Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
285 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement for gas turbines, of the type including a discharge nozzle discharging a spray cone of a fuel-air mixture under pressure into a turbine combustion chamber for ignition and combustion therein, and means directing an additional air flow into the combustion chamber in surrounding relation to the spray cone, the improvement comprising, in combination, means imparting a swirling motion to the additional air as it enters the combustion chamber, to form a stable air vortex in said combustion chamber surrounding said spray cone; and passage means connected to said directing means and operable to direct a portion of said additional air into said combustion chamber as a converging jet within said vortex and surrounding said spray cone; said means imparting a swirling motion to the additional air comprising a series of radial vanes arranged on a hub substantially concentric with said discharge nozzle and oriented at an angle to the direction of air flow therethrough, said hub having a diameter substantially larger than said discharge nozzle and having a cylindrical wall spaced from the peripheral surface of said discharge nozzle to define, with the latter, an annular passage, constituting said passage means; said passage means further including apertures in the cylindrical wall of said hub and through which at least a portion of the additional air flows into said annular passage; said hub having a radially inwardly directed flange at its end toward said combustion chamber; means sealing said flange relative to said discharge nozzle; said flange being formed with ports communicating with said annular passage for directing said portion of said additional air into said combustion chamber as a converging jet within said vortex and surrounding said spray cone.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
285 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement for gas turbines, of the type including a discharge nozzle discharging a spray cone of a fuel-air mixture under pressure into a turbine combustion chamber for ignition and combustion therein, and means directing an additional air flow into the combustion chamber in surrounding relation to the spray cone, the improvement comprising, in combination, means imparting a swirling motion to the additional air as it enters the combustion chamber, to form a stable air vortex in said combustion chamber surrounding said spray cone; and passage means connected to said directing means and operable to direct a portion of said additional air into said combustion chamber as a converging jet within said vortex and surrounding said spray cone; said means imparting a swirling motion to the additional air comprising a series of radial vanes arranged on a hub substantially concentric with said discharge nozzle and oriented at an angle to the direction of air flow therethrough, said hub having a diameter substantially larger than said discharge nozzle and having a cylindrical wall spaced from the peripheral surface of said discharge nozzle to define, with the latter, an annular passage, constituting said passage means; said passage means further including apertures in the cylindrical wall of said hub and through which at least a portion of the additional air flows into said annular passage; said hub having a radially inwardly directed flange at its end toward said combustion chamber; means sealing said flange relative to said discharge nozzle; said flange being formed with ports communicating with said annular passage for directing said portion of said additional air into said combustion chamber as a converging jet within said vortex and surrounding said spray cone.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement, the improvement claimed in claim 1, in which said apertures are arranged around said cylindrical wall in substantially uniformly spaced circumferential arrangement; said poreS being arranged around said flange in substantially uniformly spaced annular relation; the flow areas of said pores being substantially less than the flow areas of said apertures.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement, the improvement claimed in claim 2, in which the axes of said ports converge, in the direction of said combustion chamber, toward the axis of said discharge nozzle.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement, the improvement claimed in claim 3, in which said radial vanes have free radially outer ends free of connection to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
81 words
In a combustible mixture supply arrangement, the improvement claimed in claim 4, in which the annular flow area of said annular passage has a small magnitude such that, upon starting of the gas turbine, the amount of air flowing through said pores, under the fuel flow rate and air flow pressure during starting, is very small; the air flow rate through said pores increasing substantially with increasing air flow pressure of said additional air responsive to the turbine running under load.