Gas turbine fuel system

Claim 1

For a gas turbine engine having a combustor, a fuel-supply system for supplying fuel to the combustor and a plurality of fuel injectors for carrying fuel through a combustor outer casing to inject the fuel inside the combustor, an improved fuel-supply system comprising: a fuel manifold positionable around the combustor outer casing and including a primary fuel flowpath effective for providing fuel to said fuel injectors and a secondary fuel flowpath effective for collecting any leakage fuel that escapes said primary flowpath, wherein said fuel manifold is comprised of: a plurality of manifold segments and a plurality of fuel injector base sections, said manifold segments interconnecting said base sections of said fuel injectors, each of said manifold segments being effective for accommodating thermal expansion and contraction to reduce thermal strain and comprising an annular inner wall defining a first portion of said primary fuel flowpath and an annular outer wall spaced from and surrounding said inner wall for defining therebetween a first portion of said secondary fuel flowpath; each of said injector base sections having an inner passage defining a second portion of said primary fuel flowpath, said inner passage being in flow communication with said first annular inner wall of an adjoining manifold segment; and wherein each injector base section also has an outer passage defining a second portion of said secondary fuel flowpath, said outer passage being in flow communication with said annular outer wall of each adjoining manifold segment.