Gas turbine performance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12467410-B2
Application number	US-202418677165-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2024
Priority date	Dec 21, 2022
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

A method of operating a gas turbine engine is disclosed, the gas turbine engine comprising a combustor arranged to combust a fuel; and a fuel management system arranged to provide the fuel to the combustor. The fuel management system comprises two fuel-oil heat exchangers through which oil and the fuel flow, the heat exchangers arranged to transfer heat to the fuel and comprising a primary fuel-oil heat exchanger and a secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger; and a fuel pump arranged to deliver the fuel to the combustor, wherein the fuel pump is located between the two heat exchangers. The method comprises controlling the fuel management system so as to transfer between 200 and 600 kJ/m3 of heat to the fuel from the oil in the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger at cruise conditions.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising:
a combustor arranged to combust a fuel; a fuel management system arranged to provide the fuel to the combustor, wherein the fuel management system comprises:
two fuel-oil heat exchangers arranged to have oil and the fuel flow therethrough, the two fuel-oil heat exchangers arranged to transfer heat between the oil and the fuel and comprising a primary fuel-oil heat exchanger and a secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger; and
a fuel pump arranged to deliver the fuel to the combustor, wherein the fuel pump is located between the two fuel-oil heat exchangers; and
a controller that is configured to control the fuel management system so as to transfer between 200 and 600 KJ/m 3 of heat to the fuel from the oil in the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger at cruise conditions, wherein a ratio of heat transfer from the oil to the fuel for the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger and the secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger is between 70:30 and 90:10 at cruise conditions, and wherein relative to a flow path of the oil starting at an oil tank, the secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger is upstream of the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger.

2 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the fuel management system to transfer between 300 and 500 KJ/m 3 of heat to the fuel from the oil in the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger at cruise conditions.

3 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the fuel management system to transfer between 350 and 450 KJ/m 3 of heat to the fuel from the oil in the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger at cruise conditions.

4 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein:
the fuel management system further comprises:
a recirculation valve located downstream of the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger, the recirculation valve arranged to allow a controlled amount of fuel which has passed through the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger to be returned to an inlet of the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger.

5 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel management system further comprises:
a bypass pipe arranged to allow a proportion of the fuel to bypass the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger.

6 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger is a servo fuel-oil heat exchanger.

7 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the fuel management system is arranged such that the fuel flows through the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger prior to flowing through the secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger.

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Bemment Craig W
• Hobday Alastair G
• Keeler Benjamin J
• Madden Christopher P
• Minelli Andrea
• Smith Andrew T
• Swann Peter
• Yates Martin K

Classifications

• F23R3/28 Primary

  characterised by the fuel supply (burners F23D) · CPC title

• F02C9/28

  Regulating systems responsive to plant or ambient parameters, e.g. temperature, pressure, rotor speed (F02C9/30 - F02C9/38, F02C9/44 take precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2260/221

  Improvement of heat transfer · CPC title

• F02C7/14

  of fluids in the plant {, e.g. lubricant or fuel (F02C7/185 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• F02C7/12

  Cooling of plants (of component parts, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. F01D; cooling of engines in general F01P) · CPC title