Turbine engine combustor without air film cooling

A gas turbine engine comprising;

• a rotary compressor;
• a turbine wheel coupled to said rotary compressor;
• an annular nozzle for directing gases of combustion at said turbine wheel to drive the same;
• an annular plenum in fluid communication with said compressor to receive compressed air therefrom;
• and
• a toroidal combustor within said plenum and having an annular outlet connected to said nozzle, said combustor further having an air inlet consisting of a plurality of tubes extending from said plenum at angularly spaced locations into the interior of said combustor in a generally tangential direction, there being two rows of said tubes and fuel is injected into said combustor through the tubes in the row most remote from said outlet, the toroidal combustor having a configuration generally defined by a circle rotated about an axis in spaced relation thereto.

A gas turbine engine comprising;

• a rotary compressor;
• a turbine wheel coupled to said rotary compressor;
• an annular nozzle for directing gases of combustion at said turbine wheel to drive the same;
• an annular plenum in fluid communication with said compressor to receive compressed air therefrom;
• and
• a toroidal combustor within said plenum and having an annular outlet connected to said nozzle, said combustor further having an inlet consisting of a plurality of tubes extending from said plenum at angularly spaced locations into the interior of said combustor in a generally tangential direction, being toroidal combustor having a configuration generally defined by a circle rotated about an axis in spaced relation thereto;
• said plenum extending substantially completely around the exterior of said combustor and including an annular discharge opening into said nozzle adjacent said outlet so that the sole means of cooling said combustor is the flow of compressed air in said plenum to said discharge opening about the exterior of said combustor, and trip strips on said exterior for inducing turbulence in the compressed air flowing to said discharge opening.

A gas turbine engine comprising:

• a rotary compressor;
• a turbine wheel coupled to said rotary compressor to drive the same;
• an annular nozzle about said turbine wheel for directing gases of combustion at said turbine wheel to drive the same;
• a toroidal combustor having an annular outlet connected to said nozzle and having a combustion air inlet means for allowing substantially only air necessary to support combustion with fuel to enter said combustor comprising a plurality of tubes extending into said combustor in a direction generally tangential to the interior of the combustor with the combustor otherwise having an imperforate wall to thereby be devoid of any air inlets for admitting cooling air into the interior of the combustor;
• trip strips on the exterior of said combustor;
• and
• an annular plenum in fluid communication with said compressor to receive compressed air therefrom and extending substantially completely around the exterior of said combustor to an annular discharge opening into said nozzle adjacent said combustor outlet to establish a flow path for cooling air substantially completely around the exterior of the combustor so that the sole means of cooling said combustor is the flow of compressed air in said plenum to said discharge opening about the exterior of said combustor with said trip strips inducing turbulence in the flow of such compressed air to thereby increase the rate of heat transfer between said combustor and said compressed air.