Flamesheet combustor dome
AssigneeAnsaldo Energia IP UK Limited
InventorsPeter John Stuttaford, Stephen Jorgensen, Timothy Hui, Yan Chen, Hany Rizkalla, Khalid Oumejjoud
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a novel apparatus and way for controlling a velocity of a fuel-air mixture entering a gas turbine combustion system. The apparatus comprises a hemispherical dome assembly which directs a fuel-air mixture along a portion of the outer wall of a combustion liner and turns the fuel-air mixture to enter the combustion liner in a manner coaxial to the combustor axis and radially outward of a pilot fuel nozzle so as to regulate the velocity of the fuel-air mixture.
Claims8
A gas turbine combustor comprising:
- a generally cylindrical flow sleeve extending along a combustor axis;
- a generally cylindrical combustion liner located coaxial to and radially within the flow sleeve, the combustion liner having an inlet end and an opposing outlet end;
- a set of main fuel injectors positioned radially outward of the combustion liner and proximate an upstream end of the flow sleeve;
- a combustor dome assembly encompassing the inlet end of the combustion liner, the dome assembly extending from proximate the set of main fuel injectors to a generally hemispherical-shaped cap positioned a distance forward of the inlet end of the combustion liner and turns to extend a distance into the combustion liner, such that a first passageway and a second passageway are formed between the combustion liner and a dome assembly outer wall and a third passageway is formed between the combustion liner and a dome assembly inner wall, where the first passageway has a first radial height, the second passageway has a second radial height and the third passageway has a third radial height such that the second radial height regulates the volume of a fuel-air mixture entering the gas turbine combustor;
- wherein the first radial height ranges from approximately 15 millimeters to approximately 50 millimeters;
- wherein the second radial height ranges from approximately 10 millimeters to approximately 45 millimeters;
- and
- wherein the third radial height ranges from approximately 30 millimeters to approximately 100 millimeters, such that the first passageway tapers towards the second passageway to accelerate the fuel-air mixture to achieve adequate flashback margin velocity of 40-80 meters per second to generate a trapped vortex adjacent the combustor liner.
A method of controlling a velocity of a fuel-air mixture for a gas turbine combustor comprising:
- directing a fuel-air mixture through a first passageway located radially outward of a combustion liner, the first passageway having a first radial height;
- directing the fuel-air mixture from the first passageway and into a second passageway located radially outward of the combustion liner, the second passageway having a second radial height;
- directing the fuel-air mixture from the second passageway into a fourth passageway in a hemispherical dome cap, thereby causing the fuel-air mixture to reverse flow direction;
- and
- directing the fuel-air mixture through a third passageway located within the combustion liner and into the combustion liner, the third passageway having a third radial height;
- wherein the first radial height ranges from approximately 15 millimeters to approximately 50 millimeters;
- wherein the second radial height ranges from approximately 10 millimeters to approximately 45 millimeters;
- wherein the third radial height ranges from approximately 30 millimeters to approximately 100 millimeters such that a ratio of the second radial height to the third radial height is approximately 0.1 to 0.5;
- and
- wherein the first passageway has a conical-shaped cross section that tapers towards the second passageway;
- wherein the second passageway has a cylindrical-shaped cross section;
- and
- wherein the third passageway has a cylindrical-shaped cross section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.