Patents Examined by Gerald Sung
  • Patent number: 8448451
    Abstract: Provided is a combustor connection structure in which a cross-sectional area (Dout) of a transition piece outlet is set within a range of 0.79?Dout/Din?0.9, relative to a cross-sectional area (Din) of a transition piece inlet of a combustor, and in a first stage turbine nozzle of a turbine connected to the transition piece outlet, a size (Hin) in a radial direction between upstream ends of the inner shroud and the outer shroud has a same dimension as a size (a) in a radial direction of the transition piece outlet. In a combustor transition piece that is included in the combustor having a center line (S) arranged with an angle to an axial center (R) of a rotor of a gas turbine and that guides combustion gas to the turbine, a cross-sectional area is monotonously reduced from the transition piece inlet in which the combustion gas flows to the transition piece outlet from which the combustion gas flows out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sosuke Nakamura, Satoshi Takiguchi, Norihiko Motoyama, Taiki Kinoshita, Yoshikazu Matsumura
  • Patent number: 8434292
    Abstract: A ceramic-encased hot surface igniter system for jet engines is presented. The advanced ceramic-encased hot surface igniter system comprises at least one electrical resistance heated element encased in a durable, thermal and mechanical shock resistant, high temperature advanced ceramic compound such as silicon nitride. The one or more advanced ceramic-encased hot surface igniter elements are mounted proximally upstream or within a combustion chamber of a jet engine enclosure or within the afterburner section of a jet propulsion engine's exhaust. The surface temperature of each ignition element's encasement being of sufficient temperature to cause the ignition of a gaseous, atomized, or liquid fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: State of Franklin Innovations, LLC
    Inventors: Martin P. Eason, William K. Hemphill, Martin E. Olsen, J. Paul Sims
  • Patent number: 8429917
    Abstract: Fuel is delivered in a gas turbine engine including a can annular combustor array that includes at least one combustor level subset within the array supplied by an independent fuel delivery system. Fuel is supplied only to one or more subsets during a first mode of operation. Fuel is supplied to the entire array of combustors during a second mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: David August Snider, Willy Steve Ziminsky
  • Patent number: 8429891
    Abstract: An exhaust flue is provided for use with a gas turbine engine. The exhaust flue is oriented to channel exhaust gases from a core engine of the gas turbine engine. The exhaust flue includes a radiating portion positioned within an air inlet of the gas turbine engine. The radiating portion is oriented to emit infrared radiation towards an air filter assembly within the air inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Paul Sherwood Bryant
  • Patent number: 8424279
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine system includes an air inlet, an inlet particle separator located at the air inlet and having a blower selectively driven by a variable output motor, and a controller for dynamically controlling the variable output motor that selectively drives the blower of the inlet particle separator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Ravi Rajamani, Rajendra K. Agrawal, Coy Bruce Wood
  • Patent number: 8419815
    Abstract: A bird deflector and air replacement system for a jet engine, the bird deflector being conical or arcuate in shape as formed by suitable longitudinal and lateral interconnected bars, and the air replacement apparatus being one of a frustum or a selectively perforated tube or a modified cowl with cooperating external spaced-apart channels or openings formed therearound for directing additional air into the mainstream of the jet engine inlet. The system may be manufactured as an aftermarket add-on, or it may be manufactured as original cowl equipment for respective jet engine models.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Inventor: John Patrick Moran
  • Patent number: 8418468
    Abstract: A combustor section is provided and includes a segmented annular manifold mounted upstream from a fuel nozzle support in a section of a passage through which an oxidizer flows, each segment of the manifold being substantially axially aligned and including a body to accommodate fuel internally that is formed to define injection holes through which the fuel is injected into the passage through which the oxidizer flows upstream of the fuel nozzle support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kevin Weston McMahan, Almaz Valeev, Chunyang Wu
  • Patent number: 8413447
    Abstract: The present application provides a fuel nozzle assembly. The fuel nozzle assembly may include an end cap assembly, a number of fuel nozzles positioned within the end cap assembly, and one or more cup seals. The cup seals may be positioned between the end cap assembly and the fuel nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: David Cihlar
  • Patent number: 8413446
    Abstract: A fuel injector arrangement for a turbine engine is disclosed. The fuel injector arrangement may have a combustion chamber, a plenum, an injector, and a premixing chamber configured to receive the injector. The premixing chamber may be at least partially disposed within the plenum and open to the combustion chamber. The premixing chamber may have at least one passageway configured to allow air from the plenum to enter and mix with fuel from the injector to form an air/fuel mixture within the premixing chamber, and a porous annular wall configured to allow air from the plenum to enter and create a lean boundary layer at the porous annular wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: James J. Callas, Scott B. Fiveland, Robert J. Moffat
  • Patent number: 8413449
    Abstract: A thermal machine includes a hot gas channel; a shell bounding the hot gas channel; a cooling shirt surrounding the shell; and a cooling channel disposed between the shell and the cooling shirt and configured to convection cool the hot gas channel with a cooling medium, wherein the cooling shirt includes at least one local divergence in the guidance of the cooling medium so as to compensate for non-uniformities in at least one of a thermal load on the shell and a flow of the cooling medium in the cooling channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Hartmut Haehnle, Russell Bond Jones, Gregory Vogel, Remigi Tschuor
  • Patent number: 8413443
    Abstract: A resonator system for a turbine engine can improve acoustic performance and cooling effectiveness. During engine operation, a combustor liner exhibits alternating hot and cold regions in the circumferential direction corresponding to the non-uniform temperature distribution of the combustion flame. Accordingly, high flow resonators are formed with the liner in substantial alignment with the hot regions of the fluid flow within the liner, and low flow resonators are formed with the liner in substantial alignment with cold regions of the fluid flow within the liner. As a result, appropriate amounts of cooling can be provided to the liner so that cooling air usage is optimized. Alternatively or in addition, the liner can include two or more rows of resonators, which can provide an enhanced acoustic damping response. The resonators in the first row can be aligned with or offset from the resonators in the second row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
    Inventor: Clifford E. Johnson
  • Patent number: 8408008
    Abstract: A scoop for a fairing 1 of a core engine 2 of an aircraft gas turbine allows air to be supplied from a bypass flow in a bypass duct 3 to several cooling-air distributors in a core-engine ventilation compartment 4. The scoop includes a first tubular flow duct 5, whose inlet opening 6 is arranged in the bypass duct 3 and which extends through the fairing 1, as well as a second tubular flow duct 7, which at least partly encompasses the first flow duct 5 and whose inlet opening 8 is rearwardly offset relative to the inlet opening 6 of the first flow duct 5 in the direction of flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
    Inventors: Predrag Todorovic, Stephan Herzog, Christian Seydel
  • Patent number: 8397512
    Abstract: A method for assembling a gas turbine engine includes coupling a transition piece between a combustor liner and a nozzle assembly. The method also includes extending a first portion of a flow sleeve from the transition piece about at least a portion of the combustor liner. The method further includes coupling a second portion of the flow sleeve to the first portion of the flow sleeve such that the flow sleeve second portion extends from the flow sleeve first portion and at least partially about at least a portion of the transition piece. The flow sleeve second portion includes a scoop that cooperates with the transition piece to at least partially define a unitary cooling air passage that includes a unitary scoop-shaped opening. The scoop is oriented to introduce a substantially uniform cooling air flow to the transition piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William Kirk Hessler, Predrag Popovic, Wei A. Chen, Tony Keith Davis
  • Patent number: 8393160
    Abstract: A mixture of air and fuel is compressed in a compressor of a gas turbine system. The gas turbine system includes components that define one or more fuel leak locations, and leaked fuel is directed from the one or more leak locations to a reaction chamber of the gas turbine system. At least a portion of the leaked fuel is oxidized in the reaction chamber. The energy released by oxidation of the leaked fuel can be converted to mechanical motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: Flex Power Generation, Inc.
    Inventor: Edan Prabhu
  • Patent number: 8387362
    Abstract: A method for assembling a turbine engine includes assembling a heat exchanger assembly that includes at least a radially inner plate, a radially outer plate, and a heat exchanger coupled between the radially inner and outer plates, forming the heat exchanger assembly such that the heat exchanger assembly has a substantially arcuate shape, and coupling the heat exchanger to a fan casing such that the heat exchanger is positioned upstream or downstream from the fan assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Inventors: Michael Ralph Storage, Kevin Richard Leamy, Brian Neal
  • Patent number: 8387357
    Abstract: A by-pass turbofan gas turbine engine, has a by-pass fan, a generally annular core engine duct, a generally annular by-pass duct situated in a generally coaxial relationship with the core engine duct coupled to the by-pass fan, an upstream axial compressor coupled to the core engine duct, a downstream radial compressor coupled to the upstream compressor, a generally annular recuperator with a cool side inlet coupled to the downstream compressor, a generally annular combustor coupled to a cool side outlet of the recuperator, a radial turbine coupled to the combustor and a warm side inlet of the recuperator coupled to the radial turbine, at least one exhaust nozzle coupled to a warm side outlet of the recuperator that discharges into the by-pass duct and a propelling nozzle coupled to the by-pass duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney
    Inventors: Gordon F Jewess, Charles Travelbee
  • Patent number: 8387358
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine steam injector includes an annular steam injection manifold aftwardly bounded by an aft manifold wall having steam injection holes disposed therethrough and located axially aft and radially inwardly of a diffuser outlet. An outer baffle wall around manifold has a curved convex surface which may generally conform to a streamline emanating from outlet. Holes may be circumferentially evenly distributed and non-uniformly sized around the aft manifold wall. Hollow struts extend between radially outer and inner bands of a diffuser and a steam supply header in steam supply communication with a fluid passage of at least one of the struts having a passage outlet open to steam cavity within cavity casing located inwardly of inner band. Openings are disposed in an aft cavity wall between cavity and the injector. Passages may be in only a non-uniformly distributed portion of the struts adjacent to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Allen Michael Danis, Steven Marakovits, Edward Joseph Stiftar
  • Patent number: 8387396
    Abstract: A method for assembling a combustor assembly is provided. The method includes providing at least one sleeve having a plurality of inlets, and coupling at least one airfoil to at least one of the plurality of inlets defined in the at least one sleeve. The airfoil includes a pair of opposing sidewalls coupled together at a leading edge and at a trailing edge and at least one channel is formed between the airfoil sidewalls for channeling cooling air. The cooling air is directed to flow substantially perpendicularly to a direction of air flowing around the airfoil in a portion of the combustor assembly that is to be cooled. The method also includes coupling the at least one sleeve around the portion of the combustor assembly to be cooled. Also provided are a sleeve and an airfoil for use in a combustor assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Wei Chen, Stephen Robert Thomas, Geoffrey David Myers, Vijay Kumar Turaga
  • Patent number: 8381532
    Abstract: The present subject matter provides a system for modifying static pressure recoveries and emissions formation within a gas turbine. The system includes a bled diffuser positioned downstream from a compressor section of the gas turbine and a bleed duct extending from the bled diffuser. The bleed duct may be configured to direct bleed air from the pressurized airflow exiting the compressor section to a secondary combustion system located downstream from the main combustion system in a combustor. The bleed air flowing into the secondary combustion system may be mixed with fuel to form an air/fuel mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jonathan Dwight Berry, Michael John Hughes
  • Patent number: 8371124
    Abstract: In a jet engine having a plug nozzle and a plug extending rearwardly from the nozzle exit, the improvement comprising a plug having successive cross sections spaced apart rearwardly of the nozzle exit, the cross sections transitioning from circular or near circular at the exit plane defined at the nozzle exit, to progressively non-circular, rearwardly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Aerion Corporation
    Inventors: James D. Chase, German Andres Garzon