The present invention relates generally to combustion gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to combustion gas turbine engines that employ catalytic combustion principles in the environment of a lean premix burner.
As is known in the relevant art, combustion gas turbine engines typically include a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Large quantities of air or other gases are compressed in the compressor section and are delivered to the combustor section. The pressurized air in the combustor section is then mixed with fuel and combusted. The combustion gases flow out of the combustor section and into the turbine section where the combustion gases power a turbine and thereafter exit the engine. Commonly, the turbine section includes a shaft that drives the compressor section, and the energy of the combustion gases is greater than that required to run the compressor section. As such, the excess energy is taken directly from the turbine/compressor shaft to typically drive an electrical generator or may be employed in the form of thrust, depending upon the specific application and the nature of the engine.
As is further known in the relevant art, some combustion gas turbine engines employ a lean premix burner that mixes air with the fuel to result in an extremely lean-burn mixture. Such a lean-burn mixture, when combusted, beneficially results in the reduced production of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which is desirable in order to comply with applicable emission regulations, as well as for other reasons.
The combustion of such lean mixtures can, however, be somewhat unstable. Catalytic combustion principles have been applied to such lean combustion systems. Catalytic combustion techniques typically involve preheating a mixture of fuel and air and flowing the preheated mixture over a catalytic material that may be in the form of a noble metal such as platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium or the like. When the fuel/air mixture physically contacts the catalyst, the fuel/air mixture spontaneously begins to combust. Such combustion raises the temperature of the fuel/air mixture, which in turn enhances the stability of the combustion process. The requirement to preheat the fuel/air mixture to improve the stability of the catalytic process reduces the efficiency of the operation. A more recent improvement splits the compressed air that ultimately contributes to the lean-burn mixture into two components; mixing approximately 10-20% with the fuel that passes over the catalyst while the remainder of the compressed air passes through a cooling duct, which supports the catalyst on its exterior wall. The rich fuel/air mixture burns at a much lower temperature upon interaction with the catalyst and the coolant air flowing through the duct functions to cool the catalyst to prevent its degradation. Approximately 20% of the fuel is burned in the catalytic stage and the fuel-rich air mixture is combined with the cooling gas just downstream of the catalytic stage and ignited in a second stage to complete combustion and form the working gas for the turbine section.
In previous catalytic combustion systems, the catalytic materials typically were applied to the outer surface of a ceramic substrate to form a catalytic body. The catalytic body was then mounted within the combustor section of the combustion gas turbine engine. Ceramic materials were often selected for the substrate in as much as the operating temperature of a combustor section typically can reach 1327° C. (2420° F.), and ceramics were considered as the best substrate for use in such a hostile environment, based on considerations of cost, effectiveness and other considerations. In some instances, the ceramic substrate was in the form of a ceramic washcoat applied to an underlying metal substrate, the catalyst being applied to the ceramic washcoat.
The use of such ceramic substrates for the application of catalytic materials has not, however, been without limitation. When exposed to typical process temperatures within the combustor section, the ceramic washcoat can be subjected to spalling and/or cracking due to poor adhesion of the ceramic washcoat to the underlying metal substrate and/or mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the two materials. Such failure of the ceramic washcoat subsequently reduces catalytic performance. It is thus desired to provide an improved catalytic body that substantially reduces or eliminates the potential for reduced catalytic performance due to use of ceramic materials.
In certain lean premix burner systems, such as the two-stage catalytic combustors described above, oxidation of the advanced nickel-based alloys, such as Haynes RTM230™ and Haynes RTM214™ commonly employed as the substrate for the ceramic washcoat, at temperatures of 900° C. (1650° F.), not only lead to the formation of either chromia- or alumina-enriched external oxide layer, but also to internal oxidation of the metal substrate. With time, the unaffected cross-sectional wall thickness area of the catalytic combustion substrate tubes decreases and gives rise to a potential reduction in the ultimate load-bearing capabilities of the substrate tube. It is thus desired that an improved catalytic body be provided, that can be used in conjunction with such a multistage combustor section without exhibiting such oxide degradation.
A further understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The preferred embodiment of this invention is a catalyst supporting structure for a catalytic combustor. The catalyst supporting structure provides for improved bonding of the catalyst-containing coating with the underlying metal substrate, and renders the metal support structure resistant to oxidation that would otherwise degradate the support capability of the structure over time.
In use, air is drawn in through the compressor 12, where it is compressed and driven towards the combustor 14, with the air entering through air intake 26. From the air intake 26, the air will typically enter the combustor at combustor entrance 28, wherein it is mixed with fuel. The combustor 14 ignites the fuel/air mixture, thereby forming a working gas. This working gas will typically be approximately 1327° C. to 1593° C. (2420° F. to 2900° F.). The working gas expands through the transition member 30, through the turbine 16, being guided across the blades 18 by the vanes 22. As the gas passes through the turbine 16, it rotates the blades 18 and shaft 20, thereby transmitting usable mechanical work through the shaft 20. The combustion turbine 10 also includes a cooling system 24 dimensioned and configured to supply a coolant, for example, steam or compressed air, to the blades 18, vanes 22 and other turbine components.
Referring to
The alternating channels are configured so that one set of channels will include a catalytic surface coating, and the adjacent set of channels will be uncoated, thereby forming channels for cooling air adjacent to the catalyst-coating channels. These alternating channels may be formed by applying the catalytic coating to either the inside surface or the outside surface of tubular subassemblies. One preferred embodiment described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/965,573, filed on Sep. 27, 2001 (Attorney Docket No. 01 P17905US), applies the catalytic coating to the outside surfaces of the top and bottom of each rectangular, tubular subassembly, which are then stacked in a spaced array, so that the catalyst-coated channels 144 are formed between adjacent, rectangular, tubular subassemblies, and the cooling air channels are formed within the rectangular, tubular subassemblies. Some preferred catalyst materials include platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, and the like.
Referring to
Referring to
Tests have shown that oxidation of the advanced nickel-based alloys such as Haynes RTM 230 ™ and Haynes RTM214 ™ at temperatures of 900° C. (1650° F.) will not only lead to the formation of either a chromia- or alumina-enriched external oxide layer, but also to internal oxidation of the metal substrate. With time, the unaffected cross-sectional wall thickness area of the catalytic combustion substrate tubes decreased, likely resulting in a reduction in the ultimate load-bearing capabilities of the substrate tube. In order to prevent surface oxidation, internal metal wall oxidation, and a possible reduction of the load-bearing area of the catalytic combustion support tubes from occurring, this invention applies a coating to the walls of the cooling air channel, which is preferably, but not required to be, the inside diameter surface of the tubes, which is in direct contact with the flowing air (
The primary function of the coating 304 along the inside surface 308 of the tube, rectangular assembly, or duct (
Compositionally similar to the coating applied to the inside surface 308 of the tube, rectangular assembly, or duct, the coating 302 applied to the external surface 306 of said components (
As described above with regard to
An innovative method for forming such a coating 312 that results in a protective bonding layer 318 between the substrate 310 and the coating 312 includes creating a suspension of ceramic oxide particles in a fluid medium where surface polymerization and bonding results between adjacent ceramic particles such as when undergoing a heating step. For example, ceramic oxide particles may be added to an aqueous solution to form a fluid suspension of hydrated ceramic particles capable of forming a network or polymerization of adjacent/adjoining ceramic particles, such as after being heated at a temperature of at least 125° C. (260° F.). In an embodiment, the ceramic particles 316 included in the suspension may range in size from 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers, and may preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 5 micrometers, and may more preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 1 micrometer. The method further includes combining the first fluid suspension ceramic particles 316 with a second fluid suspension of metal particles 314, such as aluminum particles, to form a mixed fluid suspension. For example, the metal particles 314 used in the second suspension may range in size from 0.01 micrometers to 10 micrometers, and may preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 10 micrometers, and may more preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometer to 5 micrometers. The resulting mixture may then be applied to a metal alloy substrate 310 to form a metal-ceramic coating 312 on the substrate 310 so that the metal particles in the metal-ceramic layer 312 react with the metal alloy of the substrate 310 to form a diffusion barrier layer 318 between the metal alloy substrate 310 and the metal-ceramic layer 312. Advantageously, the intermetallic and/or spinel phase barrier layer 318 provides thermal and oxidative protection to the underlying substrate 310.
In a further aspect of the invention, the metal-ceramic layer 312 may be made catalytically active by addition of a catalyst species. In the past, catalytic coatings, such as catalytic washcoats, have been formed by preparing a fluid suspension of ceramic particles to serve as a support carrier for a catalyst species. A fluid solution of a dissolved or colloidal catalyst species is then prepared and added to the fluid suspension of ceramic particles to form a fluid mixture having the catalyst species co-dispersed among the ceramic particles. The mixture is then applied to a substrate and cured, such as by using a process of calcining. However, using this conventional process, the catalyst species may agglomerate or coalesce within the mixture forming localized concentrations of catalyst species within the mixture. When applied to a substrate, agglomeration of the catalyst within the coating reduces catalytic activity of the applied coating. In another aspect, the metal-ceramic layer 312 may be applied to the surface of the metal substrate 310. After fully or partially calcining the metal-ceramic layer 312 applied as a washcoat, a catalyst-containing solution may be incipient wetted onto a surface of the metal-ceramic layer 312, whereby the catalyst resides along the surface as well as infiltrating into pores of the metal-ceramic layer 312.
The inventors have developed an innovative method of preparing a catalytic coating to achieve improved dispersion of a catalytic species within a catalytic coating. The method may be used to form the metallic ceramic catalytic coating described previously for coating nickel-based alloys substrates used in catalytic combustors. The method includes first preparing a ceramic powder comprising particles of a ceramic material doped with a catalyst species. Doped, as used herein, means that a catalyst species has been associated with each of the particles of the ceramic material by methods such as chemically binding the catalyst species to or within the ceramic particles or physically attaching the catalyst species to the particles. For example, chemically binding catalyst species to the ceramic particles may include using an ion exchange method as described in U.S Pat. No. 6,207,130. Accordingly, ions of a catalyst species may be implanted within a ceramic chemical structure, such as a hexa-aluminate of the form MAI11O18 or MAI12O19, where M may include a catalyst species such as platinum (Pt) or palladium (Pd) and the resulting doped hexa-aluminate particles may be used to prepare the ceramic powder.
Physically binding the catalyst species to the ceramic particles may include impregnating particles of the catalyst species into respective surfaces of the particles of a ceramic material, for example, by combining a fluid suspension of ceramic particles and fluid suspension of catalyst species particles and calcining the resulting fluid suspension mixture, causing the particles of the catalyst species to become adhered to the surfaces of respective ceramic particles, such as by being impregnated into cracks and crevices in the surfaces. In an aspect of the invention, the catalyst species particles, or catalytic crystallites, may range in size from less than 1 nanometer to 1 micrometer, and may preferably range in size from 1 nanometer to 10 nanometers. The ceramic particles may range in size from about 10 nanometers to about 10 micrometers, and may preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 5 micrometers, and may more preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 1 micrometer.
The method further includes preparing a fluid suspension, such as an aqueous suspension, of the doped ceramic particles having a desired ceramic particle concentration. For example, the ceramic particle concentration may range from about 50% to 75%. The fluid suspension of the doped ceramic particles is combined with metal particles (such as aluminum particles) to form a mixed fluid suspension having a desired metal particle concentration. For example, the mixed fluid suspension may have a metal particle concentration ranging from about 25% to 50%. In an aspect of the invention, the metal particles may range in size from 0.01 micrometers to 10 micrometers, and may preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 10 micrometers, and may more preferably range in size from 0.1 micrometers to 5 micrometers. Because the catalyst species are associated with the ceramic particles prior to forming the fluid suspension of the particles, the catalyst species remain associated with the ceramic particles and agglomeration of the catalyst species is reduced compared to conventional methods of mixing suspensions of ceramic particles and catalyst species solutions and/or through the use of incipient wetting techniques. In an embodiment of the invention, a binding agent, such as chromium phosphate, may be added to any of the above described suspensions to form a chemical bonding network between the ceramic particles. In another embodiment, the doped ceramic particles (such as alumina, titania, zirconia, ceria, and the like) and/or hexa-aluminate particles are combined with metal particles (such as aluminum particles) and a binder, such as a chromium phosphate, to enhance the catalytic activity of a metallic-ceramic catalytic combustion system such as described above.
The resulting mixed fluid suspension is then applied to a metallic substrate 402 (such as a Haynes RTM 230 ™ or Haynes RTM 214 ™ nickel alloy) to form a metallic ceramic catalytically active layer 400 as depicted in
In an aspect of the invention depicted in
In an aspect of the invention depicted in
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, the catalyst described as being applied to the outside diameter surface of the catalytic tubes could be applied instead, or as well as, to the inside diameter surface with the cooling air passing over the outside diameter surface. Additionally, the terms “tubes” and “channels” have been used interchangeably and shall also encompass ducts or other conduits of any geometric shape that can be employed for the foregoing described purpose. Accordingly, the particular embodiments disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full breath of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/672,772 and it claims benefit of the Sep. 26, 2003 filing date thereof.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10672772 | Sep 2003 | US |
Child | 10992183 | Nov 2004 | US |