This disclosure relates generally to a gas turbine engine and more particularly to a liner cap assembly for a gas turbine engine combustor.
Gas turbine engines, preferably of an industrial type, use one or more combustors that burn fuel to rotationally drive a turbine section of the engine. Some combustors include a liner cap assembly at a leading end of the combustor. The liner cap assembly supports fuel injection components, for example.
Many gas turbine engines include a dry low NOx (DLN) system for reducing emissions. Some DLN systems premix the fuel and air prior to their injection as a mixture into the combustion chamber. The DLN systems can create pressure pulsations during combustion that subjects the liner cap assembly to vibratory deformations that are detrimental to component fatigue life and can cause premature failure of the entire combustion system. This effect may be exacerbated if the vibratory frequencies are close to the natural frequency of the liner cap assembly thus shortening part life. To this end, it is desirable to stiffen the liner cap assembly both to strengthen it and to raise its natural frequency above the likely frequencies of the DLN pressure pulsations.
A liner cap assembly is disclosed for use in a gas turbine engine combustor. The assembly includes an outer ring that extends along an axis. Multiple struts are arranged circumferentially about an inner diameter of the outer ring and extend radially inwardly therefrom. An inner ring and a plate are supported by the struts. The plate is arranged with the inner ring so that it is aligned axially with the struts. The plate includes multiple circumferential openings that support a collar and a premix tube at each of the openings. The plate is arranged between leading and trailing edges of the struts to provide a stiffened liner cap assembly that is robust and resistant to the vibrations typically found in dry low NOx systems.
Other advantages of the disclosure can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
An industrial gas turbine engine 10 is schematically shown in
The combustor 12 includes a combustor housing 18 that is secured to the structure 11. The combustor housing 18 includes an outer sleeve 20 that is arranged about a liner 22 that provides the combustion chamber, providing an annular passage 24. The outer sleeve 20 includes multiple holes 28 that permit the air A to enter the annular passage 24.
A liner cap assembly 30 is received by the outer sleeve 20 and secured to the combustor housing 18. The liner cap assembly 30 receives multiple fuel injectors 32, in one example, five injectors. The fuel injectors 32 deliver fuel to premix tubes 42 and then to the combustion chamber, where it is ignited by an igniter 34. The combusted mixture is delivered through a transition duct 26 to the turbine section 16 where it is expanded to rotationally drive the turbine section 16. A cover 36 is arranged over a forward end of the combustor housing 18 to support the fuel injectors 32.
The liner cap assembly 30 includes multiple collars 38, which receive the fuel injectors 32. A swirler 40 is arranged within each collar 38 about its respective fuel injector 32, in one example. The swirler 40 swirls the air A as it enters each passageway provided by its respective collar 38, which are generally cylindrical in shape. The collars 38 are mounted to a plate 46 that supports generally cylindrical premix tubes 42 that are arranged coaxially with their respective collar 38. The swirler 40 and premix tubes 42 of the liner cap assembly 30 provide swirling fuel-air mixtures to the combustion chamber 20 where they are burned. However, such dry low NOx systems can subject the liner cap assembly 30 to detrimental vibrations. To this end, it is desirable to provide a robust liner cap assembly 30 with resonant frequencies high enough that the resonance will not be excited by the DLN pressure pulsations.
Referring to
The plate 46 includes circumferentially arranged openings 66. One side of the plate 46 includes an annular recess 60 about each opening 66 that receives an outwardly extending radial lip 62 at one end of the collar 38. Tabs 68 are arranged over the radial lip 62 and secured to the plate 46, for example, by welding, to retain the collar 38 relative thereto. The collar 38 extends from the radial lip 62 to an end 64 that receives the fuel injector 32 and swirler 40.
The inner ring 56 is arranged within the outer ring 52 and is coaxial with it about an axis X. In one example, the inner ring 56 extends from and is supported by the plate 46 on a side opposite the side that supports the collars 38. The premix tubes 42 are aligned with their respective openings 66 and arranged radially inwardly of the inner ring 56. The premix tubes 42 extend axially from the plate 46 to a rear plate 70.
An impingement plate subassembly 72 is secured to the inner ring 56 by fasteners 74. A spring 76 is supported on an outer surface of the impingement plate subassembly 72. The spring 76 is received by the outer sleeve 20 (
Although an example embodiment has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of the claims. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content.