Patents by Inventor Walter Ray Laster

Walter Ray Laster 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).

  • Patent number: 11248795
    Abstract: A finely distributed combustion system for a gas turbine engine is provided. A combustor body may extend along a longitudinal axis. A premixer space may be formed within the combustor body to premix air and fuel. The premixer space is in communication with an array of finely distributed perforations arranged in a wall of the combustor body to eject an array of premixed main flamelets throughout a contour of the combustor body between the upstream base of the combustor body and the downstream base of the combustor body. The array of finely distributed perforations—potentially comprising thousands or even hundreds of thousands of perforations spatially distributed on a miniaturized scale—for ejecting the premixed main flamelets is technically advantageous compared to conventional distributed combustion systems, where injection of relatively longer main flames occurs just at a few discrete axial locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co KG
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Yuntao Chen
  • Patent number: 11181273
    Abstract: A turbine engine has two combustion zones so as to operate in conditions where water scarcity is an issue. The secondary combustion zone is located downstream of the primary combustion zone. Fuel can be fed into an air scoop having air from a shell surrounding the primary and secondary combustion zone. The feeding of the fuel through the air scoop allows atomization of the fuel. The mixture can then enter the secondary combustion zone and mix with the products from the first combustion zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Krishna C. Miduturi, Stephen A. Ramier, Walter Ray Laster
  • Patent number: 11029030
    Abstract: Injector assemblies (12) and ducting arrangement (20) including such injector assemblies are provided. The injector assembly may include a reactant-guiding structure (16) arranged to convey a flow of reactants (19) into the combustion stage and means for injecting (24, 25, 26) a flow of air (22) into the combustion stage. The flow of air injected into the combustion stage may be arranged to condition interaction of the flow of reactants injected into the combustion stage with a cross-flow of combustion products (21), as the flow of reactants is admitted into the combustion stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox
  • Publication number: 20200386409
    Abstract: A finely distributed combustion system for a gas turbine engine is provided. A combustor body may extend along a longitudinal axis. A premixer space may be formed within the combustor body to premix air and fuel. The premixer space is in communication with an array of finely distributed perforations arranged in a wall of the combustor body to eject an array of premixed main flamelets throughout a contour of the combustor body between the upstream base of the combustor body and the downstream base of the combustor body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2018
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Yuntao Chen
  • Patent number: 10704786
    Abstract: A fuel injector for injecting alternate fuels having a different energy density in a gas turbine is provided. A first fuel supply channel (18) may be fluidly coupled to a radial passage (22) in a plurality of vanes (20) that branches into passages (24) (e.g., axial passages) to inject a first fuel without jet in cross-flow injection. This may be effective to reduce flashback in fuels having a relatively high flame speed. A mixer (30) with lobes (32) for injection of a second fuel may be arranged at the downstream end of a fuel delivery tube (12). A fuel-routing structure (38) may be configured to route the second fuel within a respective lobe so that fuel injection of the second fuel takes place radially outwardly relative to a central region of the mixer. This may be conducive to an improved (e.g., a relatively more uniform) mixing of air and fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox, Robert H. Bartley
  • Publication number: 20190309952
    Abstract: A turbine engine has two combustion zones so as to operate in conditions where water scarcity is an issue. The secondary combustion zone is located downstream of the primary combustion zone. Fuel can be fed into an air scoop having air from a shell surrounding the primary and secondary combustion zone. The feeding of the fuel through the air scoop allows atomization of the fuel. The mixture can then enter the secondary combustion zone and mix with the products from the first combustion zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2016
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Inventors: Krishna C. Miduturi, Stephen A. Ramier, Walter Ray Laster
  • Publication number: 20190301738
    Abstract: A combustion system in a combustion turbine engine is provided. The system may include a combustor wall fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion products. The combustor wall may include a plurality of cooling air conduits. An injector assembly may be in fluid communication with the cooling fluid conduits to receive cooling fluid that passes through the cooling fluid conduits. Injector assembly includes means for injecting a flow of the cooling fluid into the combustion stage. The flow of the cooling fluid may be arranged to condition interaction of a flow of reactants injected to admix with the cross-flow of combustion products.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Publication date: October 3, 2019
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox
  • Publication number: 20190226680
    Abstract: Injector assemblies (12) and ducting arrangement (20) including such injector assemblies are provided. The injector assembly may include a reactant-guiding structure (16) arranged to convey a flow of reactants (19) into the combustion stage and means for injecting (24, 25, 26) a flow of air (22) into the combustion stage. The flow of air injected into the combustion stage may be arranged to condition interaction of the flow of reactants injected into the combustion stage with a cross-flow of combustion products (21), as the flow of reactants is admitted into the combustion stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox
  • Patent number: 10309655
    Abstract: A cooling system for a fuel system in a turbine engine that is usable to cool a fuel nozzle is disclosed. The cooling system may include one or more cooling system housings positioned around the fuel nozzle, such that the cooling system housing forms a cooling chamber defined at least partially by an inner surface of the cooling system housing and an outer surface of the fuel nozzle. The fuel nozzle may extend into a combustor chamber formed at least in part by a combustor housing. The fuel nozzle may include one or more fuel exhaust orifices with an opening in an outer surface of the fuel nozzle and configured to exhaust fluids unrestricted by the housing forming the cooling system cooling chamber. The cooling system may provide cooling fluids to cool the fuel nozzle within the cooling system cooling chamber regardless of whether the fuel nozzle is in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Scott M. Martin, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Jacob William Hardes, Timothy A. Fox
  • Patent number: 10288290
    Abstract: A flow conditioning device for a can annular gas turbine engine, including a plurality of flow elements disposed in a compressed air flow path leading to a combustor, configured such that relative adjustment of at least one flow directing element with respect to an adjacent flow directing element during operation of the gas turbine engine is effective to adjust a level of choking of the compressed air flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Reinhard Schilp
  • Patent number: 10222066
    Abstract: A ducting arrangement (10) in a combustion stage downstream of a main combustion stage of a gas turbine engine is provided. A duct (18) is fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion gases from the main combustion stage. Duct (18) includes a duct segment (23) with an expanding cross-sectional area (24) where one or more injector assemblies (26) are disposed. Injector assembly (26) includes one or more reactant-guiding structures (27) arranged to deliver a flow of reactants into the downstream combustion stage to be mixed with the cross-flow of combustion gases. Disclosed injector assemblies are arranged in expanding cross-sectional area (24) to reduce total pressure loss while providing an effective level of mixing of the injected reactants with the passing cross-flow. Respective duct components or the entire ducting arrangement may be formed as a unitized structure, such as a single piece using a rapid manufacturing technology, such as 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Yuntao Chen, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Andrew J. North, Lucky Tran, Joseph Meadows, Walter Ray Laster
  • Patent number: 10215038
    Abstract: Method and computer-readable model for additively manufacturing a ducting arrangement (10) for a gas turbine engine are provided. Ducting arrangement (10) may include a duct (18) to be fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion gases from a main combustion stage. Duct (18) includes a duct segment (23) with an expanding cross-sectional area (24) where one or more injector assemblies (26) are disposed. Injector assembly (26) includes one or more reactant-guiding structures (27) arranged to deliver a flow of reactants to be mixed with the cross-flow of combustion gases. The ducting arrangement is effective to reduce total pressure loss while providing an effective level of mixing of the injected reactants with the passing cross-flow. Respective duct components or the entire ducting arrangement may be formed as a unitized structure, such as a single piece using a rapid manufacturing technology, such as 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Yuntao Chen, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Andrew J. North, Lucky Tran, Joseph Meadows, Walter Ray Laster
  • Publication number: 20180313535
    Abstract: An improved combustion system in a combustion turbine engine is provided. The combustor system may include an injector assembly disposed in a combustion stage disposed downstream from a main combustion stage of the combustor system. The injector assembly may include a reactant-guiding structure arranged to deliver to the combustion stage respective jets of reactants through an array of ejection orifices disposed on one or more side walls of the reactant-guiding structure. The reactant-guiding structure may be configured to form a stream-lined body relative to a flow of a fluid to be mixed with the jets of reactants delivered to the combustion stage. The ejection orifices of the array may be aerodynamically-shaped to define a respective stream-lined orifice cross-section, (e.g., airfoil shaped).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Publication date: November 1, 2018
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Domenico Gambacorta, Reinhard Schilp
  • Patent number: 10095218
    Abstract: Method and computer-readable model for additively manufacturing a ducting arrangement (20) in a combustion stage are provided. The ducting arrangement may include a combustor wall (40) in a combustion stage fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion products (21). An injector assembly (12) may be in fluid communication with cooling fluid conduits (46) in the combustor wall to receive cooling fluid that passes through the cooling fluid conduits. The injector assembly may include means for injecting (24, 25, 26) a flow of the cooling fluid (22) arranged to condition interaction of a flow of reactants (19) injected with the cross-flow of combustion products. Respective duct components or the entire ducting arrangement may be formed as a unitized structure, such as a single piece using a rapid manufacturing technology, such as 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox
  • Patent number: 10082294
    Abstract: A fuel injector for injecting fuels having a different energy density in a gas turbine is provided. A first fuel supply channel (18) and a second fuel supply channel (20) may be coaxially arranged in a fuel delivery structure (12). A first set of vanes 22 includes a radial passage (24) in fluid communication with the first channel (18) to receive a first fuel. Passage (24) branches into passages (26) each having an aperture (28) to inject the first fuel without jet in cross-flow injection. A second set of vanes (32) includes a radial passage (34) in fluid communication with the second channel (20) to receive a second fuel. Passage (34) branches into passages (36) each having an aperture (38) arranged to inject the second fuel also without jet in cross-flow injection. This arrangement may be effective to reduce flashback that otherwise may be encountered in fuels having a relatively high flame speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Jacob William Hardes, Robert H. Bartley, Mario Gaviria
  • Publication number: 20180187563
    Abstract: An improved combustion system having a reduced combustion residence time in a combustion turbine engine is provided. The combustor system may include a flow-accelerating structure (16, 51) having an inlet (26) and an outlet (28). The inlet of the flow-accelerating structure is fluidly coupled to receive a flow of combustion gases from a combustor outlet. At least one fuel injector (32, 64, 66) is disposed between the inlet and the outlet of the flow-accelerating structure. The flow-accelerating structure causes an increasing speed to the flow of combustion gases, and, as a result, the flow of combustion gases in the flow-accelerating structure experiences a decreased static temperature and a reduced combustion residence time, each of which is effective to reduce NOx emissions at the high firing temperatures of the turbine engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Applicant: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Timothy A. Fox, Grant L. Powers
  • Publication number: 20180039254
    Abstract: Method and computer-readable model for additively manufacturing a ducting arrangement (20) in a combustion stage are provided. The ducting arrangement may include a combustor wall (40) in a combustion stage fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion products (21). An injector assembly (12) may be in fluid communication with cooling fluid conduits (46) in the combustor wall to receive cooling fluid that passes through the cooling fluid conduits. The injector assembly may include means for injecting (24, 25, 26) a flow of the cooling fluid (22) arranged to condition interaction of a flow of reactants (19) injected with the cross-flow of combustion products. Respective duct components or the entire ducting arrangement may be formed as a unitized structure, such as a single piece using a rapid manufacturing technology, such as 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventors: Andrew J. North, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox
  • Publication number: 20180023812
    Abstract: A fuel injector for injecting fuels having a different energy density in a gas turbine is provided. A first fuel supply channel (18) and a second fuel supply channel (20) may be coaxially arranged in a fuel delivery structure (12). A first set of vanes 22 includes a radial passage (24) in fluid communication with the first channel (18) to receive a first fuel. Passage (24) branches into passages (26) each having an aperture (28) to inject the first fuel without jet in cross-flow injection. A second set of vanes (32) includes a radial passage (34) in fluid communication with the second channel (20) to receive a second fuel. Passage (34) branches into passages (36) each having an aperture (38) arranged to inject the second fuel also without jet in cross-flow injection. This arrangement may be effective to reduce flashback that otherwise may be encountered in fuels having a relatively high flame speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Publication date: January 25, 2018
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Jacob William Hardes, Robert H. Bartley, Mario Gaviria
  • Publication number: 20170363291
    Abstract: A fuel injector for injecting alternate fuels having a different energy density in a gas turbine is provided. A first fuel supply channel (18) may be fluidly coupled to a radial passage (22) in a plurality of vanes (20) that branches into passages (24) (e.g., axial passages) to inject a first fuel without jet in cross-flow injection. This may be effective to reduce flashback in fuels having a relatively high flame speed. A mixer (30) with lobes (32) for injection of a second fuel may be arranged at the downstream end of a fuel delivery tube (12). A fuel-routing structure (38) may be configured to route the second fuel within a respective lobe so that fuel injection of the second fuel takes place radially outwardly relative to a central region of the mixer. This may be conducive to an improved (e.g., a relatively more uniform) mixing of air and fuel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Publication date: December 21, 2017
    Inventors: Walter Ray Laster, Timothy A. Fox, Robert H. Bartley
  • Publication number: 20170342846
    Abstract: Method and computer-readable model for additively manufacturing a ducting arrangement (10) for a gas turbine engine are provided. Ducting arrangement (10) may include a duct (18) to be fluidly coupled to receive a cross-flow of combustion gases from a main combustion stage. Duct (18) includes a duct segment (23) with an expanding cross-sectional area (24) where one or more injector assemblies (26) are disposed. Injector assembly (26) includes one or more reactant-guiding structures (27) arranged to deliver a flow of reactants to be mixed with the cross-flow of combustion gases. The ducting arrangement is effective to reduce total pressure loss while providing an effective level of mixing of the injected reactants with the passing cross-flow. Respective duct components or the entire ducting arrangement may be formed as a unitized structure, such as a single piece using a rapid manufacturing technology, such as 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Inventors: Yuntao Chen, Juan Enrique Portillo Bilbao, Andrew J. North, Lucky Tran, Joseph Meadows, Walter Ray Laster