Gas turbine combustor

Claim 1

A combustor for a gas turbine engine of the type having a compressor and a turbine mounted on a spindle, said combustor comprising a curved liner forming a torus-shaped chamber encircling said spindle between said compressor and said turbine, said liner having a plurality of spaced ports therein, each of said ports having an upstream edge toward said compressor and a downstream edge away from said compressor; means for injecting fuel into said torus-shaped chamber, a housing surrounding said liner and spaced therefrom to form an annular diffuser duct, said duct being in communication with said compressor for receiving compressed air therefrom whereby compressed air is admitted to said torus-shaped chamber through said ports, and a plurality of scoops in said diffuser duct adjacent some of said ports and substantially surrounding said lines for intercepting a portion of the flow of compressed air, each of said scoops having a pair of spaced sidewalls extending from said liner toward said housing, a backwall connecting the outermost edges of each of said pairs of sidewalls whereby the space between the sidewalls at adjacent ports is substantially unobstructed to the flow of compressed air, said backwall extending the full height of said diffuser duct from said downstream edge of said port to said housing substantially opposite the upstream edge of said port, and an open front between said sidewalls extending from said upstream edge of said port to said housing whereby the mass airflow through said open front and adjacent port into said combustion chamber is proportional to the mass flow in said diffuser duct.