Patent Grant
9335052
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine engines. More particularly, the subject matter relates to cross-fire tubes located in combustor assemblies.
In gas turbine engines, a combustor converts chemical energy of a fuel and air-fuel mixture into thermal energy. The thermal energy is conveyed by a fluid, often air from a compressor, via a transition piece to a turbine where the thermal energy is converted to mechanical energy. These fluids flow downstream to one or more turbines that extract energy therefrom to produce the mechanical energy output as well as power to drive the compressor.
A combustion system for a gas turbine engine typically includes a number of generally cylindrical combustors disposed about the turbine in an annular arrangement, with each combustor supplying a motive fluid to an arcuate section of a turbine nozzle. In some cases, short conduits or “cross fire tubes” interconnect the combustion chambers of adjoining combustors, where the cross fire tubes provide for the ignition of fuel in one chamber from ignited fuel in an adjacent chamber in order to obviate the need for providing a spark plug for each combustor.
Air may be directed between a flow sleeve and liner of the combustor assembly, where the air is received at a head end of the combustor is used for combustion and also cools combustion components it flows across. In some cases, cross fire tube assemblies may interfere or disrupt air flow to the combustor head end and, thus, adversely affect combustion and turbine efficiency.
According to one aspect of the invention, a combustor assembly for a pair of adjacent combustors includes a first passage formed in a liner of a first combustor and a flow sleeve disposed outside the liner of the first combustor, wherein the flow sleeve includes a window and a second passage aligned with the first passage. The assembly also includes a cross-fire tube disposed in the first passage to provide fluid communication between the first combustor and a second combustor and a retention clip disposed through the window to urge the cross-fire tube against an outer surface of the liner to enable the cross-fire tube to receive fluid through the first passage.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method for assembly of a combustor apparatus includes positioning a cross-fire tube to provide fluid communication between a first combustion chamber of a first combustor and a second combustion chamber of a second combustor, abutting an end of the cross-fire tube against an outer surface of a liner of the first combustion chamber, where the end of the cross-fire tube is concentric with a first passage in the liner, placing a retention clip through a window in a flow sleeve of the first combustion chamber, receiving the cross-fire tube within a first portion of the retention clip disposed radially outside of the flow sleeve and coupling a second portion of the retention clip to a flange of the flow sleeve, thereby urging the end of the cross-fire tube against the outer surface of the liner.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
In an aspect, the combustor 104 uses liquid and/or gas fuel, such as natural gas or a hydrogen rich synthetic gas, to run the turbine engine. For example, fuel nozzles 110 are in fluid communication with a fuel supply 112 and pressurized air from the compressor 102. The fuel nozzles 110 create an air-fuel mix, and discharge the air-fuel mix into the combustor 104, thereby causing a combustion that creates a hot pressurized exhaust gas. The combustor 104 directs the hot pressurized exhaust gas through a transition piece into a turbine nozzle (or “stage one nozzle”), causing turbine 106 rotation as the gas exits the nozzle or vane and gets directed to the turbine bucket or blade. The rotation of turbine 106 causes the shaft 108 to rotate, thereby compressing the air as it flows into the compressor 102.
In embodiments, a combustion system includes a plurality of cylindrical combustors circumferentially arranged about a turbine. One or more of the combustors is provided with a spark plug assembly for igniting a mixture of fuel and air in a combustion chamber therein. Cross-ignition assemblies are positioned between adjacent combustors to provide fluid communication between combustion chambers, as shown in
In some embodiments, the cross fire tubes are coupled to a liner and/or flow sleeve of each combustor, where the coupling prevents movement of the cross fire tubes and leakage of air from outside the liner into the combustion chamber. Embodiments of the cross fire assemblies provide improved coupling and positioning of the cross fire tubes, thus reducing or eliminating a likelihood of air leaks into combustion chambers. In addition, an embodiment of a retention clip is provided that couples and retains the cross fire tube in place, where the retention does not substantially disrupt the air flow through an annulus formed between the liner and flow sleeve.
As used herein, “downstream” and “upstream” are terms that indicate a direction relative to the flow of working fluid through the turbine. As such, the term “downstream” refers to a direction that generally corresponds to the direction of the flow of working fluid, and the term “upstream” generally refers to the direction that is opposite of the direction of flow of working fluid. The term “radial” refers to movement or position perpendicular to an axis or center line. It may be useful to describe parts that are at differing radial positions with regard to an axis. In this case, if a first component resides closer to the axis than a second component, it may be stated herein that the first component is “radially inward” of the second component. If, on the other hand, the first component resides further from the axis than the second component, it can be stated herein that the first component is “radially outward” or “outboard” of the second component. The term “axial” refers to movement or position parallel to an axis. Finally, the term “circumferential” refers to movement or position around an axis. Although the following discussion primarily focuses on gas turbines, the concepts discussed are not limited to gas turbines and may apply to any suitable rotating machinery, including steam turbines. Accordingly, the discussion herein is directed to gas turbine embodiments, but may apply to steam turbines and other turbomachinery.
In an embodiment, the cross fire tube 204 includes a first tube 228 and a second tube 230, where first and second tubes telescope relative to each other to provide a simplified installation and allow the tube to adjust to variations in assemblies. A spring 226 or other biasing member may also provide retention of the cross fire tube 204 in position against components of the combustors 202 and 206. For example, the spring 226 urges the cross fire tube 204 against the radially outer surface 250 of the liner 214. In an embodiment, the spring 226 positions and retains the cross fire tube 204 in addition to the retention clip 212. In another embodiment, the cross fire tube is retained only by retention clips.
Still referring to
As depicted, the portion of the retention clip 232 located in the annulus 238 substantially conforms to a radially inner surface 244 (i.e., radially inner with respect to an axis 262 of combustor 206) of the flow sleeve 236. Similarly, the portion of the retention clip 212 located in the annulus 218 substantially conforms to a radially inner surface 224 (i.e., radially inner with respect to an axis 260 of combustor 202) of the flow sleeve 216. By substantially conforming to the inner surfaces of the respective flow sleeves, the retention clips 212 and 232 do not substantially disrupt the air flows 220 and 240, respectively, directed to head ends of respective combustors 202 and 206. As discussed herein, air flow is not substantially disrupted when air flows along a path without substantial turbulence that can lead to undesirable performance of the combustor. Accordingly, reducing the likelihood of air flow 220, 240 disruption can lead to improved combustor performance. In an embodiment, both ends of the cross fire tube 104 are positioned and retained in the same arrangement and, therefore, for ease of explanation will only be described with respect to the end positioned in combustor 202 in
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140123619 A1 | May 2014 | US |
