Cyclonic dirt separating turbine accelerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9810079-B2
Application number	US-201313836737-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Nov 7, 2017
Grant date	Nov 7, 2017

Abstract

A dirt separator assembly for a gas turbine engine comprises a cyclonic accelerator in flow communication with compressor discharge air, the accelerator having a plurality of passages, each passage having an inlet, an outlet and at least one vent located in the passage, a plurality of turning vanes disposed along each of the passages, the passage turning tangentially between the inlet and the outlet, the accelerator passages decreasing from a first cross-sectional area to a second cross-sectional area and said turning vanes inducing helical swirl of compressed cooling air, and, at least one vent located in the accelerator passages for expelling dust separated from the swirling compressed cooling air.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dirt separator assembly for a gas turbine engine having a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine in serial flow relation, comprising:
a cyclonic accelerator in flow communication with compressor discharge air and located downstream of the compressor, said accelerator having a plurality of passages, each passage having an inlet, an outlet and at least one vent located in said passage;
a plurality of turning vanes disposed along each of said passages, said plurality of turning vanes in said passages turning air in said passages tangentially between said inlet and said outlet;
said accelerator passages decreasing from a first cross-sectional area to a second cross-sectional area and said turning vanes inducing helical swirl of compressed cooling air; and,
said at least one vent located in an outer wall of said accelerator passage for expelling dust separated from said swirling compressed cooling air exiting the accelerator assn a throu h said at least one vent via rotational, tangential force and outward from an engine core of the gas turbine engine.

2. The dirt separator assembly of claim 1 , wherein clean air is provided for cooling turbine blades.

3. The dirt separator assembly of claim 1 , said vent being located on each of said passages.

4. The dirt separator assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a first stage deflector upstream of said accelerator creating a turn in said compressed cooling air.

5. The dirt separator assembly of claim 1 , said accelerator including a plurality of helical vanes along an inner surface.

6. The dirt separator assembly of claim 5 further comprising at least one center body extending between said helical vanes.

7. The dirt separator assembly of claim 6 , said at least one center body being formed of multiple segments.

8. A dirt separator for a gas turbine engine, comprising:
a cooling air flow path disposed in a turbine frame;
an accelerator located in said frame portion, said accelerator in fluid communication with said cooling air flow path;
a deflector extending over a cooling air aperture between said cooling air flow path and said accelerator, said deflector creating a tortuous path for cooling air passing from said cooling air duct to said accelerator;
said accelerator having an accelerator passage including an inlet of a first cross-sectional area, an outlet of a second smaller cross-sectional area, and a plurality of turning vanes therein; and
said accelerator passage including at least one vent located in an outer wall of said accelerator passage for removal of particulate from said passage through said vent via rotational, tangential force and outward from an engine core of the gas turbine engine.

9. The dirt separator of claim 8 , said accelerator being disposed radially inward or outward of a turbine rotor seal.

10. The dirt separator of claim 8 , said vent in flow communication with a rotor seal cavity.

11. The dirt separator of claim 10 , said dirt passing through said vent toward an outer rotor cavity seal.

12. The dirt separator of claim 8 , said vent disposed one of forward or in a throat region of said accelerator.

13. The dirt separator of claim 8 , further comprising multiple vents.

14. The dirt separator of claim 8 , said turning vanes creating cyclonic swirling therein.

15. The dirt separator of claim 8 , further comprising a seal arm.

16. The dirt separator of claim 8 , further comprising at least one flow aperture in said seal arm.

17. The dirt separator of claim 16 , said at least one aperture being axially aligned with said accelerator.

18. A two stage particle separator for a gas turbine engine, comprising:
a combustor wall and a combustor inner liner shell defining a substantially annular flow path;
a deflector disposed in said substantially annular flow path and overlying an accelerator inlet. the deflector defining a tortious air path and forming a first stage particle separator with separated particles traveling through the combustor wall;
an accelerator downstream of the deflector forming a second stage particle separator having said inlet and an outlet and changing from a larger cross-section at said inlet to a smaller cross-section at an outlet;
said accelerator having an outer surface including at least one vent passing through said outer surface for expelling dust outward through said at least one vent via rotational, tangential force exiting the accelerator and outward from an engine core of the gas turbine engine.

19. The two stage particle separator of claim 18 , said annular flow path in fluid communication with a high pressure compressor.

20. The two stage particle separator of claim 19 , said separator receiving bleed air from said high pressure compressor.

21. The two stage particle separator of claim 18 , said accelerator outlet directing cooling air toward a turbine rotor disk.

22. The two stage particle separator of claim 21 , said cooling air passing through at least one aperture in a blade turbine.

23. The two stage particle separator of claim 18 further comprising at least one vane to deswirl colling air flow prior to said outlet.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Manning Robert Francis
• Correia Victor Hugo Silva

Classifications

• F01D5/081 Primary

  Cooling fluid being directed on the side of the rotor disc or at the roots of the blades (F01D5/087 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F01D9/02 Primary

  Nozzles; Nozzle boxes; Stator blades; Guide conduits {, e.g. individual nozzles (nozzle boxes F01D9/047)} · CPC title

• Y02T50/676

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• F05D2260/607

  Preventing clogging or obstruction of flow paths by dirt, dust, or foreign particles · CPC title

• F02C7/052

  with dust-separation devices · CPC title