Patents by Inventor Reid D. C. Smith

Reid D. C. Smith 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).

  • Low NOx combustor for gas turbine engine
    Patent number: 6240731
    Abstract: A method of combusting fuel in the combustor of a gas turbine engine is disclosed which includes injecting fuel and a first predetermined amount of airflow into the combustion chamber to form a fuel-rich, highly mixed, uniform distribution fuel-air spray pattern flowing downstream in the combustion chamber and introducing a second predetermined amount of airflow into the fuel air spray pattern from combustor air inlets positioned at a first predetermined distance downstream from the combustor dome with the first predetermined distance being greater than 0.75 times the dome height and said second predetermined amount of airflow being sufficient to cause rapid mixing and quenching of the rich fuel-air mixture to a lean fuel-air mixture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: James B. Hoke, Irving Segalman, Kenneth S. Siskind, Reid D. C. Smith