1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gas turbine engines that are primarily used for the generation of electricity are oftentimes referred to as industrial gas turbine engines. Typically, engines of this type are land based and incorporate components that are rather robust, large and heavy. No exception to these characteristics is a common transition duct, which is used to interconnect various flow components of a combustion section with downstream turbine section components.
Transition duct assemblies and gas turbine engine systems involving such assemblies are provided. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment of a transition duct assembly for a gas turbine engine comprises: an impingement sheet having cooling holes formed therethrough, an inlet end and a non-flanged outlet end, the impingement sheet being operative to be positioned about an exterior of a transition duct such that cooling air is directed to flow about the transition duct; the non-flanged outlet end of the impingement sheet being operative to attach the impingement sheet to the transition duct such that the inlet end is positioned adjacent to an intake end of the transition duct and the outlet end is positioned adjacent to an exhaust end of the transition duct.
An exemplary embodiment of a transition duct assembly for a gas turbine engine comprises: a transition duct having a hollow body and a flange, the body extending between an intake end and an exhaust end, the flange extending from an exterior of the body, the flange having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being attached to the exterior of the body, the distal end of the flange extending toward the intake end; and an impingement sheet having an inlet end and a non-flanged outlet end, the non-flanged outlet end of the impingement sheet being operative to mount to the flange and about the exterior of the transition duct such that the inlet end is positioned adjacent to the intake end of the transition duct and the outlet end is positioned adjacent to the exhaust end of the transition duct, the impingement sheet having cooling holes formed therethrough, the cooling holes being operative to facilitate cooling of the transition duct.
An exemplary embodiment of a gas turbine engine comprises: a combustion section having a combustion liner and a transition duct assembly positioned downstream of the combustion liner; the transition duct assembly having a transition duct and an impingement sheet; the transition duct having a hollow body and a flange, the body extending between an intake end and an exhaust end, the exhaust end exhibiting a smaller cross-sectional flow area than a cross-sectional flow area of the intake end, the flange extending from an exterior of the body, the flange having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being attached to the exterior of the body adjacent to the exhaust end, the distal end of the flange extending toward the intake end, the distal end of the flange being operative to attach the impingement sheet at a non-flanged end of the impingement sheet.
Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages of this disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be within the scope of the present disclosure.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Transition duct assemblies and gas turbine engine systems involving such assemblies are provided, several exemplary embodiments of which will be described in detail. In this regard, some embodiments potentially alleviate some of the perceived assembly difficulty associated with attaching an impingement sheet to a transition duct of an industrial gas turbine engine. Notably, such an impingement sheet is used to facilitate cooling of the transition duct and oftentimes is conventionally secured to the transition duct by a relatively complex flange assembly, which mates with a corresponding picture frame protrusion located at the exhaust end of the transition duct. In some embodiments, a flange is provided that extends from the exhaust end toward the intake end of the transition duct, and to which a non-flanged outlet end of the impingement sheet is attached.
Referring now in more detail to the drawings,
As shown in greater detail in the schematic diagram of
Impingement sheet 124 is configured to engage about body 130 of the transition duct. Notably, the impingement sheet incorporates cooling holes (e.g., hole 140) that permit air to flow through the impingement sheet and about the transition duct.
The impingement sheet includes an inlet end 142 and an outlet end 144 and mounts to the transition duct so that inlet end 142 is positioned adjacent to intake end 132 and outlet 144 is positioned adjacent to exhaust end 134. In this embodiment, outlet end 144 (which is exhibits a non-flanged edge) attaches to the flanges located at exhaust end 134 of the transition duct. By way of example, attachment holes 146, 148 of the impingement sheet align with attachment holes 152, 154 of flange 136 to facilitate receipt of mechanical fasteners (e.g., bolts, rivets, pin or blind stem, collar type, threaded rod and lock type, etc.), which are not shown in
As shown in
It should also be noted that, in the embodiment of
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.