Fuel air heat exchanger
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsLev Alexander Prociw, Eduardo Hawie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas turbine engine with a fuel air heat exchanger located in the high pressure plenum. The heat exchanger includes at least one air conduit and at least one fuel conduit in heat exchange relationship with one another, with a fuel flow communication between a fuel source and fuel distribution members of the combustor being provided at least partly through the at least one fuel conduit, and the at least one air conduit defining a fluid flow communication between the high pressure plenum and an engine component to be cooled by the compressed air.
Claims20
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a compressor section;
- an annular high pressure plenum in fluid flow communication with a discharge of the compressor section for receiving compressed air;
- a combustor contained in the high pressure plenum;
- a turbine section in fluid flow communication with the combustor;
- and
- a heat exchanger located in the high pressure plenum outside of the combustor, the heat exchanger including at least one air conduit and at least one fuel conduit in heat exchange relationship with one another, with a fuel flow communication between a fuel source and fuel distribution members of the combustor being provided at least partly through the at least one fuel conduit, and the at least one air conduit defining a fluid flow communication between the high pressure plenum and an engine component to be cooled by the compressed air downstream of the heat exchanger.
A method of cooling an engine component of a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
- circulating compressed air from a high pressure plenum in connection with a compressor discharge of the engine to a heat exchanger located in the high pressure plenum outside of a combustor contained in the high pressure plenum and upstream of the engine component to be cooled;
- circulating fuel from a fuel source of the engine to the heat exchanger;
- cooling the circulated compressed air in the heat exchanger through heat exchange with the fuel;
- circulating the fuel from the heat exchanger to fuel distribution members of the combustor;
- and
- cooling the engine component with the cooled compressed air from the heat exchanger.
A fuel air heat exchanger for a gas turbine engine disposed in a high pressure plenum outside of a combustor of the gas turbine engine, wherein the combustor is contained in the high pressure plenum, the heat exchanger comprising:
- an annular duct having at least one fuel conduit and at least one air conduit extending around a circumferential direction thereof and in heat exchange relationship with one another, each fuel conduit having an inlet for communication with a fuel source and an outlet for communication with fuel distribution members of the combustor, each air conduit having an inlet and an outlet;
- an annular wall element extending from the duct along an approximately axial direction;
- and
- a perforated baffle extending from the duct along an approximately axial direction and connected to the wall element spaced apart from the duct, the wall element, baffle and an adjacent portion of at least one wall of the duct together forming a closed cross-section and defining an annular cooling plenum in fluid flow communication with the outlet of each air conduit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.