US 12,584,448 B2Granted

Gas turbine operation

AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc

InventorsPeter Swann, Christopher P Madden, Craig W Bemment

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A aircraft gas turbine engine and operation method, the engine including: a staged combustion system having pilot and main fuel injectors, and operates in a pilot-only range wherein fuel delivers to pilot fuel injectors, and a pilot-and-main operation range wherein fuel is delivered to at least the main fuel injectors. The engine further includes a fuel delivery regulator to pilot and main fuel injectors, which receives fuel from a first and second source containing fuels each with different characteristics. The staged combustion system switches between pilot-only and pilot-and-main range operation when in steady cruise mode, the mode defining a boundary between first and second engine cruise operation range. The fuel delivery regulator delivers fuel to pilot fuel injectors during at least part of the first engine cruise operation with different fuel characteristics from fuel delivered to one or both pilot and main fuel injectors the second engine cruise operation range.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A gas turbine engine for an aircraft, comprising:

a processor;
a staged combustion system having pilot fuel injectors and main fuel injectors, the staged combustion system being operable in a pilot-only range of operation in which fuel-delivery is only to the pilot fuel injectors, and a pilot-and-main range of operation in which fuel-delivery is to at least the main fuel injectors;
and
a fuel delivery regulator arranged to control the fuel-delivery to the pilot and main fuel injectors, the fuel delivery regulator being arranged to receive from a first fuel source a first fuel having a first fuel characteristic, and receive from a second fuel source a second fuel having a second fuel characteristic, the second fuel characteristic being different from the first, wherein
the processor is programmed to:
operate the staged combustion system in an acceleration mode in which acceleration of the engine from a steady state mode of operation is caused;
control the fuel delivery regulator to deliver one of the first and second fuels to one or both of the pilot and main fuel injectors, during operation in at least a part of the acceleration mode, and the other of the first and second fuels to one or both of the pilot and main fuel injectors during at least a part of the steady state mode of operation, wherein
the first fuel characteristic is associated with a first level of nvPM production which is less than a second level of nvPM production associated with the second fuel characteristic, and/or the first fuel characteristic corresponds to a greater proportion of SAF within the respective fuel compared to the second fuel characteristic.

5 more elements

A method of operating a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising a staged combustion system having pilot fuel injectors and main fuel injectors, the staged combustion system being operable in a pilot-only range of operation in which fuel-delivery is only to the pilot fuel injectors, and a pilot-and-main range of operation in which fuel-delivery is to at least the main fuel injectors, the method comprising:

regulating fuel delivery to the pilot and main fuel injectors from a first fuel source containing a first fuel having a first fuel characteristic and a second fuel source containing a second fuel having a second fuel characteristic, the second fuel characteristic being different from the first;
operating the staged combustion system in an acceleration mode in which acceleration of the engine from a steady state mode of operation is caused;
and
delivering, under control of a processor, one of the first and second fuels to one or both of the pilot and main fuel injectors during operation in at least a part of the acceleration mode, and the other of the first and second fuels to one or both of the pilot and main fuel injectors during at least a part of the steady state mode of operation, wherein
the first fuel characteristic is associated with a first level of nvPM production which is less than a second level of nvPM production associated with the second fuel characteristic, and/or the first fuel characteristic corresponds to a greater proportion of SAF within the respective fuel compared to the second fuel characteristic.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/785,965Filed 26 Jul 2024 · continuation
Priority: GB 220535512 Apr 2022
Published: US 2024/0384689 A121 Nov 2024
Granted: 24 Mar 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

F02C 9/40
Control of fuel supply: specially adapted to the use of a special fuel or a plurality of fuels
F02C 3/20
Gas-turbine plants characterised by the use of combustion products as the working fluid: using a special fuel, oxidant, or dilution fluid to…
F02C 9/28
Control of fuel supply: regulating systems responsive to plant or ambient parameters, e.g. temperature, pressure, rotor speed
F02C 9/34
Characterised by throttling of fuel: joint control of separate flows to main and auxiliary burners

Family

Application17/853,365Parent of this continuation · filed 29 Jun 2022
Application18/098,433Parent of this continuation · filed 18 Jan 2023
US 11,591,973 B1Parent of this continuation · filed 28 Feb 2023
US 2024/0384689 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Nov 2024
US 12,098,684 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2023/0323824 A1Published application
US 12,584,448 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.