Patents Examined by Todd N Jordan
  • Patent number: 11268444
    Abstract: A cooling system for a component of a gas turbine engine includes a first airflow passage configured to direct a first airflow to a mixing chamber and a second airflow passage to configured direct a second airflow to the mixing chamber, the second airflow having a higher temperature than the first airflow, and a cooling airflow passage to direct a cooling airflow from the mixing chamber to the component, the cooling airflow comprising the first airflow and the second airflow. The airflow passages are configured and sized to allow an amount of cooling airflow for unrestricted engine operation. When the first airflow passage is disabled, the second airflow passage and cooling airflow passage are configured and sized to allow an amount of cooling airflow which is adequate to permit continued safe engine operation restricted to within only a portion of its normal parameters and operating envelope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Paul R. Hanrahan, Jonathan Ortiz
  • Patent number: 11248796
    Abstract: In a gas turbine engine, an inside turn duct portion and a nozzle guide vane are engaged together via an engagement part. An axially forward-facing load acting on a reverse flow combustor is transmitted to the vane via the engagement part. Therefore, it is possible to counteract an axially backward-facing load acting on the vane from combustion gas with the axially forward-facing load, thus reducing a bending moment acting on a support part of the vane and enhancing durability. Furthermore, part of the axially forward-facing load acting on the combustor acts on the support part via the vane. The axially forward-facing load acting on the support part of the combustor without via the vane is decreased by the above-mentioned part. Thus, it is possible to reduce bending moments acting on an outside turn duct portion and dome portion of the combustor and enhance durability, thereby preventing degradation of combustion performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuhara Kamoi, Hiroshi Sawamura
  • Patent number: 11203985
    Abstract: A combustor includes: a nozzle main body having a shaft body and a swirl vane; a first fuel flow path configured to supply fuel to a first fuel injection hole defined in the nozzle main body; a second fuel flow path configured to supply fuel to a second fuel injection hole defined in the nozzle main body on a radial outer side of the first fuel injection hole; a first regulating valve provided in the first fuel flow path and configured to regulate a flow rate of the fuel in the first fuel flow path; a temperature sensor-configured to detect a temperature on a downstream side of the swirl vane; and a control device configured to control the first regulating valve so that the flow rate of the fuel in the first fuel flow path is lowered when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor satisfies a predetermined condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI POWER, LTD.
    Inventors: Naoki Tsunoda, Keijiro Saito, Kenji Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 11193720
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine having a heat absorption device and an associated method are disclosed. The gas turbine engine includes a compressor having a compressor discharge nozzle, a combustor coupled to the compressor, a turbine coupled to the combustor and the compressor, a fluid flow passage fluidly coupling the compressor and the turbine and bypassing the combustor, and a heat absorption device disposed fluidly along the fluid flow passage at a first predefined location. The heat absorption device includes a casing having an inlet and an outlet, a flow path within the casing and extending between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the flow path directs an input bleed flow diverted from a fluid stream discharged from the compressor, and a phase change material hermetically sealed within the casing. The phase change material is separated from the flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Karthikeyan Sampath, Atanu Saha, Bhaskar Nanda Mondal, Sanjeev Sai Kumar Manepalli
  • Patent number: 11193420
    Abstract: A system for monitoring fuel additives on board a vehicle includes a fuel line carrying fuel from a fuel source to an engine; a fuel additive sensor configured to measure concentration of additives in fuel at a point along the fuel line; a fuel additive dispenser connected in parallel to the fuel line; at least one flow control device for controlling an amount of flow from the fuel line into the fuel additive dispenser; and a controller configured to receive input from the fuel additive sensor and to control the flow control device to adjust the amount of the flow from the fuel line into the fuel additive dispenser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Inventors: Zissis A. Dardas, Haralambos Cordatos, Ying She
  • Patent number: 11181269
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including a trapped vortex combustor assembly is generally provided. The combustor assembly includes an inner liner wall extended annularly around a combustor centerline, and an outer liner wall extended annularly around the combustor centerline. The inner liner wall and the outer liner wall together define an involute wall extended at least partially as a spiral curve from a circumferential reference line around the combustor centerline. The involute wall defines an involute combustion chamber. One or more of the inner liner wall and the outer liner wall each define a first dilution opening and a shaped dilution opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Gregory Allen Boardman, Pradeep Naik
  • Patent number: 11168584
    Abstract: A thermal management system includes a heat exchanger and a housing that receives the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger defines a heat transfer region within which thermal exchange occurs between a process fluid and a thermal management fluid. The thermal management system further includes a process fluid conduit to convey the process fluid through the heat transfer region and an actuator assembly configured to position the heat exchanger relative to the housing. The actuator assembly is configured to selectively assume a position between a stowed position and a deployed position. When the actuator assembly is in the deployed position, the heat transfer region extends within a flow of the thermal management fluid such that the process fluid flow flows in heat exchange relation with the thermal management fluid flow. In some such embodiments, the actuator assembly automatically transitions between the stowed position and the deployed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: David W. Foutch
  • Patent number: 11168887
    Abstract: Fuel spray nozzle for generating a spray of atomised liquid fuel in a combustor of a gas turbine engine. The nozzle includes a flow circuit that has in flow series: a gallery that receives fuel flow, plural circumferentially-spaced restrictor passages arranged in a row around the nozzle, plural conditioning passages configured to impart a circumferential component to their respective portions of the fuel flow, and an annular spin chamber which forms a swirling fuel flow which is discharged at an exit port. The restrictor passages form flow restrictions which in use produce a pressure differential between the gallery and the spin chamber to evenly circumferentially distribute the fuel flow between the restrictor passages. The conditioning passages have increased flow cross-sectional areas relative to the flow cross-sectional areas of the restrictor passages, such that the restrictor passages produce substantially all of the pressure differential between the gallery and the spin chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
    Inventor: Tomasz Stankowski
  • Patent number: 11162682
    Abstract: A fuel injector for a combustor of a gas turbine engine is disclosed herein. The fuel injector includes a fuel stem assembly for receiving and distributing fuel and an injector head receiving fuel from the fuel stem assembly. The injector head can include an injector body, swirler vanes, a pilot assembly, passages, and fuel galleries. The pilot assembly can include pilot struts and a pilot tube. The swirler vanes and pilot struts can include passages to transport the pilot fuel from the fuel stem assembly to the pilot tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Solar Turbines Incorporated
    Inventors: Richard A. Rogers, Drew Allen Dominique, Timothy Ray Evans, Jr., Jonathan Gerrard Duckers, Stephen Burke, Robert Archer, Stefan Helmuth Humer, Hanjie Lee
  • Patent number: 11149952
    Abstract: A main mixer including a swirler along an axis, the swirler including an outer swirler with a multiple of outer vanes, and a center swirler with a multiple of center vanes and a swirler hub along the axis, the swirler hub including a fuel manifold and an inner swirler with a multiple of inner vanes that support a centerbody, the multiple of inner vanes interconnect the fuel manifold and the centerbody.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Zhongtao Dai, Lance L. Smith, Jeffrey M. Cohen
  • Patent number: 11149948
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a combustor system including a fuel nozzle comprising a main fuel injector defining an angled main injection port. Each angled main injection port defines an inlet end and an outlet end. The outlet end is oriented downstream relative to the inlet end at an angle relative to a centerline axis of the fuel nozzle. The angled main injection port permits egress of fuel from a main fuel circuit to the combustion chamber. The fuel nozzle further defines a radial main injection port. The outlet end is oriented along an axial direction approximately equal relative to the inlet end and radially outward thereof relative to the centerline axis. The radial main injection port is extended perpendicular relative to the centerline axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric John Stevens, Mark David Durbin, Randall Charles Boehm
  • Patent number: 11149643
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine has a fan rotor delivering air into a bypass duct defined between an outer fan case and an outer interior housing. The fan rotor also delivers air into a compressor section, a combustor, a turbine section. A chamber is defined between the outer interior housing and an inner housing. The inner housing contains the compressor section, the combustor and the turbine section. A first conduit taps hot compressed air to be cooled and passes the air to at least one heat exchanger. The air is cooled in the heat exchanger and returned to a return conduit. The return conduit passes the cooled air to at least one of the turbine section and the compressor section. The heat exchanger has a core exhaust plane. The turbine section has at least a first and a downstream second rotor blade row, with the core exhaust plane located downstream of a center plane of the second blade row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Frederick M. Schwarz, Nathan Snape
  • Patent number: 11149949
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine has a converging duct that has combustion products flow at low mach speeds through a first portion and a high mach speeds through a second portion. The converging duct has two types of cooling schemes formed. One type of cooling scheme is beneficial for the low mach speed combustion product flow and one type of cooling scheme is beneficial for the high mach speed combustion product flow. The two cooling schemes are blended together in order increase the efficiency of the cooling of the converging duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Timothy A. Fox, Jacob William Hardes
  • Patent number: 11143106
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a propulsion system including a wall defining a combustion chamber inlet, a combustion chamber outlet, and a combustion chamber therebetween, a nozzle assembly disposed at the combustion chamber inlet, the nozzle assembly configured to provide a fuel/oxidizer mixture to the combustion chamber, a turbine nozzle coupled to the wall and positioned at the combustion chamber outlet, wherein the turbine nozzle defines a cooling circuit within the turbine nozzle, and a casing positioned radially adjacent to the wall, wherein a channel structure is positioned between the casing and the wall, the channel structure in fluid communication with the cooling circuit within the turbine nozzle, and wherein a flowpath is formed between the wall and the casing, the flowpath in fluid communication from the cooling circuit at the turbine nozzle to the nozzle assembly to provide a flow of oxidizer to the thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Joseph Zelina, Sibtosh Pal, Arthur Wesley Johnson, Clayton Stuart Cooper, Steven Clayton Vise
  • Patent number: 11143404
    Abstract: There is provided a combustor including a nozzle main body (16) that includes a shaft body (24) which extends along an axis and has, inside the shaft body (24), a purge air flow path (29), which extends along the axis to a tip portion of the shaft body (24) and into which compressed air is introduced, and an air spraying hole (39), which is formed in the tip portion of the shaft body (24) and connects the purge air flow path (29) to an outer surface of the shaft body (24), a swirling blade (26), which overhangs from an outer circumferential surface of the shaft body (24) in a diameter direction of the axis and swirls a fluid flowing to a downstream side of an axial direction around the axis, and a fuel spraying hole (38), and a sealing member (40) that seals the air spraying hole (39) and is formed of a metal having a melting point lower than a melting point of a metal forming the nozzle main body (16).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI POWER, LTD.
    Inventors: Taehwan Kim, Keijiro Saito, Shinji Akamatsu, Kenji Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 11131459
    Abstract: An air mixer includes an annular body defining a center axis. A plurality of slots are defined in the annular body circumferentially spaced apart from one another. Each slot defines a respective center injection axis extending from an outer surface of the annular body to an inner surface of the annular body. Each respective center injection axis is parallel to a respective plane bisecting the annular body. At least one of the slots is intersected by the respective bisecting plane parallel to its respective center injection axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Delavan Inc.
    Inventors: Jason A. Ryon, Lev Alexander Prociw, Jacob Greenfield
  • Patent number: 11131461
    Abstract: A method and system of effervescent atomization of liquid fuel for a rotating detonation combustor (RDC) for a propulsion system is provided. The method includes flowing liquid fuel through a fuel injection port of a nozzle assembly of the RDC system; flowing a gas through the fuel injection port of the nozzle assembly volumetrically proportional to the liquid fuel; producing a gas-liquid fuel mixture at the fuel injection port by mixing the flow of gas and the flow of liquid fuel; flowing an oxidizer through a nozzle flowpath of the RDC system; producing an oxidizer-gas-liquid fuel mixture by mixing the gas-liquid fuel mixture and the flow of oxidizer within the nozzle flowpath; and igniting the oxidizer-gas-liquid fuel mixture within a combustion chamber of the RDC system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Sibtosh Pal, Joseph Zelina, Arthur Wesley Johnson, Clayton Stuart Cooper, Steven Clayton Vise
  • Patent number: 11105268
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing an automatic fuel polishing and on-demand fuel delivery for one or more gas turbine engine test cells are provided. The system can have a polishing loop that can continuously polish fuel. The polishing loop can have at least a fuel storage tank, a pump assembly, a filtration system, and a flow meter. The system can also have fuel delivery path coupled to the polishing loop at a three way junction. The three way junction can enable the continuous polishing loop when no test cells are operating. Upon initiation of one or more test cells, the delivery path can draw fuel from the polishing loop via the three way junction for use by the test cells. The flow meter can measure a corresponding drop in flow within the polishing loop and cause an increase in flow by the pump assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Solar Turbines Incorporated
    Inventor: Xing Ouyang
  • Patent number: 11098901
    Abstract: In a gas turbine combustor, a sectional shape in a radial direction of either one of an inner peripheral surface of a second inner tube member and an outer peripheral surface of a first inner tube member, in a fitting portion of a crossfire tube assembly, has a plurality of small-curvature portions having a curvature smaller than a reference curvature, the reference curvature being a curvature of a portion at a maximum distance from the center of the sectional shape. This configuration ensures the crossfire tube assembly is cooled, and the Possibility of thermal deformation or fire damage is lowered, without lowering the temperature of a combustion exhaust gas passing through the crossfire tube assembly of the gas turbine combustor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Power, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Okazaki, Tomomi Koganezawa, Hirokazu Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11098600
    Abstract: A transition piece of an embodiment leads a combustion gas generated by a combustor liner to a turbine part in a gas turbine facility. An outlet portion from which the combustion gas flows out to the turbine part in the transition piece includes: an inner peripheral wall located inside in a radial direction of the turbine part; an outer peripheral wall located further outside than the inner peripheral wall in the radial direction; and support struts provided between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall. In the inner peripheral wall, first insertion grooves are formed. In the outer peripheral wall, second insertion grooves are formed. In the support struts, first end portions located inside in the radial direction are inserted into and fixed in the first insertion grooves, and second end portions located outside in the radial direction are inserted into and fixed in the second insertion grooves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: TOSHIBA ENERGY SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuichi Morisawa, Hideyuki Maeda, Takahiro Nakanishi, Masao Itoh, Yasunori Iwai