ports being able to be modulated independently from a second portion of the quench air through the second row of quench ports.
A method of controlling an index of soot emissions of a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
- providing a variable geometry combustor having fuel injectors, a rich-burn zone receiving fuel from the fuel injectors to produce a flame, a quick-quench zone to quench the flame, a lean-burn zone to continue combustion after quenching, and quench ports;
- providing a variable geometry airflow arrangement for the variable geometry combustor, the variable geometry airflow arrangement configured to vary an airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor through at least one of the fuel injectors and the quench ports;
- and
- controlling the variable geometry airflow arrangement in dependence upon (i) the airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor, (ii) a fuel flow to the fuel injectors, and (iii) a target index of soot emissions to control a quantity of soot produced by combustion, wherein
- the quench ports constitute at least part of the variable geometry airflow arrangement and admit a quench air into the quick-quench zone, the quench air being a portion of the airflow delivered to the variable geometry combustor, and
- the quench ports comprise a first row of quench ports axially separated from a second row of quench ports, a first portion of the quench air through the first row of quench ports being able to be modulated independently from a second portion of the quench air through the second row of quench ports.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.