The present invention relates to a gas turbine including a plurality of combustors configured to mix and combust fuel with compressed air to generate combustion gas, and a turbine having a rotor that is rotated by the combustion gas from the plurality of combustors, and particularly, to a transition piece of a combustor.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-203016, filed Sep. 16, 2011, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Gas turbines include a compressor that brings in the outside air to generate compressed air, a plurality of combustors that mix and combust fuel with the compressed air to generate combustion gas, and a turbine having a rotor that is rotated by the combustion gas from the plurality of combustors. The plurality of combustors are annularly arranged with a rotor as a center. Each combustor has a transition piece through which combustion gas is flowed to a gas inlet of the turbine.
If the combustion gas flows out of the transition piece of the combustor, the combustion gas enters a combustion gas flow channel of the turbine from the gas inlet of the turbine. In this case, a Karman's vortex street may be formed in the flow of the combustion gas immediately after flowing out of the transition piece, an unsteady pressure fluctuation that has this Karman's vortex street as a vibration source may resonate at an acoustic eigenvalue, and a large pressure fluctuation may occur, which leads to an operating load.
Thus, in the technique described in the following PTL 1, a large pressure fluctuation is suppressed by limiting a dimension in an axis direction between a downstream end of a transition piece and an upstream end of a first stage turbine vane, a dimension in a circumferential direction between the upstream end of the first stage turbine vane and the center between transition pieces that are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction centered on a rotor, or the like to specific ranges.
[PTL 1]: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2009-197650
The technique described in the above PTL 1 can reliably suppress a large pressure fluctuation at the downstream portion of the transition piece. However, it is desired to further suppress the pressure fluctuation at the downstream portion of the transition piece and to further enhance the gas turbine efficiency.
Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a gas turbine that can further suppress pressure fluctuation at a downstream portion of a transition piece of a combustor and can further enhance gas turbine efficiency, so as to meet such requests.
(1) A gas turbine according to a first aspect of the invention includes a plurality of combustors configured to mix and combust fuel with compressed air to generate combustion gas; and a turbine having a rotor that is rotated by the combustion gas from the plurality of combustors. The plurality of combustors are annularly arranged with the rotor as a center and have a transition piece through which combustion gas is flowed to a gas inlet of the turbine. An inner surface of at least one lateral wall of a pair of lateral walls that constitute a downstream portion of the transition piece of the combustor and face each other in a circumferential direction of the rotor forms an inclination surface that inclines down to a downstream end of the transition piece in a direction approaching the transition piece of another adjacent combustor that gradually draws closer as it goes to the downstream side of the transition piece in an axis direction.
Even after the combustion gas that flows toward the downstream side through the inside of the transition piece has flowed out of the inside of the transition piece, the combustion gas tends to flow in a direction along the inner surfaces of the lateral walls. Therefore, a Karman's vortex street may be formed on the downstream side of a downstream end surface of the transition piece.
In the gas turbine, the inner surfaces of the lateral walls on the downstream side of the transition piece form inclination surfaces down to the downstream end of the transition piece. Therefore, flows along the inner surfaces of the lateral walls of the transition piece of the combustor that are adjacent to each other join each other at an angle on the downstream side of the downstream end surface of the transition piece. Therefore, formation of the Karman's vortex street on the downstream side of the downstream end surface of the transition piece can be suppressed, and the pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece can be suppressed.
(2) In the gas turbine of the above (1), the turbine may include a plurality of first stage turbine vanes arranged annularly along the gas inlet with the rotor as a center, and each of the first stage turbine vanes may be formed such that a chord direction in which a chord extends inclines with respect to the circumferential direction. Where a side to which a downstream end of the first stage turbine vane is located with respect to an upstream end of the first stage turbine vane in the circumferential direction is defined as a blade inclination side, at least one lateral wall of the transition piece may be a lateral wall on the blade inclination side out of the pair of lateral walls of the transition piece facing each other in the circumferential direction.
Where the inner surface of only the lateral wall on the blade inclination side out of the pair of lateral walls of the transition piece facing each other in the circumferential direction is the inclination surface, the flow direction of the combustion gas guided by the inclination surface and the flow direction of the combustion gas guided by the first stage turbine vane are almost the same. As a result, the flow of the combustion gas from the transition piece to the first stage turbine vane becomes smooth. For this reason, even if the inner surface of only the lateral wall on the blade inclination side is the inclination surface, the pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece can be effectively suppressed. In addition, the chord is a line segment that connects the upstream end and downstream end of a turbine vane.
(3) In the gas turbine of the above (1), both of the inner surfaces of the pair of lateral walls of the transition piece facing each other in the circumferential direction may form the inclination surfaces.
In the gas turbine, formation of the Karman's vortex street on the downstream side of the respective downstream end surfaces of the transition piece connected from the inner surfaces of the pair of lateral walls of the transition piece can be suppressed.
(4) In the gas turbine of any one of the above (1) to (3), a ratio A/B of a dimension A in the axis direction from an upstream end of the inclination surface to a downstream end thereof, to a dimension B in the circumferential direction from the upstream end of the inclination surface to the downstream end thereof, may be 1 to 8.
(5) In the gas turbine according to any one of the above (1) to (4), the inclination surface may include a curved surface, which swells toward the axis of the transition piece and toward the downstream side, in at least a portion thereof.
(6) In the gas turbine of any one of the above (1) to (5), the ratio of the number of the combustors to the number of the first stage turbine vanes may be an odd number that is equal to or more than 2:3, and a ratio S/P of a dimension S in the circumferential direction from an intermediate point between the transition piece of the combustor and the transition piece of the other combustor to the upstream end of the first stage turbine vane nearest to the intermediate point in the circumferential direction, to a pitch dimension P of the plurality of first stage turbine vanes, may be equal to or less than 0.05, between 0.2 to 0.55, or between 0.7 to 1.0.
In the gas turbine, any first stage turbine vanes are present relatively closely in the circumferential direction, even at the respective downstream ends of the transition piece connected from the respective inner surfaces of the pair of lateral walls of the transition piece of any combustor. Therefore, pressure fluctuation on the downstream side of the respective transition pieces can be suppressed due to the presence of the first stage turbine vanes.
(7) In the gas turbine of any one of the above (1) to (6), a ratio L/P of a dimension L in the axis direction from the downstream end of the transition piece to the upstream end of the first stage turbine vane, to a pitch dimension P of the plurality of first stage turbine vanes, may be equal to or less than 0.2.
In the gas turbine, the first stage turbine vane is present relatively closely in the axis direction of the transition piece on the downstream end of the transition piece. Therefore, pressure fluctuation on the downstream side of the respective transition piece can be suppressed due to the presence of the first stage turbine vane.
In the invention, formation of the Karman's vortex street on the downstream side of the downstream end surface of the transition piece can be suppressed, and pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece can be suppressed. For this reason, according to the invention, gas turbine efficiency can be enhanced.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a gas turbine related to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
The turbine 2 includes a casing 3, and a turbine rotor 5 that rotates within the casing 3. The turbine rotor 5 has a rotor body 6 configured such that a plurality of rotor disks are stacked, and a plurality of turbine blades 7 that extend in a radial direction from the rotor disks for each rotor disk. That is, the turbine rotor 5 has a multi-stage turbine blade configuration.
For example, a generator (not shown) that generates electricity by the rotation of the turbine rotor 5 is connected to the turbine rotor 5. Additionally, a plurality of turbine vanes 4 that extend in a direction approaching the rotor body 6 from an inner peripheral surface of the casing are respectively fixed to the casing 3 on the upstream side of the turbine blade 7 of each stage.
The plurality of combustors 10 are fixed to the casing 3 at equal intervals from each other in the circumferential direction with a rotation axis Ar of the turbine rotor 5 as a center.
As shown in
As shown in
The cross-sectional shape of the trunk 21 on the downstream side has an oblong shape, and the trunk 21 has, at a downstream portion, a pair of lateral walls 22 facing each other in a circumferential direction C centered on the rotation axis Ar of the turbine rotor 5, and a pair of lateral walls 23 facing each other in a radial direction centered on the rotation axis Ar.
As shown in
Respective inner surfaces 24 of the pair of lateral walls 22 facing each other in the circumferential direction C form inclination surfaces 25 that incline down to a downstream end 20e of the transition piece 20 in the direction approaching the transition piece 20 of another adjacent combustor 10 that gradually draws closer as it goes to the downstream side in the direction of the axis Ac of the transition piece 20. That is, the downstream ends of the inclination surfaces 25 are downstream ends 20e of the transition piece 20.
Even after the combustion gas G that flows toward the downstream side through the inside of the transition piece 20 has flowed out of the inside of the transition piece 20, the combustion gas tends to flow in a direction along the inner surfaces 24 of the lateral walls 22. Therefore, a Karman's vortex street may be formed on the downstream side of the downstream end surface 20ea of the flange body portion 32.
In the present embodiment, since the inner surfaces 24 of the lateral walls 22 of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 form the inclination surfaces 25, the angle formed by the downstream end surface 20ea of the flange body portion 32 and the inner surfaces 24 of the lateral walls 22 is smaller than that in a case where the inner surfaces 24 do not form the inclination surfaces 25. Hence, in the present embodiment, formation of the Karman's vortex street on the downstream side of the downstream end surface 20ea of the flange body portion 32 can be suppressed, and pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 can be suppressed.
Here, since the pressure fluctuation range of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 when changing the inclination rate of each inclination surface 25 was simulated, the results of this simulation will be described. In addition, in this simulation, as shown in
As a result of this simulation, as shown in
For this reason, it can be said that the preferable range Ra of the inclination rate A/B of the inclination surface 25 is 1 to 8, and the more preferable range Rb is 2 to 6.
Moreover, here, since the pressure fluctuation range at the downstream portion of the combustor 10 when changing the relative positions between the transition piece 20 and the first stage turbine vanes 4a was also simulated herein, the results of this simulation will also be described. Specifically, as shown in
In addition, this simulation was performed with the ratio of the number Nc of the combustors 10 and the number Ns of the first stage turbine vanes 4a being 2:3 and with the inclination rate A/B of the inclination surface 25 of the transition piece 20 being 2.75. Moreover, this simulation was performed with the ratio L/P (hereinafter referred to as an axis-direction ratio L/P) of a dimension L in the direction of the axis Ac from the downstream end 20e of the transition piece 20 to the upstream end 4s of the first stage turbine vane 4a to the pitch dimension P being 12%.
As shown in
As shown in
Hence, it is be considered that, where the circumferential ratio S/P reaches 10%, the pressure fluctuation range ΔP becomes large. However, in this simulation, since the inclination rate A/B of the inclination surface 25 is 2.75 that is in a more preferable range Rb (2 to 6), the pressure fluctuation range ΔP is smaller than that in a case where the inclination surface 25 is not formed, or the like.
The pressure fluctuation range ΔP becomes drastically small as shown in
The unsteady pressure fluctuation, as shown in
The pressure fluctuation range ΔP becomes drastically small where the circumferential ratio S/P reaches 70%, and an unsteady pressure fluctuation is hardly seen where the circumferential ratio S/P becomes 72.5%. An unsteady pressure fluctuation is hardly seen thereafter until the circumferential ratio S/P reaches 100%.
As described above, it can be understood that, when where the circumferential ratios S/P are 0 to 5%, 20 to 55%, and 70 to 100%, an unsteady pressure fluctuation is hardly seen, and the pressure fluctuation range ΔP of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 becomes extremely small. That is, it can be understood that the preferable ranges Rc of the circumferential ratio S/P are 0 to 5%, 20 to 55%, and 70 to 100%.
Moreover, here, the axis-direction ratio L/P was changed and the relationship between the circumferential ratio S/P and the pressure fluctuation range ΔP was simulated similarly to the above.
As shown in
However, it can be understood that, in cases where the circumferential ratios S/P are 0 to 5%, 20 to 55%, and 70 to 100% where the axis-direction ratios L/P are 18% and 20%, an unsteady pressure fluctuation is hardly seen and the absolute value of the pressure fluctuation range ΔP is small similar to when the aforementioned axis-direction ratio UP is 12%, but even in cases where the circumferential ratios S/P are 0 to 5%, 20 to 55%, and 70 to 100% where the axis-direction ratio L/P is 27%, the absolute value of the pressure fluctuation range ΔP is large.
That is, it can be understood that the pressure fluctuation range ΔP becomes small as the axis-direction ratio L/P is made equal to or less than 20%.
Additionally, the above-described simulation results are results in a case where the ratio of the number Nc of the combustor 10 and the number Ns of the first stage turbine vanes 4a is 2:3. However, it is considered that, even in the cases of Nc:Ns=2:5, Nc:Ns=2:7, and Nc:Ns=2:9 or more, the same results as in the above are obtained regarding the relationship between the relative positions of the transition piece 20 and the first stage turbine vanes 4a and the pressure fluctuation range ΔP on the downstream portion of the transition piece 20. However, as the number Ns of the first stage turbine vanes 4a becomes larger than the number Nc of the combustors 10, the absolute value of the pressure fluctuation range ΔP when the pressure fluctuation range ΔP becomes large becomes smaller at any value of the circumferential ratio S/P or the axis-direction ratio L/P. As a result, it is considered that, where the number Ns of the first stage turbine vanes 4a becomes larger, an unsteady pressure fluctuation is hardly seen at any value of the circumferential ratio S/P or the axis-direction ratio L/P.
In addition, where the number Nc of the combustors 10 and the number Ns of the first stage turbine vanes 4a is 1:natural number, the upstream end 4s of the first stage turbine vane 4a can be arranged directly below the position between the transition piece 20 of each combustor 10 and the other transition piece 20 that is adjacent to the combustor of each combustor. Therefore, an unsteady pressure fluctuation can be almost eliminated by arranging the first stage turbine vanes 4a in this way.
Next, various modification examples of the inclination surface 25 of the transition piece 20 will be described.
In the inclination surface 25 of the above embodiment, the whole surface from the upstream end 25s of the inclination surface to the downstream end 20e thereof is a planar surface. However, the inclination surface 25 does not need to be a planar surface as a whole, and may also include curved surfaces in at least portions thereof.
Specifically, the curved surfaces, as shown in
If the curved surfaces are adopted in at least a portion of the inclination surface 25 in this way, a place where the flow direction of the combustion gas G changes drastically is eliminated. Therefore, formation of the Karman's vortex street on the downstream side of the downstream end surface 20ea of the transition piece 20 can be further suppressed, and the pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 can be more effectively suppressed. For this reason, when the curved surfaces are adopted in at least a portion of the inclination surface 25, the preferable range Ra of the inclination rate A/B of the inclination surface 25 becomes wider than the range of 1 to 8 that is described above.
Additionally, in the above embodiment, the respective inner surfaces 24 of the pair of lateral walls 22 facing each other in the circumferential direction C form the inclination surfaces 25. However, even if only one inner surface 24 forms the inclination surface 25, the pressure fluctuation of the downstream portion of the transition piece 20 can be suppressed. In this case, as shown in
In addition, as described above, even if only the inner surface 24 of any one lateral wall 22 (22a or 22b in the case of
1: COMPRESSOR
2: TURBINE
3: CASING
4: TURBINE VANE
4
a: FIRST STAGE TURBINE VANE
4
s: UPSTREAM END (OF TURBINE VANE)
4
e: DOWNSTREAM END (OF TURBINE VANE)
5: TURBINE ROTOR
6: ROTOR BODY
7: TURBINE BLADE
8: GAS FLOW PASSAGE
9: GAS INLET
10: COMBUSTOR
20: TRANSITION PIECE
20
e: DOWNSTREAM END (OF TRANSITION PIECE OR INCLINATION SURFACE)
20
ea: DOWNSTREAM END SURFACE (OF TRANSITION PIECE OR FLANGE BODY PORTION)
21: TRUNK
22, 22a, 22b, 23: LATERAL WALL
24: INNER SURFACE
25: INCLINATION SURFACE
25
s: UPSTREAM END (OF INCLINATION SURFACE)
26
a, 26b, 26c: CURVED SURFACE
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2011-203016 | Sep 2011 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2012/073298 | 9/12/2012 | WO | 00 | 3/6/2014 |