Patents by Inventor Lewis Berkley Davis, Jr.

Lewis Berkley Davis, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20100242491
    Abstract: Embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing compressor extraction cooling are provided. According to one example embodiment, a method is disclosed for controlling compressor extraction cooling. The method can include providing a cooling medium. The method can include extracting air from a compressor associated with a gas turbine. The method can also include introducing the cooling medium to the compressor extraction air, wherein the compressor extraction air is cooled by the cooling medium prior to or during introduction to the turbine section. Furthermore, method can include selectively controlling at least one of the compressor extraction air or the cooling medium based at least in part on a characteristic associated with the gas turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., James Henahan
  • Publication number: 20100242487
    Abstract: A turbomachine includes a plurality of injection nozzles arranged in a can-annular array and a transition piece including at least one wall that defines a combustion flow passage. A dilution orifice is formed in the at least one wall of the transition piece. The dilution orifice guides dilution gases to the combustion flow passage. A heat shield member is mounted to the at least one wall of the transition piece in the combustion flow passage. The heat shield member includes a body having a first surface and an opposing second surface through which extends a dilution passage. The dilution passage is off-set from the dilution orifice. The heat shield member is spaced from the at least one wall of the transition piece defining a flow region between the at least one wall and the second surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Ronald James Chila
  • Publication number: 20100247292
    Abstract: A turbine power generation system with enhanced cooling provided by a stream of carbon dioxide from a carbon dioxide source and a method of using a stream of carbon dioxide to cool hot gas path components. The turbine power generating system includes a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, a generator, and at least one shaft linking the compressor and turbine and generator together such that mechanical energy produced from the turbine is used to drive the compressor and the generator. Carbon dioxide that is sequestered from the exhaust of the turbine may be stored and injected back into the turbine to cool hot gas path components of the turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Andres Garcia-Crespo, JR., George M. Gilchrist, III, Amit S. Toprani
  • Publication number: 20100236247
    Abstract: A nozzle has combustion air passages extending from a first, upstream end to a second, downstream end. A fuel distribution manifold is associated with the first, upstream end of the nozzle. Combustion air passages correspond to, and align with the air passages in the nozzle. Fuel distribution grooves are formed in one end of the fuel distribution manifold disk and extend from a central opening to the air passages. A fuel circuit cover closes the fuel distribution grooves to define fuel passages that extend from the central opening to the combustion air passages. A fuel supply conduit communicates with the central opening and the fuel passages for delivery of fuel to the combustion air in the air passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2009
    Publication date: September 23, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Thomas Edward Johnson, Jason Thurman Stewart
  • Publication number: 20100175384
    Abstract: Optical flame holding and flashback detection systems and methods are provided. Exemplary embodiments include a combustor including a combustor housing defining a combustion chamber having combustion zones, flame detectors disposed on the combustor housing and in optical communication with the combustion chamber, wherein each of the flame detectors is configured to detect an optical property related to one or more of the combustion zones.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2009
    Publication date: July 15, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMAPNY
    Inventors: Gilbert Otto Kraemer, Jonathan Dwight Berry, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Garth Curtis Frederick, Anthony Wayne Krull, Geoffrey David Myers
  • Publication number: 20100175380
    Abstract: A combustor includes a central fuel nozzle assembly and a plurality of outer fuel nozzle assemblies, each of the plurality of outer fuel nozzle assemblies having a center body and an outer shroud, the plurality of outer fuel nozzle assemblies being configured to abut one another in a surrounding relationship to the central cylinder such that no gaps are present between any two abutting ones of the plurality of outer fuel nozzle assemblies. One or more of the plurality of fuel nozzle assemblies may traverse axially back and forth according to embodiments of the invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2009
    Publication date: July 15, 2010
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Joseph Vincent Citeno, Thomas Edward Johnson, Willy Steve Ziminsky
  • Publication number: 20100170219
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine is provided and includes a combustor having a first interior in which a first fuel supplied thereto by a fuel circuit is combustible, a turbine, a transition zone, including a second interior in which a second fuel supplied thereto by the fuel circuit and the products of the combustion of the first fuel are combustible, a plurality of fuel injectors, which are structurally supported by the transition zone and coupled to the fuel circuit, and which are configured to supply the second fuel to the second interior in any one of a single axial stage, multiple axial stages, a single axial circumferential stage and multiple axial circumferential stages, and a control system coupled to the fuel circuit and configured to control relative amounts of the first and second fuels supplied by the fuel circuit to the first and second interiors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Krishna Kumar Venkataraman, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100174466
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine is provided and includes a combustor having a first interior in which a first fuel is combustible, a turbine into which products of at least the combustion of the first fuel are receivable, a transition zone, including a second interior in which a second fuel and the products of the combustion of the first fuel are combustible, a plurality of fuel injectors which are configured to supply the second fuel to the second interior in any one of a single axial stage, multiple axial stages, a single axial circumferential stage and multiple axial circumferential stages, a compressor, by which air is supplied to the first and second interiors for the combustion therein, and a control system configured to control relative amounts of the air to the first and second interiors and relative amounts of the first and second fuels supplied to the first and second interiors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Krishna Kumar Venkataraman, Willy Steve Ziminsky, Geoffrey David Myers
  • Publication number: 20100170251
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine is provided and includes a fuel circuit, including multiple fuel circuit branches, a combustor having a first interior in which a first fuel supplied thereto by any one of the multiple fuel circuit branches is combustible, a turbine, a transition zone, including a second interior in which a second fuel supplied thereto by any one of the multiple fuel circuit branches, the second fuel including gas receivable by the fuel circuit from an external source, and the products of the combustion of the first fuel are combustible, the transition zone being disposed to fluidly couple the combustor and the turbine to one another, and a plurality of fuel injectors which supply the second fuel to the second interior in any one of a single axial stage, multiple axial stages, a single axial circumferential stage and multiple axial circumferential stages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Krishna Kumar Venkataraman, Willy Steve Ziminsky, Jason Charles Terry
  • Publication number: 20100170216
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine is provided and includes a late lean injection (LLI) compatible combustor having a first interior in which a first fuel supplied thereto by a fuel circuit is combustible, a turbine, a transition zone, including a second interior in which a second fuel supplied thereto by the fuel circuit and the products of the combustion of the first fuel are combustible, the transition zone being disposed to fluidly couple the combustor and the turbine to one another, and a plurality of fuel injectors, which are structurally supported by the transition zone and coupled to the fuel circuit, and which are configured to supply the second fuel to the second interior in any one of a single axial stage, multiple axial stages, a single axial circumferential stage and multiple axial circumferential stages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Krishna Kumar Venkataraman, Roy Marshall Washam, Hasan Karim, Jason Charles Terry, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100162724
    Abstract: Embodiments of methods and systems for controlling a combustor for a gas turbine engine are provided. According to one example embodiment, a system includes an air control assembly associated with at least one air path of a combustor for a gas turbine engine. Additionally, the system also includes at least one sensor for sensing at least one operating parameter of the gas turbine engine. Further, the system also includes a controller operable to receive at least one operating parameter sensed by the at least one sensor, and further operable to selectively control an air control assembly based at least in part on the at least one operating parameter sensed by the at least one sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2008
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Geoffrey David Myers, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Timothy Andrew Healy, Joseph Citeno
  • Publication number: 20100139280
    Abstract: A protection system for a pre-mixing apparatus for a turbine engine, includes: a main body having an inlet portion, an outlet portion and an exterior wall that collectively establish a fuel delivery plenum; and a plurality of fuel mixing tubes that extend through at least a portion of the fuel delivery plenum, each of the plurality of fuel mixing tubes including at least one fuel feed opening fluidly connected to the fuel delivery plenum; at least one thermal fuse disposed on an exterior surface of at least one tube, the at least one thermal fuse including a material that will melt upon ignition of fuel within the at least one tube and cause a diversion of fuel from the fuel feed opening to at least one bypass opening. A method and a turbine engine in accordance with the protection system are also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Benjamin Paul Lacy, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Thomas Edward Johnson, William David York
  • Publication number: 20100115953
    Abstract: An integrated combustor and stage one nozzle in a gas turbine includes a combustion chamber that receives premixed fuel and air from at least one fuel nozzle group at separate axial locations. The combustion chamber includes a liner and a transition piece that deliver hot combustion gas to the turbine. The stage one nozzle, the liner and the transition piece are integrated into a single part. At least one of the axial locations of the one or more fuel nozzle groups includes a plurality of small scale mixing devices that concentrate heat release and reduce flame length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Willy Steve Ziminsky, Kevin Weston McMahan, Ronald James Chila, Sergey Anatolievich Meshkov
  • Publication number: 20100103424
    Abstract: A system includes an optical sensor that optically measures and spatially resolves in three dimensions at least one chemical species within a flame produced by a device and a component that correlates the three dimensionally measured at least one chemical species to at least one parameter of the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2008
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Keith Robert McManus
  • Publication number: 20100083882
    Abstract: A direct-fired coal combustion system includes a swirl chamber having an input configured to receive a coal-water slurry and causing the coal-water slurry to mix with discharge air from a compressor to gasify the coal-water slurry and create a synthesis gas. The system also includes a cyclone separator directly coupled to the second end of the swirl chamber and a second stage combustion input coupled to an output of the cyclone separator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2008
    Publication date: April 8, 2010
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Stanley Kevin Widener, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR.
  • Publication number: 20090293482
    Abstract: A fuel nozzle assembly for a combustor of a gas turbine including: a nozzle body having a front and an inner tube defining a fuel passage extending through the nozzle body, wherein the front proximate to a combustion section of the combustor; an outer casing around the inner tube, wherein an air passage is defined between the outer casing and the inner tube; a gas conduit arranged in the air passage and having an outlet proximate to the front of the nozzle body, wherein fuel starts flowing through the expandable conduit only after a flashback condition occurs in the combustor, and a premix fuel passage and port discharging fuel to a premix section of the combustor, wherein the gas conduit has an inlet open to the premix fuel passage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Stanley Kevin Widener, John Wilber
  • Patent number: 7603863
    Abstract: A secondary combustion system for a stage one turbine nozzle. The secondary combustion system may include a supply tube extending into the stage one nozzle, a number of injectors extending from the supply tube to an outer surface of the stage one nozzle, and an air gap surrounding each of the number of injectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Stanley Kevin Widener, Lewis Berkley Davis, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20090241508
    Abstract: A nozzle is provided and includes an outer annulus defined by an exterior wall and an interior wall and including air inlets through which air flows to a fuel mixing zone and a combustion zone, an inner annulus disposed within the interior wall and including a fuel volume into which fuel is fed to a distal end thereof, which is adjacent to and isolated from the combustion zone and an airflow line, disposed between the fuel volume and the interior wall, through which air flows to the combustion zone with the airflow line and the combustion zone isolated from the fuel volume, and a fuse configured to melt during a flameholding incident and to form a breach through which fuel flows from the fuel volume, bypassing the fuel mixing zone, to a fuel burning zone downstream from the fuel mixing zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2008
    Publication date: October 1, 2009
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Stanley Kevin Widener, John Wilber
  • Publication number: 20090139235
    Abstract: A gas turbine combustor. The gas turbine combustor may include a central combustion nozzle with a catalyst therein and a number of outer combustion nozzles surrounding the central combustion nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2007
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., David Justin Balevic, John Joseph Lipinski
  • Publication number: 20090056335
    Abstract: A combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a combustor endcover having at least one fuel circuit and mounted thereto a plurality of pre-mixers and at least one control valve. The at least one control valve is fluidly connected to the at least one fuel circuit and operatively connected to a controller. The controller selectively operates the at least one control valve to deliver fuel through the at least one fuel circuit to the plurality of pre-mixers in order to achieve an enhanced level of operational flexibility by providing individual combustion chamber control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2007
    Publication date: March 5, 2009
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Geoffrey David Myers, Lewis Berkley Davis, JR., Joseph Citeno