Integrated combustor liner shaft fuel injection

A gas turbine engine comprising:

• a compressor configured to receive inlet air at a compressor inlet and generate compressed air at a compressor exit;
• a combustor positioned fluidically and physically downstream of the compressor,
• wherein the combustor is fluidically connected to the compressor to receive a first portion of the compressed air as combustor primary inlet air and wherein the combustor comprises:
• a toroidal recirculation zone configured to receive and combust fuel in a rich combustion zone;
• an ignitor positioned to ignite an air/fuel mixture in the rich combustion zone;
• a quench zone downstream of the toroidal recirculation zone, wherein the quench zone is configured to receive and quench with quench air combustion products from the rich combustion zone, wherein the quench zone includes an array of quench tubes;
• a lean combustion zone downstream of the quench zone, wherein the lean combustion zone is configured to complete combustion of the fuel and to generate hot combustor exhaust gas;
• and
• a cooling air flow path configured to direct a second portion of the compressed air around an outer combustor liner to cool the outer combustor liner and to provide a source of the quench air, inner combustor liner cooling air, fuel injector air, and combustor secondary inlet air;
• a turbine positioned fluidically and physically downstream of the combustor, wherein the turbine is fluidically connected to the compressor to receive the hot combustor exhaust gas;
• a shaft mechanically connecting the turbine and the compressor, wherein the shaft is configured to:
• transmit rotational energy from the turbine to the compressor to power the compressor, wherein the shaft connects the turbine to the compressor through an annulus formed by the combustor surrounding the shaft;
• and pump the fuel from a fuel source to the combustor through a fuel duct in the shaft;
• and
• a shaft cooling air pump positioned in the cooling air flow path, wherein the shaft cooling air pump is configured to further compress and accelerate at least a portion of the second portion of the compressed air flowing through the cooling air flow path before the at least a portion of the second portion of the compressed air enters the combustor as the fuel injector air and the combustor secondary inlet air;
• wherein the toroidal recirculation zone further comprises a plurality of fuel injectors configured to mix the fuel from the fuel duct in the shaft and the fuel injector air from the shaft cooling air pump to form the air/fuel mixture and to direct the air/fuel mixture into the rich combustion zone.