Patent Application
20250198305
A gas turbine engine typically includes a compressor section, a turbine section, and a combustion section disposed therebetween. The compressor section includes multiple stages of rotating compressor blades and stationary compressor vanes. The combustion section typically includes a plurality of combustors. The turbine section includes multiple stages of rotating turbine blades and stationary turbine vanes. Turbine blades and vanes often operate in a high temperature environment and are internally cooled.
In one aspect, a gas turbine engine includes an outer casing, an inner casing surrounded by the outer casing, the inner casing and the outer casing defining a casing cavity therebetween, a blower disposed external of the outer casing and operable to blow into a cooling flow, a turbine vane carrier disposed internal of the inner casing, and a turbine vane carrier cooling flow path arranged to direct the cooling flow into contact with the turbine vane carrier.
In one aspect, a gas turbine engine includes an outer casing, an inner casing surrounded by the outer casing, the inner casing and the outer casing defining a casing cavity therebetween, a blower disposed external of the outer casing and operable to blow into a cooling flow, a first cooling flow pipe in flow connection with the blower to receive the cooling flow and arranged to direct the cooling flow into the casing cavity, a turbine vane carrier disposed internal of the inner casing, and a turbine vane carrier cooling flow path having a cooling hole that is arranged on the inner casing to direct the cooling flow from the casing cavity into contact with the turbine vane carrier.
In one aspect, a gas turbine engine includes an outer casing, an inner casing surrounded by the outer casing, the inner casing and the outer casing defining a casing cavity therebetween, a blower disposed external of the outer casing and operable to blow into a cooling flow, a turbine vane carrier disposed internal of the outer casing, and a turbine vane carrier cooling flow path having a second cooling flow pipe that is in flow connection with the blower to receive the cooling flow and arranged to direct the cooling flow into contact with the turbine vane carrier.
To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in this description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Various technologies that pertain to systems and methods will now be described with reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals represent like elements throughout. The drawings discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged apparatus. It is to be understood that functionality that is described as being carried out by certain system elements may be performed by multiple elements. Similarly, for instance, an element may be configured to perform functionality that is described as being carried out by multiple elements. The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with reference to exemplary non-limiting embodiments.
Also, it should be understood that the words or phrases used herein should be construed broadly, unless expressly limited in some examples. For example, the terms “including”, “having”, and “comprising”, as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further, the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like. Furthermore, while multiple embodiments or constructions may be described herein, any features, methods, steps, components, etc. described with regard to one embodiment are equally applicable to other embodiments absent a specific statement to the contrary.
Also, although the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and so forth may be used herein to refer to various elements, information, functions, or acts, these elements, information, functions, or acts should not be limited by these terms. Rather these numeral adjectives are used to distinguish different elements, information, functions or acts from each other. For example, a first element, information, function, or act could be termed a second element, information, function, or act, and, similarly, a second element, information, function, or act could be termed a first element, information, function, or act, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Also, in the description, the terms “axial” or “axially” refer to a direction along a longitudinal axis of a gas turbine engine. The terms “radial” or “radially” refer to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the gas turbine engine. The terms “downstream” or “aft” refer to a direction along a flow direction. The terms “upstream” or “forward” refer to a direction against the flow direction.
In addition, the term “adjacent to” may mean that an element is relatively near to but not in contact with a further element or that the element is in contact with the further portion, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Terms “about” or “substantially” or like terms are intended to cover variations in a value that are within normal industry manufacturing tolerances for that dimension. If no industry standard is available, a variation of twenty percent would fall within the meaning of these terms unless otherwise stated.
The compressor section 102 is in fluid communication with an inlet section 108 to allow the gas turbine engine 100 to draw atmospheric air into the compressor section 102. During operation of the gas turbine engine 100, the compressor section 102 draws in atmospheric air and compresses that air for delivery to the combustion section 104. The illustrated compressor section 102 is an example of one compressor section 102 with other arrangements and designs being possible.
In the illustrated construction, the combustion section 104 includes a plurality of separate combustors 120 that each operate to mix a flow of fuel with the compressed air from the compressor section 102 and to combust that air-fuel mixture to produce a flow of high temperature, high pressure combustion gases or exhaust gas 122. Of course, many other arrangements of the combustion section 104 are possible.
The turbine section 106 includes a plurality of turbine stages 124 with each turbine stage 124 including a number of stationary turbine vanes 126 and a number of rotating turbine blades 128. The turbine stages 124 are arranged to receive the exhaust gas 122 from the combustion section 104 at a turbine inlet 130 and expand that gas to convert thermal and pressure energy into rotating or mechanical work. The turbine section 106 is connected to the compressor section 102 to drive the compressor section 102. For gas turbine engines 100 used for power generation or as prime movers, the turbine section 106 is also connected to a generator, pump, or other device to be driven. As with the compressor section 102, other designs and arrangements of the turbine section 106 are possible.
An exhaust portion 110 is positioned downstream of the turbine section 106 and is arranged to receive the expanded flow of exhaust gas 122 from the final turbine stage 124 in the turbine section 106. The exhaust portion 110 is arranged to efficiently direct the exhaust gas 122 away from the turbine section 106 to assure efficient operation of the turbine section 106. Many variations and design differences are possible in the exhaust portion 110. As such, the illustrated exhaust portion 110 is but one example of those variations.
A control system 132 is coupled to the gas turbine engine 100 and operates to monitor various operating parameters and to control various operations of the gas turbine engine 100. In preferred constructions the control system 132 is typically micro-processor based and includes memory devices and data storage devices for collecting, analyzing, and storing data. In addition, the control system 132 provides output data to various devices including monitors, printers, indicators, and the like that allow users to interface with the control system 132 to provide inputs or adjustments. In the example of a power generation system, a user may input a power output set point and the control system 132 may adjust the various control inputs to achieve that power output in an efficient manner.
The control system 132 can control various operating parameters including, but not limited to variable inlet guide vane positions, fuel flow rates and pressures, engine speed, flow control valve positions, generator load, and generator excitation. Of course, other applications may have fewer or more controllable devices. The control system 132 also monitors various parameters to assure that the gas turbine engine 100 is operating properly. Some parameters that are monitored may include inlet air temperature, compressor outlet temperature and pressure, combustor outlet temperature, fuel flow rate, generator power output, bearing temperature, and the like. Many of these measurements are displayed for the user and are logged for later review should such a review be necessary.
A turbine vane carrier 214 is disposed within the inner casing 204. The turbine vane carrier 214 carries a plurality of stationary turbine vanes 126 (not shown in
A blower 208 is disposed external of the outer casing 202. A first cooling flow pipe 212 is in flow connection with the blower 208 and passes through the outer casing 202. The blower 208 blows into a cooling flow 210 and passes the cooling flow 210 into the first cooling flow pipe 212. The cooling flow 210 is directed by the first cooling flow pipe 212 into the casing cavity 206 and flows to the exhaust portion 110. The first cooling flow pipe 212 is one of a plurality of first cooling flow pipes 212 that are circumferentially distributed around the outer casing 202. The plurality of first cooling flow pipes 212 are in flow connection with the blower 208 through a manifold.
The cooling flow 210 may include ambient air that is outside of the gas turbine engine 100 and has a standard atmospheric temperature and pressure at the georgical location of the gas turbine engine 100. The cooling flow 210 may also include other types of flow, such as flow from the compressor section 102. The blower 208 may be a centrifugal blower 208. Other types of blower 208 are also possible.
A turbine vane carrier cooling flow path 222 is arranged to direct the cooling flow 210 into contact with the turbine vane carrier 214 to cool the turbine vane carrier 214. In the construction illustrated in
The cooling hole 220 is disposed at one end of the turbine vane carrier 214. In the construction illustrated in
A filter 224 is in flow connection with the blower 208. The filter 224 filters the cooling flow 210 prior to flowing into the first cooling flow pipe 212. In the construction shown in
The cooling flow 210 may include ambient air that is outside of the gas turbine engine 100 and has a standard atmospheric temperature and pressure at the georgical location of the gas turbine engine 100. The cooling flow 210 may also include other types of flow, such as flow from the compressor section 102. The blower 208 may be a centrifugal blower 208. Other types of blower 208 are also possible.
The second cooling flow pipe 302 is disposed at one end of the turbine vane carrier 214. In the construction illustrated in
The turbine vane carrier cooling flow path 222 includes a flow control valve 304 that is disposed external of the outer casing 202 and is in flow connection with the second cooling flow pipe 302. The flow control valve 304 controls the cooling flow 210 passing through the second cooling flow pipe 302 into contact with the turbine vane carrier 214. The flow control valve 304 is moveable between an open position and a closed position to control the cooling flow 210 to the turbine vane carrier 214. The flow control valve 304 may be an on/off valve.
In the construction shown in
The construction of
During operation, with reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The turbine vane carrier cooling flow path 222 utilizes the cooling flow 210 provided by the blower 208 to cool the turbine vane carrier 214 in addition to cool the exhaust casing. The cooling flow 210 is supplied from a source that is outside of the gas turbine engine 100. The cooling flow 210 may be ambient air from the outside of the gas turbine engine 100. Such arrangement does not negatively affect the power output of the gas turbine engine 100. The cooling flow 210 from the ambient air has a standard atmospheric temperature and pressure at the georgical location of the gas turbine engine 100 which provides a stable cooling to the turbine vane carrier 214. The cooling flow 210 allows for the control and reduction of any thermal variation within the turbine vane carrier 214 and thus maintains a desired turbine blade tip clearance 218 between the turbine vane carrier 214 and the rotating turbine blade 128.
Although an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements disclosed herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form.
None of the description in the present application should be read as implying that any particular element, step, act, or function is an essential element, which must be included in the claim scope: the scope of patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims. Moreover, none of these claims are intended to invoke a means plus function claim construction unless the exact words “means for” are followed by a participle.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2023/028335 | 7/21/2023 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63370793 | Aug 2022 | US |
