Turbine air flow conditioner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9803864-B2
Application number	US-201414313198-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2014
Priority date	Jun 24, 2014
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

A turbine combustor section has a flow conditioner including a plurality of conduits arranged to convey pressurized air to an air chamber for entrance into a plurality of fuel nozzles. Each conduit includes an inlet configured to receive the pressurized air from an annular passage and an outlet configured to deliver the pressurized air to the air chamber. A cross-sectional area of each conduit varies between the inlet and the outlet so as to reduce a pressure drop across the flow conditioner.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for a gas turbine, comprising:
a turbine combustor section, including:
a plurality of fuel nozzles to distribute an air-fuel mixture in the turbine combustor section;
an annular passage to convey pressurized air;
an air chamber arranged to deliver the pressurized air to the plurality of fuel nozzles; and
a flow conditioner disposed in a head end region of the turbine combustor section and having an arc shape corresponding to the annular passage, the flow conditioner including a plurality of conduits arranged to convey the pressurized air, the plurality of conduits including a radially inner row of conduits and a radially outer row of conduits concentrically arranged with respect to one another, each conduit including an inlet configured to receive the pressurized air from the annular passage and an outlet configured to deliver the pressurized air to the air chamber for entrance into the plurality of fuel nozzles,
wherein each conduit has a tubular configuration adapted to extend between the annular passage and the air chamber, and
wherein each conduit has a first portion having a first cross-sectional area and a second portion having a second cross-sectional area, the first cross-sectional area being smaller than the second cross-sectional area so as to reduce a size of a recirculation zone of the pressurized air in the air chamber.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of each conduit is at the inlet and the second portion of each conduit is at the outlet.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first portion is a relatively smaller diameter portion and the second portion is a relatively larger diameter portion, and
wherein each conduit has a step which transitions from the relatively smaller diameter portion to the relatively larger diameter portion.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion is an intermediate portion arranged between the second portion and a third portion of each conduit, the third portion having a third cross-sectional area that is larger than the first cross-sectional area.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the third portion has a conical configuration that converges gradually towards the intermediate portion.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the second portion has a conical configuration that expands gradually away from the intermediate portion.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the second portion expands at an angle between 3.0 and 5.5 degrees.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of each conduit is a relatively smaller diameter portion and the second portion of each conduit is a conical expansion portion having a diameter that gradually expands towards the outlet.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the conical expansion portion expands at an angle between 1.5 and 4 degrees.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the flow conditioner has an annular shape.

11. A gas turbine, comprising:
a compressor;
a turbine section; and
the system of claim 1 .

12. A system for a gas turbine, comprising:
a turbine combustor section, including:
a plurality of fuel nozzles to distribute an air-fuel mixture in the turbine combustor section;
an annular passage to convey pressurized air;
an air chamber arranged to deliver the pressurized air to the plurality of fuel nozzles; and
a flow conditioner disposed in a head end region of the turbine combustor section and having an arc shape corresponding to the annular passage, the flow conditioner including a plurality of conduits arranged to convey the pressurized air, the plurality of conduits including a radially inner row of conduits and a radially outer row of conduits concentrically arranged with respect to one another, each conduit including an inlet configured to receive the pressurized air from the annular passage and an outlet configured to deliver the pressurized air to the air chamber for entrance into the plurality of fuel nozzles,
wherein a cross-sectional area of each conduit varies between the inlet and the outlet so as to reduce a pressure drop across the flow conditioner.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the flow conditioner is disposed circumferentially about the plurality of fuel nozzles.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein each conduit has a tubular configuration arranged to be disposed between the annular passage and the air chamber.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein each conduit has a first portion having a first cross-sectional area and a second portion having a second cross-sectional area that is different from the first cross-sectional area.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first cross-sectional area is at the inlet and the second cross-sectional area is at the outlet.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first portion is a relatively smaller diameter portion and the second portion is a relatively larger diameter portion, and
wherein each conduit has a step which transitions from the relatively smaller diameter portion to the relatively larger diameter portion.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first portion is an intermediate portion arranged between the second portion and a third portion of each conduit, the third portion having a third cross-sectional area that is larger than the first cross-sectional area.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the third portion has a conical configuration that converges gradually towards the intermediate portion.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first portion of each conduit is a relatively smaller diameter portion and the second portion of each conduit is a conical expansion portion having a diameter that gradually expands towards the outlet.

21. The system of claim 12 , wherein the flow conditioner has an annular shape.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in a cross-sectional view, each conduit is symmetrical in a radial direction of the flow conditioner with respect to a central axis of each conduit.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Singh Arjun
• Pushkaran Chandrasekhar
• Parsania Nishant Govindbhai

Classifications

• F23R3/10 Primary

  for primary air (F23R3/06, F23R3/045 take precedence) · CPC title

• F23R3/04

  Air inlet arrangements · CPC title

• F23R3/045

  using pipes · CPC title

• F23R3/286

  having fuel-air premixing devices (F23R3/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F23R3/06

  Arrangement of apertures along the flame tube · CPC title