Apparatus and method for a gas turbine entrainment system

A gas turbine entrainment system for mixing combustion gases and non-combustion gases, the entrainment system comprising:

• an axial body having a first end and a second end, the axial body disposed within an inner radius of a vortex combustion chamber;
• ten helical vanes generally equally radially disposed circumferentially with respect to the axial body, each of the helical vanes having a root attached to the axial body and a tip opposite the root;
• ten trenches formed by the helical vanes, each trench radially receiving combustion gases from the tip towards the root, each trench is tilted between about 8 degrees and about 12 degrees from the root to the tip toward the first end of the axial body, each trench receiving non-combustion gases from the first end of the axial body to the second end of the axial body in a helical flow path to quench the combustion gases with the non-combustion gases, wherein the helical flow path is between about 65 degrees and about 70 degrees from an axis of the axial body;
• a first radial cavity having a depth of between about 25 percent and about 35 percent of a thickness of the helical vane and a length of between about 15 percent and about 25 percent of a length of the helical vane, the first radial cavity is disposed at between about 20 percent and about 30 percent of the length of the helical vane;
• a second radial cavity having a depth of between about 25 percent and about 35 percent of the thickness of the helical vane and a length of between about 15 percent and about 25 percent of the length of the helical vane, the second radial cavity is disposed at between about 45 percent and about 55 percent of the length of the helical vane;
• a third radial cavity having a depth of between about 25 percent and about 35 percent of the thickness of the helical vane and a length of between about 15 percent and about 25 percent of the length of the helical vane, the third radial cavity is disposed at between about 70 percent and about 80 percent of the length of the helical vane;
• a profile of each trench has a canted V-shape at the tip and widens into a parallelogram shape at the root;
• and
• a width of each trench increases along the length of the helical vane from the first end of the axial body to the second end of the axial body.

A method of mixing combustion and non-combustion gases in a gas turbine, the method comprising:

• compressing ambient air in an air compressor forming compressed air;
• splitting the compressed air into combustion air and non-combustion gases;
• mixing fuel and combustion air in a vortex burning combustion chamber including an inner radius and an entrainment system within the inner radius;
• burning fuel and combustion air in the vortex burning combustion chamber, forming combustion gases;
• quenching the combustion gases with the non-combustion gases in an entrainment system including an axial body and, disposed within the axial body, helical canted vanes forming trenches, each vane including a root and a tip opposite the root, the quenching forms quenched gases;
• and
• powering a turbine with the quenched gases;
• wherein each trench receives combustion gases from the tip toward the root of a corresponding helical canted vane, and each trench receives non-combustion gases from a first end of the axial body to a second end of the axial body in a helical flow path to quench the combustion gases with the non-combustion gases.