Abstract: A torch ignitor system provides a continuous flame to ignite fuel within a combustor of a gas turbine engine. The torch ignitor system includes a manifold and a plurality of torch nozzles to enable the flame or torch to simultaneously ignite multiple fuel nozzles within the combustor of the gas turbine engine.

Abstract: A power generation system includes a shroud that defines a fluid flow path. A gas turbine engine is in the fluid flow path, and the gas turbine engine includes a compressor, a combustor downstream from the compressor, and a turbine downstream from the combustor. An electric generator is in the fluid flow path upstream from the compressor. The electric generator includes a rotor coaxially aligned with the turbine, and the turbine and the rotor rotate at the same speed.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system has a plurality of fuel nozzles fluidly connected to a source of fuel by transfer tubes extending between the fuel nozzles. At least one plug extends between first and second adjacent nozzles of the set of fuel nozzles. The plug has a first end plugging a port on the first adjacent nozzle and a second end plugging another port on the second adjacent nozzle.

Abstract: A power generation system includes a shroud that defines a fluid flow path. A compressor is in the fluid flow path, and a combustor is in the fluid flow path downstream from the compressor. A turbine is in the fluid flow path downstream from the compressor and the combustor. An electric generator is in the fluid flow path upstream from the compressor, and the electric generator includes a rotor coaxially aligned with the turbine.

Abstract: An aircraft having a vertical takeoff and landing fight mode and a forward flight mode. The aircraft includes an airframe and a versatile propulsion system attached to the airframe. The versatile propulsion system includes a plurality of propulsion assemblies. A flight control system is operable to independently control the propulsion assemblies. The propulsion assemblies are interchangeably attachable to the airframe such that the aircraft has a liquid fuel flight mode and an electric flight mode. In the liquid fuel flight mode, energy is provided to each of the propulsion assemblies from a liquid fuel. In the electric flight mode, energy is provided to each of the propulsion assemblies from an electric power source.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes low and high spools constructed and arranged to rotate about an engine axis. The low spool drives at least one leading stage of a fan section and the high spool drives an aft stage of the fan section. The aft stage may generally include a bypass duct for controllably flowing a bypass stream directly from the leading stage and controllably and/or selectively into an auxiliary flowpath and/or into a second flowpath both located radially outward from a core flowpath.

Abstract: An airflow control system for a combined cycle power generation system according to an embodiment includes: a compressor component of a gas turbine system for generating an excess flow of air; a mixing area for receiving an exhaust gas stream produced by the gas turbine system; and an air extraction system for extracting at least a portion of the excess flow of air generated by the compressor component of the gas turbine system to provide bypass air, and for diverting the bypass air into the mixing area to reduce a temperature of the exhaust gas stream; wherein the reduced temperature exhaust gas stream is provided to a heat recovery steam generator.

Abstract: A system for supplying turbine cooling air flow includes a turbofan engine, a heat exchanger, and a door. The turbofan engine includes an engine case that has an inner volume within which at least a gas turbine engine is mounted, and a bypass flow passage that is defined by an outer fan duct and an inner fan duct and that is configured to direct fan air flow therethrough. The heat exchanger is disposed within the turbofan engine, is coupled to receive fluid and cooling air from the bypass flow passage, and is configured to transfer heat between fluid and the cooling air. The door is movably mounted in the turbofan engine and is movable between a closed position, in which the cooling air will not flow through the heat exchanger, and an open position, in which the cooling air may flow through the heat exchanger.

Abstract: The present application provides a stage of a turbine engine. The stage may include a bucket, a shroud facing the bucket, and a contoured honeycomb seal on the shroud. The contoured honeycomb seal may include a first step with a first shape and a second step with a contoured shape.

Abstract: An afterburner is disclosed for use with a gas turbine engine and, in one form, is structured to receive a bypass air. The afterburner can be situated in a bypass duct and can be a toroidal combustor or a can combustor. In one embodiment, the afterburner includes a combustor arranged to receive bypass air and a plurality of vanes distributed downstream of a turbine of the gas turbine engine. The vanes can include one or more exit apertures through which hot combustion flow from the afterburner combustor can be injected. The exit apertures can be protrusions or slots in some forms. In one embodiment, a cooling passage is arranged around the exit apertures. An upstream vane portion can be positioned to inject fuel to be combusted via interaction with hot flow that is discharged through the exit apertures.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine augmentor includes at least one fluid based augmentor initiator defining a chamber in flow communication with a source of air and a source of fuel. The chamber includes a plurality of ejection openings in flow communication with an exhaust flowpath. The at least one fluid based augmentor initiator is devoid of any exhaust flowpath protrusions thereby minimizing any pressure drops and loss of thrust during dry work phase of operation. The source of fuel is operable for injecting fuel into the chamber such that at least a portion of the fuel flow is ignited at the plurality of ejection openings to produce a plurality of fuel-rich hot jets radially into the exhaust flowpath.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine augmentor includes an inter-liner cavity including an axially extending annular gap separating augmentor and tailpipe liners. A purge flow cavity is in fluid communication with a fan bypass duct and with the cavity. An ejector in fluid communication with the bypass duct includes an ejector nozzle positioned and aimed to direct an ejector nozzle flow from inside the ejector nozzle across the cavity. The purge flow cavity may be bifurcated into forward and aft purge flow cavities which are in fluid communication with the ejector and inter-liner cavity respectively. An annular dividing wall having ejector metering apertures may be disposed between the forward purge flow cavity and an ejector plenum of the ejector. An annular trapped vortex cavity pilot may be located upstream of the annular gap. The aft purge flow cavity may be outwardly bounded by a seal having purge metering apertures disposed therethrough.

Abstract: An afterburner chamber includes a burner ring having housed therein an annular fuel strip that is pierced by orifices and that is mounted inside an annular thermal protection tube, and an ignition spark plug penetrating into the inside of the burner ring. The protection tube and the burner ring have orifices for passing air. The chamber also includes a device for ventilating the orifices of the fuel strip that are situated in the immediate vicinity of the spark plug.

Abstract: Integrally formed, multi zone fuel manifolds for gas turbine engines and methods of construction are provided. The fuel manifold includes a plurality of annular channel members positioned adjacent each other, aligned and coupled together at the inner and outer peripheral sides thereof, with each pair of channel members defining a separate fluid conduit or passage within the manifold assembly. The fuel manifold can be constructed of any number of stacked and secured channel members to provide a compact multi zone fuel manifold having the desired number of fluid conduits or passages with a minimum number of sealed joints.

Abstract: A flameholder arm for an afterburner of a turbomachine, particularly a jet engine, is disclosed. The arm includes a ventilation duct which is centered and immobilized inside the arm independent of the heatshield. The duct also includes a transverse lip which includes an orifice for centering and guiding a fuel injection harness. The transverse lip prevents the harness from being positioned in any way incorrectly in the arm.

Abstract: An engine assembly includes a gas-turbine engine having a tailcone portion and a bypass duct, a rocket engine combustion assembly located at the tailcone portion of the gas-turbine engine, and a movable nozzle segment subassembly that is selectively engageable with the gas-turbine engine bypass duct in an open position and with the rocket engine combustion assembly in a closed position.

Abstract: The after-burner device receives a “hot” central primary flow from the turbine of the turbojet and a “cold” peripheral secondary flow, and it has an after-burner ignition zone situated in the secondary flow that reaches the after-burner device. A fraction of the primary flow is brought into the after-burner ignition zone in order to raise the temperature in said zone to a value that is higher than that of the secondary flow so as to encourage after-burner ignition.

Abstract: A fuel shield is configured for use in the afterburner of a turbofan aircraft engine. The shield includes wings obliquely joined together at a nose to conform with the leading edge region of a flameholder vane. A hood is joined to the wings and extends obliquely therefrom to conform with a supporting outer shell of the flameholder.

Abstract: A fuel shield is configured for use in the afterburner of a turbofan aircraft engine. The shield includes wings obliquely joined together at a nose, with each of the wings including an offset mounting tab at a proximal end thereof. The wings and tabs are configured to complement a flameholder vane around its leading edge, with the tabs contacting the vane sidewalls to offset the wings outwardly therefrom and form a thermally insulating gap therebetween.

Abstract: A device for feeding air and fuel to a burner ring in an after-burner chamber, including a plurality of flame-holder arms extending radially about the axis of the chamber from an outer casing, and a burner ring made up of ring sectors mounted substantially end to end on the flame-holder arms, the ring sectors containing fuel feed rail and air manifold boxes.

Abstract: A method for channeling compressed air to a gas turbine engine augmentor is provided. The method includes coupling an annular slide valve to a gas turbine engine separation liner, coupling a valve seat to a gas turbine engine diffuser such that an airflow passage is defined between the annular slide valve and the valve seat, and channeling compressed air to the annular slide valve to facilitate regulating the quantity of fan bypass air channeled to the gas turbine engine augmentor.

Abstract: A turbofan gas turbine engine augmenter includes a fuel/air swirler disposed between an axially extending bypass flowpath and an axially extending exhaust flowpath. A swirler inlet is axially open to and positioned substantially normal to the bypass flowpath and a swirler outlet is open to and positioned substantially parallel to the exhaust flowpath. A swirl chamber within the fuel/air swirler is between the swirler inlet and the swirler outlet. A swirl axis of the fuel/air swirler extends through the swirler outlet substantially normal to the exhaust flowpath. An air swirler may be centered about the swirl axis within the fuel/air swirler. The air swirler may be a louvered or have a plurality of swirling vanes. The swirler inlet may be radially offset with respect to the swirl axis. An air scoop may lead from the swirler inlet to a rounded swirler housing within which the air swirler is disposed.

Abstract: Device for fixing a burner ring onto flameholder arms (14) in an afterburner combustion chamber of a turbojet engine, the burner ring being formed of ring sectors (12) placed more or less end to end and the ends of which are housed and guided between two circumferentially-directed parallel plates (34, 36) of the flameholder arms (14) and are immobilized between these plates (34, 36) by locking pieces (52) which are themselves held between the plates (34, 36) by immobilizing means (54, 56) engaged in aligned orifices (58, 60, 64) in the plates (34, 36) and in the locking pieces (52).

Abstract: The invention relates to a burner ring for turbofan jet engines. The ring includes an upstream annular envelope which forms a channel which is open axially in the downstream direction, and a manifold for injecting fuel into the channel. The ring includes multiple sectors connected together. Each sector has a fuel inlet which is connected to the fuel injection manifold. Part of the upstream annular envelope is in the core flow. Each sector has a connector which receives the fuel inlet and a ventilation duct which extends through the channel and upstream of the injection manifold. Each sector is fitted with an inlet for a bypass air, which air is then emitted by the ventilation duct to cool the injection manifold. A sector of downstream annular envelope is arranged downstream of the injection manifold to protect this manifold.

Abstract: An afterburner apparatus that utilizes a novel swirl generator for rapidly and efficiently atomizing, vaporizing, as necessary, and mixing a fuel and an oxidant. The swirl generator converts an oxidant flow into a turbulent, three-dimensional flowfield into which the fuel is introduced. The swirl generator effects a toroidal outer recirculation zone and a central recirculation zone, which is positioned within the outer recirculation zone. These recirculation zones are configured in a backward-flowing manner that carries heat and combustion byproducts upstream where they are employed to continuously ignite a combustible fuel/oxidizer mixture in adjacent shear layers. The recirculation zones accelerate flame propagation to allow afterburning to be completed in a relatively short length.

Abstract: A turbine engine augmentor has a centerbody within a gas flowpath. A flameholder is positioned in the flowpath outboard of the centerbody. A burner within the centerbody has an outlet for expelling combustion products of a first pilot fuel. A pilot fuel conduit has an outlet positioned to introduce a supplemental pilot fuel to the expelled combustion products.

Abstract: A two-stage pulse detonation system includes a pre-combustor and a geometric resonator connected via a converging-diverging nozzle to the pre-combustor to create a high temperature and high pressure conditions in the resonator in order to create optimal conditions for detonation initiation. A mixture of a fuel and a gas is burned in the pre-combustor and is passed through the nozzle into the geometric resonator, where the burned mixture is detonated. The detonation propagates through the resonator exit nozzle thus generating thrust.

Abstract: A method for fabricating an augmentor includes fabricating an outer casing having at least one channel defined therein, fabricating a centerbody having at least one channel defined therein, fabricating a plurality of turbine frame vanes, wherein each turbine frame vane includes a first sidewall having a first channel defined therein, a second sidewall having a second channel defined therein, and at least one cross-fire tube extending between the first sidewall and the second sidewall, and coupling the plurality of turbine frame vanes to the augmentor outer casing and to the centerbody such that the first sidewall first channel formed on a first turbine frame vane, the second sidewall second channel formed on a second turbine frame vane, the augmentor channel, and the centerbody channel define a substantially contiguous trapped vortex chamber.

Abstract: The invention relates to ventilating the confluence sheet of an afterburner chamber of an aviation turbomachine, including, upstream from the afterburner chamber: a diffuser defined by a confluence sheet disposed inside a casing, said casing and said confluence sheet defining between them an annular channel for a cold secondary flow, upstream fuel injectors being disposed at the inlet to said diffuser and flame-catchers being disposed downstream from said upstream injectors, said confluence sheet presenting, between the radial plane containing said upstream injectors and the radial plane situated at the rear ends of said flame-catchers two bends so as to flare downstream in order to slow down the primary flow F1 downstream from said upstream injectors.

Abstract: An afterburner apparatus that utilizes a novel swirl generator for rapidly and efficiently atomizing, vaporizing, as necessary, and mixing a fuel into an oxidant. The swirl generator converts an oxidant flow into a turbulent, three-dimensional flowfield into which the fuel is introduced. The swirl generator effects a toroidal outer recirculation zone and a central recirculation zone, which is positioned within the outer recirculation zone. These recirculation zones are configured in a backward-flowing manner that carries heat and combustion byproducts upstream where they are employed to continuously ignite a combustible fuel/oxidizer mixture in adjacent shear layers. The recirculation zones accelerate flame propagation to allow afterburning to be completed in a relatively short length.

Abstract: A method enables thrust to be generated from a gas turbine engine using a pulse detonation system is provided. The engine includes an inlet portion and an exhaust portion, and the pulse detonation system includes a multi-staged pulse detonation augmentor including predetonator. The method comprises supplying a less than stoichiometric fuel/air mixture to the pulse detonation system during a first operating stage, detonating the fuel/air mixture with the predetonator to increase the temperature and pressure within the engine and to generate engine thrust, and supplying additional fuel and air to the pulse detonation system during a second operating stage.

Abstract: A turbofan engine includes a pulse detonation system to create a temperature rise and a pressure rise within the engine to generate thrust from the engine. The system includes a pulse detonation augmentor including a shock tube sub-system. The shock tube sub-system includes a plurality of shock tubes which mix air and fuel introduced to the pulse detonation augmentor and detonate the mixture. The detonation creates hot combustion gases which are directed from the engine to produce thrust for the engine. Alternatively, the system includes a pulse detonation augmentation system that replaces a core engine of a turbo-fan engine.