Patents by Inventor Robert James Bland

Robert James Bland 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).

  • Aerodynamic devices for enhancing sidepanel cooling on an impingement cooled transition duct and related method
    Patent number: 6494044
    Abstract: A transition piece assembly for a gas turbine includes a transition duct having one end adapted for connection to a gas turbine combustor and an opposite end adapted for connection to a first turbine stage, and a pair of side panels. The assembly also includes an impingement sleeve surrounding the transition duct and establishing a cooling path therebetween. The impingement sleeve is formed with a plurality of rows of cooling holes therein; and a plurality of flow catcher devices on an external surface of the impingement sleeve, each flow catcher device at least partially surrounding one of the cooling holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Robert James Bland
  • Swozzle based burner tube premixer including inlet air conditioner for low emissions combustion
    Patent number: 6438961
    Abstract: A burner for use in a combustion system of a heavy-duty industrial gas turbine includes a fuel/air premixer having an air inlet, a fuel inlet, and an annular mixing passage. The fuel/air premixer mixes fuel and air into a uniform mixture for injection into a combustor reaction zone. The burner also includes an inlet flow conditioner disposed at the air inlet of the fuel/air premixer for controlling a radial and circumferential distribution of incoming air. The pattern of perforations in the inlet flow conditioner is designed such that a uniform air flow distribution is produced at the swirler inlet annulus in both the radial and circumference directions. The premixer includes a swozzle assembly having a series of preferably air foil shaped turning vanes that impart swirl to the airflow entering via the inlet flow conditioner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Richard Sterling Tuthill, William Theodore Bechtel, II, Jeffrey Arthur Benoit, Stephen Hugh Black, Robert James Bland, Guy Wayne DeLeonardo, Stefan Martin Meyer, Joseph Charles Taura, John Luigi Battaglioli
  • Burner with uniform fuel/air premixing for low emissions combustion
    Publication number: 20010052229
    Abstract: A burner for use in a combustion system of a heavy-duty industrial gas turbine includes a fuel/air premixer having an air inlet, a fuel inlet, and an annular mixing passage. The fuel/air premixer mixes fuel and air into a uniform mixture for injection into a combustor reaction zone. The burner also includes an inlet flow conditioner disposed at the air inlet of the fuel/air premixer for controlling a radial and circumferential distribution of incoming air. The pattern of perforations in the inlet flow conditioner is designed such that a uniform air flow distribution is produced at the swirler inlet annulus in both the radial and circumference directions. The premixer includes a swozzle assembly having a series of preferably air foil shaped turning vanes that impart swirl to the airflow entering via the inlet flow conditioner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2001
    Publication date: December 20, 2001
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Richard Sterling Tuthill, William Theodore Bechtel, Jeffrey Arthur Benoit, Stephen Hugh Black, Robert James Bland, Guy Wayne DeLeonardo, Stefan Martin Meyer, Joseph Charles Taura, John Luigi Battaglioli