Shielded combustor
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorThomas L. Scott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A radial lip of a high temperature combustor liner is mechanically locked in a radially directed capture slot in a supporting shell of a combustor. In one embodiment, the capture slot is formed at abutting edges of shell sections which are joined by a weld bead. The weld bead is accessible for grinding off to provide access to the liner for replacement. In embodiments in which a plurality of liner sections are employed, a downstream end of a liner section overlaps and shields an upstream end of an adjacent liner section including the radial lip thereof to protect the radial lip and capture slot from temperatures in the combustion zone and to channel a sheet flow of film cooling air along an inner surface of the adjacent liner. Positioning bosses may be included between adjacent liner sections for centering.
Claims28
A combustor having a combustion zone comprising:
- a shell including a capture slot, said slot extending in a substantially circumferential direction and having an opening facing in a radial direction;
- an arcuate liner having a lip, said lip being disposed in said slot for supporting said liner at one end in said shell, and a shield portion disposed between said shell and the combustion zone;
- and
- said lip being loosely disposed in said slot to permit movement of said lip in said slot for accommodating a radial component of differential thermal expansion between said shell and said liner.
A combustor for a gas turbine engine comprising:
- a dome;
- an outer shell having at least first and second shell sections;
- a first radially directed capture slot at a junction of said dome and said first second shell section;
- a second radially directed capture slot at a junction of said first and second shell sections;
- a first liner section inside said shell;
- including a first radially directed lip on an upstream end thereof captured in said first radially directed capture slot and effective to retain said first liner section in said combustor spaced inward of said first shell section to form a first flow channel;
- at least a second liner section inside said shell;
- including a second radially directed lip on an upstream end thereof captured in said second radially directed capture slot and effective to retain said second liner section in said combustor spaced inward of said second shell section;
- and
- means for admitting a flow of air through said first shell section into said flow channel;
- said first and second lips being loosely disposed in said first and second slots, respectively, to permit movement of said lips in said slots for accommodating a radial component of differential thermal expansion between said shell and said first and second liner sections;
- and
- a downstream end of said first liner section being spaced radially inward from and overlapping an upstream end of said second liner section to permit sheet-type film cooling airflow from said flow channel along an inner surface of said second liner section, said overlapping and said airflow being effective to shield said second radially directed capture slot from temperature in a combustion zone of said combustor.
For a combustor including a shell having a capture slot for receiving and loosely supporting from one end a liner to permit movement of said liner in said slot for accommodating a radial component of differential thermal expansion between said shell and said liner, an arcuate liner comprising a lip and a shield portion, said lip being inclined substantially perpendicularly to said shield portion.
A method for repairing a combustor including a shell having a capture slot that receives and supports from one end a liner having a lip portion loosely disposed in said slot to permit movement of said liner in said slot for accommodating a radial component of differential thermal expansion between said shell and said liner, comprising the steps of:
- separating said shell at said capture slot;
- removing said liner from between separated sections of said shell;
- inserting a replacement liner between said separated sections of said shell;
- and
- joining said separated sections of said shell to loosely engage a lip portion of said replacement liner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.