Vortex fuel nozzle to reduce noise levels and improve mixing
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorHisham Alkabie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel nozzle with a ring of fuel spray orifices directing fuel jets at a fuel vortex generator having a fuel deflecting surface disposed downstream a distance from each fuel spray orifice. A mixing chamber is defined between the fuel spray orifices and the fuel deflecting surface having a surface contour oriented to deflect fuel jets into the mixing chamber in counter-rotating adjacent pairs of fuel laden vortices. An air inlet supplies air to the mixing chamber via an airflow vortex generator having an airflow deflecting surface with a surface contour oriented to deflect airflow into the mixing chamber in counter-rotating adjacent pairs of airflow vortices. A fuel-air mixture outlet downstream from the mixing chamber releases the fuel-air mixture into a combustor for ignition.
Claims17
A fuel nozzle comprising:
- a fuel inlet in communication with a plurality of fuel spray orifices;
- a fuel vortex generator having a fuel deflecting surface disposed downstream a distance from each fuel spray orifice, a mixing chamber being defined between the fuel spray orifices and the fuel deflecting surface, the fuel deflecting surface having a surface contour oriented to deflect fuel jets sprayed from the fuel orifices into the mixing chamber in a plurality of counter-rotating adjacent pairs of fuel laden vortices, the vortices having axes generally transverse to a line along which the fuel jets are directed into the fuel deflecting surface;
- an air inlet in communication with the mixing chamber;
- and
- a fuel-air mixture outlet downstream from the mixing chamber.
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a combustor;
- and
- a plurality of fuel nozzles mounted to the combustor, each fuel nozzle having:
- a fuel inlet in communication with a plurality of fuel spray orifices;
- a fuel vortex generator having a fuel deflecting surface disposed downstream a distance from each fuel spray orifice, a mixing chamber being defined between the fuel spray orifices and the fuel deflecting surface, the fuel deflecting surface having a surface contour oriented to deflect fuel jets sprayed from the fuel orifices into the mixing chamber in a plurality of counter-rotating adjacent pairs of fuel laden vortices;
- an air inlet in communication with the mixing chamber and oriented generally transversely relative to the fuel deflecting surface;
- an airflow vortex generator having at least one airflow deflecting surface adapted to generate a plurality of counter-rotating adjacent pairs of air vortices in the mixing chamber in air from the air inlet;
- and
- a fuel-air mixture outlet downstream from the mixing chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.