Fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9932903-B2
Application number	US-201514593512-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2015
Priority date	Jan 30, 2014
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement has a fuel manifold and at least one fuel injector. The fuel injector has main and pilot fuel nozzles. The fuel manifold has at least one fuel pipe segment and each fuel pipe segment has an outer pipe, an intermediate pipe arranged within the outer pipe and an inner pipe arranged within the intermediate pipe. A thermally insulating medium is provided in a chamber defined between the outer pipe and the intermediate pipe. The chamber between the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe is fluidly connected to a first fuel supply and the chamber within the inner pipe is fluidly connected to a second fuel supply. The at least one pilot fuel nozzle is fluidly connected to the chamber between the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe and the main fuel nozzle is fluidly connected to the chamber within the inner pipe.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement for supplying fuel into a combustion chamber, the combustion chamber having a casing, the fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement comprising at least one fuel manifold and at least one fuel injector wherein the at least one fuel manifold is connected to the at least one fuel in injector,
the at least one fuel injector comprising a first fuel nozzle and a second fuel nozzle, the first fuel nozzle and the second fuel nozzle positioned radially inward of the casing,
the at least one fuel manifold positioned radially outward of the casing, the at least one fuel manifold comprising at least one fuel pipe segment, each of the at least one fuel pipe segment comprising an outer pipe, an intermediate pipe arranged within the outer pipe, an inner pipe arranged within the intermediate pipe, first interconnecting structures connecting the outer pipe and the intermediate pipe, second interconnecting structures connecting the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe, and the outer pipe, the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe comprise a single piece,
a first chamber being defined between the outer pipe and the intermediate pipe, a vacuum or a thermally insulating medium being provided in the first chamber,
a second chamber being defined between the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe, the second chamber being fluidly connected to a second fuel supply,
a third chamber being defined within the inner pipe, the third chamber being fluidly connected to a first fuel supply, and
the second fuel nozzle being fluidly connected to the second chamber of the at least one fuel pipe segment of the at least one fuel manifold and the first fuel nozzle being fluidly connected to the third chamber of the at least one fuel pipe segment of the at least one fuel manifold.

2. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the intermediate pipe is arranged concentrically within the outer pipe and the inner pipe is arranged concentrically within the intermediate pipe.

3. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer pipe, the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe comprise a metal.

4. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the metal is selected from a group consisting of steel, a nickel alloy, a cobalt alloy, a titanium alloy and another suitable alloy.

5. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer pipe, the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe are formed by a method from a group consisting of direct laser deposition (DLD), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering (SLS) and other similar suitable processes.

6. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally insulating medium is selected from a group consisting of air and other suitable thermally insulating medium having a thermal conductivity value less than the thermal conductivity of a material of the at least one fuel pipe segment.

7. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer pipe comprising a thermally insulating coating on its outer surface.

8. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement comprise a plurality of fuel injectors including the at least one fuel injector and a plurality of fuel pipe segments including the at least one fuel pipe segment.

9. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 8 comprise a first fuel injector and a second fuel injector of the plurality of fuel injectors, each of the first fuel injector and the second fuel injector has a first fuel nozzle and a second fuel nozzle, the second chamber of the at least one pipe segment fluidly interconnects the second fuel nozzle of the first fuel injector and the second fuel nozzle of the second fuel injector, the third chamber of the of the at least one pipe segment fluidly interconnects the first fuel nozzle of the first fuel injector and the first fuel nozzle of the second fuel injector and the at least one fuel pipe segment is arcuate.

10. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of the at least one fuel pipe segment interconnects two adjacent fuel injectors of the plurality of fuel injectors or each of the at least one fuel pipe segment interconnects alternate fuel injectors of the plurality of fuel injectors.

11. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of the at least one fuel pipe segment that is arcuate curves substantially through 180° to form a C-shape or each of the at least one fuel pipe segment that is arcuate has two straight sections connected by a curved section which curves substantially through 180° to form a U-shape.

12. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein each end of each of the at least one fuel pipe segment is secured to a connector head of at least one of the plurality of fuel injectors.

13. A fuel manifold and fuel in actor arrangement as claimed in claim 12 wherein the each end of each of the at least one fuel pipe segment has a flange and the flange at the end of each of the at least one fuel pipe segment is secured to the connector head of at least one of the plurality of fuel injectors.

14. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 12 wherein the connector head of at least one of the plurality of fuel injectors has two connectors, the each end of each of the at least one fuel pipe segment is secured to a respective connector on the connector head of at least one of the plurality of fuel injectors and the connectors are on the same face of the connector head or on opposite faces of the connector head.

15. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inner pipe is divided into a first inner pipe chamber and a second inner pipe chamber, and each of the first inner pipe chamber and the second inner pipe chamber within the inner pipe of the at least one fuel pipe segment is fluidly connected to the first fuel supply.

16. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 15 wherein the second fuel nozzle of each of the at least one fuel injector is fluidly connected to the second chamber of the at least one fuel pipe segment, the first fuel nozzle of each of a plurality of the fuel injectors are fluidly connected to the first inner pipe chamber and the first fuel nozzle of each of the plurality of the fuel injectors are fluidly connected to the second inner pipe chamber.

17. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the thickness of at least one of the outer pipe, the intermediate pipe and the inner pipe is non-uniform along its length to adjust vibrational response characteristics of the at least one fuel pipe segment.

18. A fuel manifold and fuel injector arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the casing has at least one aperture, the at least one fuel injector comprises a fuel feed arm, the fuel feed arm has a flange and a connector head positioned radially outward of the casing at its outer end, the fuel feed arm extends through the at least one aperture in the casing and the flange is secured to the casing, the at least one fuel pipe segment has an end and the end of the at least one fuel pipe segment is secured to the connector head of the fuel feed arm.

19. A fuel manifo

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Pidcock Anthony
• Chandler Paul Ian

Classifications

• F16L9/19

  Multi-channel pipes or pipe assemblies · CPC title

• F05D2230/53

  by integrally manufacturing a component, e.g. by milling from a billet or one piece construction · CPC title

• F05D2230/22

  by sintering · CPC title

• F05D2250/311

  the axes being in line · CPC title

• F05D2220/32

  in gas turbines · CPC title