US 6,546,736 B2Granted

Method of operation of gas turbine engine

AssigneeALM Development, Inc.

InventorAnatoly Rakhmailov

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Abstract

A method of operating a gas turbine engine comprising a power turbine mounted downstream a compressor, and a compressor turbine mounted downstream the power turbine for rotation in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the power turbine. Exhaust fluid from the compressor turbine is cooled in a heat exchanger with a compressed fluid downstream the compressor and is then cooled with air in separate heat exchanger before being admitted to the compressor. A part of the compressed fluid heated in the heat exchanger is fed to cool the turbine blades, and the rest of the fluid is fed to a heated fluid source for the turbine. To control the gas turbine engine, a part of fluid is boosted by a booster compressor and is discharged from the engine. The booster compressor is driven by an expanding turbine that rotated under the effect of combustion air that is expanded in the expanding turbine and flows through the expanding turbine under the action of reduced pressure in the heated fluid source.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A method of operation of a gas turbine engine having a compressor, a power turbine that has turbine blades and is mounted downstream of said compressor, a compressor turbine mounted downstream of said power turbine for rotation in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of said power turbine, a heated fluid source provided upstream of said power turbine, and a fuel source connected to said heated fluid source, said method comprising:

a) preparing said heated fluid in said heated fluid source by combusting said fuel using combustion air to obtain said heated fluid and feeding said heated fluid to said power turbine and to said compressor turbine, whereby a waste fluid flow is obtained downstream of said compressor turbine, said waste fluid flow having a temperature;
b) cooling said waste fluid flow to obtain a primary cooled waste fluid flow;
c) additionally cooling said primary cooled waste fluid flow to obtain a secondary cooled waste fluid flow;
d) compressing said secondary waste fluid flow in said compressor to obtain a compressed waste fluid flow;
e) steps for controlling the density of a fluid flow entering said source of heated fluid and supplying said controlled density fluid flow to said source of heated fluid.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.