System and method for exhausting combustion gases from gas turbine engines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9631542-B2
Application number	US-201414301979-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2014
Priority date	Jun 28, 2013
Publication date	Apr 25, 2017
Grant date	Apr 25, 2017

Abstract

A system includes a gas turbine engine that includes a combustor section having one or more combustors configured to generate combustion products and a turbine section having one or more turbine stages between an upstream end and a downstream end. The one or more turbine stages are driven by the combustion products. The gas turbine engine also includes an exhaust section disposed downstream from the downstream end of the turbine section. The exhaust section has an exhaust passage configured to receive the combustion products as an exhaust gas. The gas turbine engine also includes a mixing device disposed in the exhaust section. The mixing device is configured to divide the exhaust gas into a first exhaust gas and a second exhaust gas, and to combine the first and second exhaust gases in a mixing region to produce a mixed exhaust gas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a gas turbine engine, comprising:
a combustor section having one or more combustors configured to generate combustion products;
a turbine section having one or more turbine stages between an upstream end and a downstream end, wherein the one or more turbine stages are driven by the combustion products;
an exhaust section disposed downstream from the downstream end of the turbine section, wherein the exhaust section has an exhaust passage configured to receive the combustion products as an exhaust gas; and
a mixing device disposed in the exhaust section, wherein the mixing device is configured to divide the exhaust gas into a first exhaust gas and a second exhaust gas, and to combine the first and second exhaust gases in a mixing region to produce a mixed exhaust gas.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mixing device comprises a first section configured to convey the first exhaust gas to the mixing region and a second section configured to convey the second exhaust gas to the mixing region, wherein the second section circumferentially surrounds the first section.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first section is disposed surrounding a longitudinal axis of the mixing device, and the second section comprises an annular shape surrounding the first section.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second section comprises a plurality of openings configured to convey the second exhaust gas to the mixing region.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second section comprises:
an inner annular wall;
an outer annular wall surrounding the inner annular wall; and
an annular passage disposed between the inner and outer annular walls, wherein the annular passage is configured to convey the second exhaust gas to the mixing region.

6. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first section comprises at least one of a lobe mixer, a scalloped lobe mixer, a multiple-lobe mixer, an angled lobe mixer, a ribbed lobe mixer, and a serrated lobe mixer, or any combination thereof.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first section comprises a lobe mixer having an annular sinusoidal shape with alternating first and second open-ended passages, the first open-ended passages are configured to direct a first portion of the first exhaust gas away from a longitudinal axis of the mixing device, and the second open-ended passages are configured to direct a second portion of the first exhaust gas toward the longitudinal axis.

8. The system of claim 1 , comprising a catalyst disposed downstream from the mixing device, wherein the catalyst is configured to treat the mixed exhaust gas from the mixing device to produce a treated exhaust gas.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mixing device comprises at least one of a vortex generator, a semi-spherical protrusion, a lobe mixer, an open lobe mixer, and a closed lobe mixer, or any combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 1 , comprising an exhaust gas extraction system coupled to the gas turbine engine, and a hydrocarbon production system coupled to the exhaust gas extraction system.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas turbine engine is a stoichiometric exhaust gas recirculation (SEGR) gas turbine engine.

12. The system of claim 1 , comprising an exhaust gas injection system configured to inject a pressurized exhaust gas into the mixing device, upstream of the mixing device, or any combination thereof.

13. A system, comprising:
a turbine exhaust section configured to mount downstream from a turbine section of a gas turbine engine, wherein the turbine exhaust section comprises an exhaust passage configured to receive exhaust gas from the turbine section; and
a mixing device disposed in the turbine exhaust section, wherein the mixing device is configured to divide the exhaust gas into a first exhaust gas and a second exhaust gas, and to combine the first and second exhaust gases to produce a mixed exhaust gas.

14. The system of claim 13 , comprising the gas turbine engine having the turbine exhaust section coupled to the turbine section.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the gas turbine engine comprises:
the turbine section having one or more turbine stages between an upstream end and a downstream end;
a combustor section having a turbine combustor configured to generate combustion products to drive the one or more turbine stages in the turbine section; and
a compressor section having an exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine section, wherein the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and route the exhaust gas to the turbine combustor;
wherein the turbine exhaust section is coupled to the gas turbine engine downstream from the downstream end of the turbine section.

16. A method, comprising:
combusting a fuel with an oxidant and an exhaust gas in a combustion portion of a turbine combustor to generate combustion products;
driving a turbine with the combustion products from the turbine combustor;
expanding the combustion products from the turbine through an exhaust passage in an exhaust section;
dividing the combustion products from the exhaust section into a first exhaust gas and a second exhaust gas using a mixing device; and
combining the first and second exhaust gases to produce a mixed exhaust gas using the mixing device such that a downstream radial uniformity of the mixed exhaust gas is greater than an upstream radial uniformity of the combustion products.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising:
conveying the first exhaust gas to a mixing region using a first section of the mixing device; and
conveying the second exhaust gas to the mixing region using a second section of the mixing device disposed circumferentially surrounding the first section.

18. The method of claim 17 , comprising conveying the second exhaust gas through a plurality of openings formed in the second section.

19. The method of claim 17 , comprising:
imparting swirling motion to the first exhaust gas in a first direction using the first section; and
imparting swirling motion to the second exhaust gas in a second direction using the second section, wherein the first and second directions are opposite from one another.

20. The method of claim 16 , comprising dividing the first exhaust gas into an inner first exhaust gas and an outer first exhaust gas using a lobe mixer, wherein the inner and outer first exhaust gases diverge from one another.

Assignees

• Gen Electric
• Exxonmobil Upstream Res Co
• Exxonmobile Upstream Res Company

Inventors

• Subramaniyan Moorthi
• Hansen Christian Michael
• Huntington Richard A
• Denman Todd Franklin

Classifications

• F01N13/08 Primary

  Other arrangements or adaptations of exhaust conduits {(pipes, joints or supports therefor in general F16L; collecting or removing exhaust gases of vehicle engines in workshops B08B15/00, on highways E01C1/005)} · CPC title

• F02K1/40

  Nozzles having means for dividing the jet into a plurality of partial jets or having an elongated cross-section outlet · CPC title

• Y02E20/16

  Combined cycle power plant [CCPP], or combined cycle gas turbine [CCGT] · CPC title

• F01D25/30

  Exhaust heads, chambers, or the like · CPC title

• F05D2250/611

  undulated · CPC title