Low nox gas turbine combustor liner with elliptical apertures for air swirling

Claim 1

A can type combustion liner for a gas turbine engine combustor comprising: a cylindrical wall having a dome at an upstream end and an exit opening at a downstream end, the dome having a fuel inlet at the upstream end and a swirler around the fuel inlet for introducing swirl air into the combustion liner adjacent the fuel inlet, a plurality of circumferentially spaced primary air holes in the cylindrical wall that are located downstream of the fuel inlet for introducing primary air into the combustion liner to stabilize and substantially complete combustion within a primary combustion zone, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced air slots in the cylindrical wall that are located downstream from the primary air holes and in the primary combustion zone for introducing compressor discharge air into the combustion liner to cool hot spots in the primary combustion zone, each of the air slots having a length dimension in the direction of a major axis thereof exceeding a width dimension of the slot perpendicular to the major axis, and each of the major axes intercepting an angle in a range of between zero degrees and 90 degrees relative to a corresponding one of a plurality of lines in the cylindrical wall each parallel to a longitudinal centerline of the cylindrical wall and intersecting respective ones of the major axes of the air slots so that compressor discharge air entering the primary combustion zone through the air slots induces a swirling motion in the primary combustion zone.