Gaseous fuel injector
AssigneeSolar Turbines Incorporated
InventorVirendra M. Sood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The use of water injection for reduction of NOx emissions in gas turbine engines is well known. Many of the injectors used to supply water to the combustion chamber have used existing dual fuel injectors which are expensive, provide poor mixing, combustion and ineffective water conservation. The present gaseous fuel injector includes a device to cause the swirling of water at an outlet end of the injector, a plurality of tangentially angled passages to cause the swirling of the gaseous fuel and a device for directing a portion of the air into contact with the flow of fuel prior to entering the combustor section. The swirling of the water, gaseous fuel and the air are in the same direction and are all aerodynamically additive resulting in an efficient low cost gaseous fuel injector to reduce NOx emissions.
Claims27
A gas turbine engine including a gaseous fuel injector comprising:
- a turbine section having a gas producing section;
- a combustor section being positioned in working relationship to the turbine section and having an inlet end and an outlet end, said conbustor section further having an outlet flow exiting the outlet end for driving the turbine section;
- a compressor section being driven by the gas producing section of the turbine section and having an air flow therefrom, a portion of said air flow being in fluid communication with the inlet end of the combustor section;
- a device for causing a flow of fuel during operation of the gas turbine engine;
- said gaseous fuel injector including an outlet end having an exit surface thereon, a water injection passage being substantially centered at the outlet end and having an axis A, a plurality of gaseous fuel passages surrounding the water injection passage at the outlet end and existing beyond the exit surface and having the flow of fuel exiting therethrough during operation of the gas turbine engine;
- means for directing and swirling a portion of the air flow into contact with the flow of fuel exiting the exit surface prior to entering the combustor section;
- means for causing the swirling of the gaseous fuel and the combustion air flow prior to entering the combustor section;
- means for causing the swirling of water at the outlet end, said means for causing the swirling of the water at the outlet end being positioned din the water injection passage;
- and
- each of said directing and swirling means inputing an angular momentum which is aerodynamically verctorially additive.
A gaseous fuel injector adapted for use with a gas turbine engine having a combustor section, a device for causing a flow of fuel and a compressor section for causing a combustion air flow, the gaseous fuel injector comprising:
- an outlet end having an axis A and an exit surface thereon;
- a water injection passage having a flow of water therein during operation of the gas turbine engine and being substantially centered at the outlet end;
- a plurality of gaseous fuel passages surrounding the water injection passage at the outlet end and exiting through the exit surface so that during operation of the gas turbine engine, a flow of fuel can exit therethrough;
- means for directing and swirling a portion of the combustion air flow into contact with the flow of fuel prior to entering the combustor section during operation of the gas turbine engine;
- means for causing the swirling of the gaseous fuel and the combustion air flow prior to entering the combustor section;
- means for causing the swirling of water at the outlet end, said means for causing the swirling of the water at the outlet end being positioned in the water injection passage;
- and
- each of said directing and swirling means inputing an angular momentum which is aerodynamically vectorially additive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.