The present invention relates to a combustor for a gas turbine engine, and more particularly to a cooling structure of a combustor for a gas turbine engine.
The liner of the combustor for a gas turbine engine becomes extremely hot when the gas turbine engine is in use by coming into contact with high temperature combustion gas. Therefore, various cooling measures are taken to prevent damage to the liner due to the high temperature. The previously proposed measures for cooling the liner include a technology based on convection cooling using compressed air flowing in the surrounding compressed air chamber and a technology based on film cooling of the inner surface of the liner by conducting compressed air into the combustion chamber via cooling holes formed in the liner.
JP2002-206744A discloses a combustor for a gas turbine engine having a liner provided with projections protruding from the outer surface thereof toward the compressed air chamber. According to this configuration, the projections obstruct the flow of the compressed air flowing through the compressed air chamber so that a turbulent flow of compressed air is generated around the projections. This causes convection of compressed air at a relatively low temperature causing the liner at a relatively high temperature to be cooled.
JP2018-017497A discloses a combustor for a gas turbine engine having a liner provided with through holes extending at an angle so that the compressed at a relatively high pressure flows into the combustion chamber at a relatively low pressure via the through holes to form a film of air on the inner surface of the liner. This film of air serves as a heat insulating layer.
However, the structures disclosed in JP2002-206744A and JP2018-017497A are not able to provide an adequately high cooling performance.
In view of such a problem of the prior art, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a combustor for a gas turbine engine having a structure capable of providing a high cooling performance.
To achieve such an object, one aspect of the present invention provides a combustor (100) configured to be placed in a compressed air chamber (56) of a gas turbine engine (10) and formed around an axial line to define a combustion chamber (52) for generating combusted gas therein, the combustor including a liner (102) having a liner outer surface (107) facing the compressed air chamber and a liner inner surface (106) facing the combustion chamber, wherein the liner is provided with a projection region (111) provided with a plurality of projections (110) each projecting toward the compressed air chamber from the liner outer surface and having a vertical wall portion (114) extending substantially orthogonally to a flow direction of compressed air flowing in the compressed air chamber, and a plurality of cooling holes (118) passed through the liner from the liner outer surface to the liner inner surface such that an end of each cooling hole on a side of the compressed air chamber is more downstream than an end of the cooling hole on a side of the combustion chamber with respect to the flow direction of the compressed air in the compressed air chamber, at least a part of the cooling holes being formed in the projection region.
Since the vertical wall portion of each projection faces the flow direction of the compressed air, the turbulent flow of the compressed air is promoted on the outer surface of the liner so that the heat transfer from the outer surface of the liner is promoted owing to the convection of the compressed air. Further, since a heat shielding layer is formed on the inner surface of the liner by the flow of the compressed air introduced into the combustion chamber through the cooling holes, the heat transfer from the combustion gas at a high temperature to the liner can be reduced. In particular, since at least a part of the cooling holes are provided in the projection region, the compressed air is decelerated in the flow direction thereof around the projections so that the compressed air is more actively introduced into the cooling holes. As a result, the combustor for the gas turbine can be favorably cooled.
Preferably, in this configuration, each projection is provided with a parallel wall portion (115) extending from the vertical wall portion in a downstream direction with respect to the air flow of the compressed air in parallel with an outer surface of the liner, and an inclined wall portion (116) extending from a downstream end of the parallel wall portion to the outer surface of the liner in an inclined direction with respect to the flow direction of the compressed air.
Thereby, turbulent flow of the compressed air is promoted on the outer surface of the liner so that the heat transfer from the outer surface of the liner by the convection of the compressed air is improved, and the flow rate of the compressed air introduced into the combustion chamber via the cooling holes is stabilized.
Preferably, in this configuration, each projection is formed as a ridge extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the compressed air.
Thereby, the turbulence of the compressed air flow on the outer surface of the liner is promoted so that the heat transfer from the outer surface of the liner owing to the convection is improved, the velocity distribution of the compressed air flow on the outer surface of the liner can be made comparatively uniform, and the flow rate of the compressed air introduced into the combustion chamber via the cooling holes is stabilized.
Preferably, in this configuration, the end of each cooling hole on the side of the compressed air chamber opens at the parallel wall portion or at the inclined wall portion.
Thereby, the length of each cooling hole in the axial direction can be increased so that the surface area of the inner surface of the cooling hole is maximized. As a result, the amount of heat transferred from the inner surface of the cooling hole to the compressed air flowing through the cooling hole increases so that the combustor for the gas turbine can be favorably cooled. In particular, if the end of the cooling hole on the side of the compressed air chamber is located on the inclined wall portion, the drilling work for the cooling hole can be facilitated.
Preferably, in this configuration, each cooling hole extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface of the inclined wall portion.
Thereby, drilling of the cooling hole is particularly facilitated.
Preferably, in this configuration, each cooling hole opens at a part of the liner where the projections are absent.
Thereby, drilling of the cooling hole is particularly facilitated.
Preferably, in this configuration, a cross-sectional area of each cooling hole progressively increases toward the side of the combustion chamber.
Thereby, the speed of the compressed air is decreased toward the end of the cooling hole on the side of the combustion chamber side so that a heat shielding film is particularly favorably formed on the inner surface of the liner, and the combustor for the gas turbine can be favorably cooled.
Preferably, in this configuration, each cooling hole is formed so that an extension line thereof does not interfere with the projection adjacent on the downstream side of the flow direction of the compressed air.
Thereby, drilling of the cooling holes is facilitated.
Preferably, in this configuration, at least one of the projections is provided with a notch (121) corresponding to an extension line of the cooling hole immediately upstream of the at least one projection with respect to the flow direction of the compressed air.
Thereby, the compressed air can flow into the cooling holes in a smooth manner, and the cooling holes and the notches can be formed by using a single machining process using a cutting tool such as a drill so that the manufacturing process can be simplified.
Preferably, in this configuration, the cooling holes are arranged so as to align in a circumferential direction of the liner.
Thereby, drilling of the cooling holes can be facilitated.
Preferably, in this configuration, the cooling holes are arranged so as to correspond to the projections.
Thereby, drilling of the cooling holes can be facilitated.
Thus, the present invention provides a combustor for a gas turbine engine having a structure capable of providing a high cooling performance.
An embodiment of the present invention in the form of a combustor 100 for a gas turbine engine 10 for aircraft will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an outline of the gas turbine engine 10 in which the gas turbine combustor 100 of the present embodiment is used will be described in the following with reference to
The gas turbine engine 10 has an outer casing 12 and an inner casing 14 both cylindrical in shape and disposed coaxially to each other about a common central axis X. A low-pressure rotary shaft 20 is rotatably supported by the inner casing 14 via a front first bearing 16 and a rear first bearing 18. A high-pressure rotary shaft 26 consisting of a hollow shaft coaxially surrounds the low-pressure rotary shaft 20 about the common central axis X, and is rotatably supported by the inner casing 14 and the low-pressure rotary shaft 20 via a front second bearing 22 and a rear second bearing 24, respectively.
The low-pressure rotary shaft 20 includes a substantially conical tip portion 20A protruding forward from the inner casing 14. A front fan 28 including a plurality of front fan blades is provided on the outer periphery of the tip portion 20A along the circumferential direction. A plurality of stator vanes 30 are arranged on the outer casing 12 on the downstream side of the front fan 28 at regular intervals along the circumferential direction. Downstream of the stator vanes 30, a bypass duct 32 having an annular cross-sectional shape is defined between the outer casing 12 and the inner casing 14 coaxially with the central axis X. An air compression duct 34 having an annular cross-sectional shape is defined centrally in the inner casing 14.
An axial-flow compressor 36 is provided at the inlet end of the air compression duct 34. The axial-flow compressor 36 includes a pair of rotor blade rows 38 provided on the outer periphery of the low-pressure rotary shaft 20 and a pair of stator vane rows 40 provided on the inner casing 14 in an alternating relationship in the axial direction.
An outlet of the air compression duct 34 is provided with a centrifugal compressor 42 which includes an impeller 44 fitted on the outer periphery of the high-pressure rotary shaft 26. At the outlet end of the air compression duct 34 or the upstream end of the impeller 44, a plurality of struts 46 extend radially in the inner casing 14 across the air compression duct 34. A diffuser 50 is provided at the outlet of the centrifugal compressor 42, and is fixed to the inner casing 14.
The downstream end of the diffuser 50 is provided with a combustor 100 for combusting the fuel therein. The combustor 100 includes an annular combustion chamber 52 centered around the central axis X. The compressed air supplied by the diffuser 50 is forwarded to the combustion chamber 52 via a compressed air chamber 51 defined between the outlet end of the diffuser 50 and the combustion chamber 52.
A plurality of fuel injection nozzles 70 for injecting liquid fuel into the combustion chamber 52 are attached to the inner casing 14 at regular intervals along the circumferential direction around the central axis X. Each fuel injection nozzle 70 injects liquid fuel into the combustion chamber 52. In the combustion chamber 52, high-temperature combustion gas is generated by combustion of a mixture of the liquid fuel injected from the liquid fuel injection nozzle 70 and the compressed air supplied from the compressed air chamber 51.
A high-pressure turbine 60 and a low-pressure turbine 62 are provided on the downstream side of the combustion chamber 52. The high-pressure turbine 60 includes a stator vane row 58 fixed to the outlet end of the combustion chamber 52 which is directed rearward, and a rotor blade row 64 fixed to the outer periphery of the high-pressure rotary shaft 26 on the downstream side of the rotor blade row 64. The low-pressure turbine 62 is located on the downstream side of the high-pressure turbine 60, and includes a plurality of stator vane rows 66 fixed to the inner casing 14 and a plurality of rotor blade rows 68 provided on the outer periphery of the low-pressure rotary shaft 20 so as to alternate with the stator vane rows 66 along the axial direction.
When the gas turbine engine 10 is started, the high-pressure rotary shaft 26 is rotationally driven by a starter motor (not shown). When the high-pressure rotary shaft 26 is rotationally driven, compressed air compressed by the centrifugal compressor 42 is supplied to the combustion chamber 52, and the air-liquid fuel mixture burns in the combustion chamber 52 to generate combustion gas. The combustion gas is impinged upon the blades of the rotor blade rows 64 and 68 to rotate the high-pressure rotary shaft 26 and the low-pressure rotary shaft 20. As a result, the front fan 28 rotates, and the axial-flow compressor 36 and the centrifugal compressor 42 are operated, so that compressed air is supplied to the combustion chamber 52, and the gas turbine engine 10 continues to operate even after the starter motor is disengaged.
Further, a part of the air drawn by the front fan 28 during the operation of the gas turbine engine 10 passes through the bypass duct 32 and is ejected to the rear to generate additional thrust. The rest of the air drawn by the front fan 28 is supplied to the combustion chamber 52, and forms a part of fuel mixture jointly with the liquid fuel. The combustion gas generated by the combustion of the mixture drives the low-pressure rotary shaft 20 and the high-pressure rotary shaft 26, and then is ejected rearward to generate a large part of the thrust provided by this gas turbine engine 10.
The details of the combustor 100 for a gas turbine engine according to the present embodiment will be described in the following.
The combustor 100 includes an annular liner 102 coaxial with the central axis X of the gas turbine engine 10. The liner 102 includes an annular main body 103 including a side wall substantially parallel to the axial direction, and a dome portion 104 connected to the rear end of the main body 103 and whose diameter gradually decreases rearward. A combustion chamber 52 is defined by a liner inner surface 106, which is a surface of the liner 102 facing the combustion chamber 52, and a liner outer surface 107, which is a surface of the liner 102 facing the compressed air chamber 56. The front end of the liner 102, or more specifically, the front end of the main body 103, is connected to the inlet of the high-pressure turbine 60 via a tapering duct portion. The illustrated combustor 100 for a gas turbine engine is an annular type combustor, but may also be a can type combustor.
As shown in
The flow direction A of the compressed air flowing in the compressed air chamber 56 is substantially parallel to the axial direction while the ridges 110 extend in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the ridges 110 extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to the flow direction A of the compressed air or on a plane substantially orthogonal to the flow direction A of the compressed air. In other words, the ridges 110 consist of a plurality of annular ridges provided at predetermined intervals in the axial direction.
Each ridge 110 includes a vertical wall portion 114 that opposes the compressed air flow direction A in a substantially orthogonal relationship, a parallel wall portion 115 extending from the upper end of the vertical wall portion 114 toward the downstream side of the compressed air flow direction A substantially parallel to the liner outer surface 107, and an inclined wall portion 116 extending from the downstream end of the parallel wall portion 115 to the liner outer surface 107 at an angle. In this embodiment, the vertical wall portion 114 extends in a direction orthogonal to the central axis X. The inclined wall portion 116 is inclined from the rear end of the parallel wall portion 115 toward the liner outer surface 107 (along the axial direction) so as to come closer to the liner outer surface 107 as one moves in the flow direction A of the compressed air.
A plurality of cooling holes 118 are passed through the liner 102 so as to extend from the liner inner surface 106 to the liner outer surface 107. The cooling holes 118 are inclined toward the downstream side of flow direction B of the combustion gas as one moves from the liner outer surface 107 to the liner inner surface 106 (inclined toward the downstream side of the flow direction A of the compressed air as one moves from the liner inner surface 106 to the liner outer surface 107). The cooling holes 118 extend in the axial direction in side view (as seen from a radial direction). Each cooling hole 118 consists of a straight drilled hole that opens at the surface of the inclined wall portion 116 and extends in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the inclined wall portion 116. The inclination angle of the cooling hole 118 is preferably 45 degrees or more, and more preferably 60 degrees or more with respect to the normal direction of the liner outer surface 107.
In a gas turbine engine, since the pressure inside the compressed air chamber 56 is usually higher than that inside the combustion chamber 52, a part of the compressed air flowing in the compressed air chamber 56 flows into the combustion chamber 52 through the cooling holes 118. Therefore, the end of each cooling hole 118 on the side of the compressed air chamber 56 may be referred to as an inlet 119, and the end of the cooling hole 118 on side of the combustion chamber 52 may be referred to as an outlet 120. In the present embodiment, each cooling hole 118 is formed as a cylindrical hole having a constant diameter, but the diameter of the cooling hole 118 may vary along the length thereof.
The fluid dynamic actions of the ridges 110 and the cooling holes 118 of the present embodiment will be described. First, the compressed air flowing in the compressed air chamber 56 in the flow direction A substantially parallel to the axial direction collides with the vertical wall portion 114 of the ridges 110 in the projection region 111. As a result, the flow of the compressed air in the flow direction A is obstructed, and the turbulent flow of the compressed air is promoted on the downstream side of each ridge 110 with respect to the flow direction A of the compressed air. As a result, the heat transfer from the liner outer surface 107 is improved owing to the convection of the compressed air so that the projection region 111 of the liner 102 of the combustor 100 provided with the ridges 110 is favorably cooled. Further, since the pressure inside the compressed air chamber 56 is higher than that inside the combustion chamber 52, a part of the compressed air is guided into the cooling holes 118 through the inlets 119 thereof opened in the inclined wall portions 116. Thus, in the present embodiment, the cooling holes 118 are arranged in the projection region 111 so that the flow of compressed air introduced into the combustion chamber 52 through the cooling hole 118 is promoted.
The compressed air introduced into the outlet 120 of each cooling hole 118 is expelled into the combustion chamber 52. Since the cooling hole 118 is inclined from the liner outer surface 107 to the liner inner surface 106 toward the downstream side with respect to the flow direction B of the combustion gas, the compressed air is blown out in a substantially same direction as the flow direction B of the combustion gas, and the radial component of the flow velocity of the compressed air flowing into the combustion chamber 52 is relatively small. As a result, the compressed air flows along the liner inner surface 106 so that a heat shielding layer is formed on the liner inner surface 106. Since the heat shielding layer can effectively protect the liner inner surface 106 of the high temperature combustion gas, the temperature rise of the liner 102 of the combustor 100 for a gas turbine can be minimized.
In
In the combustor 100 shown in
Further, depending on the height of the ridges 110 and the distance between the adjoining ridges 110, the drill for forming the cooling hole 118 may interfere with the adjacent ridge 110. Therefore, in the modified embodiment shown in
In the modified embodiments shown in
The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, but are not limited by such embodiments, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, laser machining may be used for forming the cooling holes 118 instead of drilling.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021-053778 | Mar 2021 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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2002206744 | Jul 2002 | JP |
2018017497 | Feb 2018 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220307693 A1 | Sep 2022 | US |