Nozzle assembly with flow divider and ecology valve

[00002] This invention relates generally to fuel delivery systems for engines and more particularly to ecology and fuel flow splitting functions for such fuel delivery systems.

[00003] In many gas turbine engines, the fuel system for regulating the flow of fuel to the combustion chamber consists of one or more fuel nozzles arranged in the combustion chamber, a fuel pump for pressurizing fuel from the fuel supply, a fuel metering unit for controlling the flow of fuel to the fuel nozzles and one or more fuel manifolds fluidically connecting the fuel metering unit to the fuel nozzles.

[00004] During engine start-up, fuel is pumped from the fuel supply to the fuel metering unit by the fuel pump and, once a sufficient start-up pressure is attained, the pressurizing valve of the fuel metering unit opens and fuel is supplied to the fuel nozzles via the fuel manifold. Thereafter, the metering valve of the fuel metering unit modulates the rate of fuel flow from the fuel supply to the nozzles. As such, a single, continuous flow path exists from the fuel metering unit, through the fuel manifold, to the fuel nozzles.

[00005] In more advanced gas turbine aircraft engines, however, the fuel system includes additional components and has multiple flow paths. For example, a dual flow path fuel system may include multiple sets of fuel nozzles (i.e., a primary fuel nozzle and a secondary fuel nozzle), two fuel manifolds (i.e., a primary manifold and a secondary manifold), and a flow divider valve arranged downstream of the fuel metering unit. In such systems, the flow divider valve splits the flow of fuel from the fuel metering unit into two distinct flow paths, namely a primary flow path and a secondary flow path.

[00006] In dual flow path fuel systems, fuel is delivered to the primary and secondary nozzles in a predetermined and scheduled manner. For instance, during engine start-up, fuel is initially supplied only to the primary fuel nozzles. However, once the fuel from the primary fuel nozzles is burning in a steady and satisfactory manner, fuel is thereafter supplied to the secondary nozzles. Put another way, the primary flow path provides a pilot flow, or a flow which initiates the combustion process, while the secondary flow path provides a main flow, or a flow which supplements and intensifies the combustion process once the pilot flow is burning steadily.

[00007] Fuel systems for some gas turbine engines require an ecology function that removes a set amount of fuel from the fuel nozzles and manifolds upon cessation of engine operation. The removal of fuel serves two purposes. It prevents the fuel from trickling into the still hot combustion chamber, which causes the fuel nozzles in the engine to coke and/or the engine to smoke. This hinders engine performance and leads to premature failure of the nozzle. The removal of fuel also keeps the fuel from vaporizing into the atmosphere, which is not acceptable from an environmental standpoint.

[00008] Prior fuel systems such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,771 to Wernberg use one ecology valve and one flow divider valve for all the nozzles when the fuel manifolds are small in diameter and there are relatively few nozzles. However, using one flow divider valve to split flow between multiple nozzle assemblies results in the addition of a second flow manifold. For small engines this is only a small weight and cost penalty. Larger engines utilizing many nozzle assemblies require proportionately larger and heavier ecology and flow divider valves as well as an additional large and heavy fuel manifold. To avoid this additional manifold some larger engines have small flow divider valves at each nozzle assembly. However, these flow divider valves do not provide the ecology function.

[00009] The invention provides an ecology valve in a fuel system that also serves to divide fuel flow between nozzles. The ecology valve controls liquid flow through retention passages when pressurized liquid is passed through the valve such that no matter which way the valve is oriented gravity alone is unable to drain liquid from the valve inlet to the outlet. The retention passages includes grooves formed into either the valve body or in a sleeve that is inserted into the structure enclosing the retention passages.

[00010] In one embodiment, each retention passage includes a spiral section winding axially about an axis between spiral end portions. A nozzle passage is connected to the one of the spiral end portions and extends axially toward the other spiral end portion to prevent drainage of the liquid from a cavity in the valve that is connected to the other spiral end portions.

[00011] The ecology/flow divider valve has a pressure actuated piston slidably disposed within the valve body and is movable between a position corresponding to engine shut-down and a second position corresponding to engine operation. Spring means bias the piston toward the shut-down position. The piston forms the cavity as it moves. The cavities are sized such that fluid in a nozzle passage is pulled into a cavity when the piston moves from the operating position to the shut-down position.

[00012] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

[00021] Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, the invention is illustrated as being implemented in a suitable environment. As illustrated in FIG. 1a, the fuel system described herein generally comprises a plurality of fuel nozzles 100 arranged in a combustion chamber 102, a fuel metering unit 104, and a fuel manifold 106 disposed therebetween. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the fuel metering unit 104 includes a pressurizing, shutoff, and drain valve 108 which delivers fuel to the fuel nozzles 100 once a predetermined start-up pressure is attained, and a metering valve (not shown) which modulates the fuel flow rate to the fuel nozzles 100 thereafter. It will also be understood that the fuel manifold 106 comprises any means which provides a fluidic connection between the fuel metering unit 104 and the fuel nozzles 100.

[00022] Flow is metered by the fuel control and passes into the engine fuel manifold 106 through the fuel control pressurizing, shutoff, and drain valve 108. The fuel manifold 106 supplies fuel to many nozzle assemblies. Each nozzle assembly 110 may have multiple nozzle tips. In the description that follows, two nozzle tips 112, 114 in the nozzle assembly 110 shall be used to describe the invention.

[00023] The nozzle assembly 110 has nozzle passages 116, 118 that connect the nozzle tips 112, 114 to ecology cavities 120, 122 via retention passage 124, 126 around the flow divider/ecology valve 130. For clarity, retention passage 124 is illustrated as having sections 124₁ and 124₂ and retention passage 126 is illustrated as having sections 126₁ and 126₂. The subscript nomenclature (e.g., 124₁, 124₂) is merely used to show the grooves. 124₁ and 126₁ are on the near side of sleeve 146 and grooves 124₂ and 126₂ are on the far side of sleeve 146. In the embodiment shown, retention passage 124, 126 is a 360 degree spiral groove. Any other retention passage may be used that is equivalent to the spiral groove (i.e., a geometry that requires the fuel to flow “uphill” to exit the valve 130). The flow divider/ecology valve 130 has shut-off and ecology piston 132 and flow divider valve 134 that are held to a closed position via springs 136, 138. Piston 132 acts to shut off fuel to both nozzle tips 112, 114 and provides the variable volume ecology cavities for both tips. Valve 134 opens to regulate the flow division or split between the nozzle tips. When the fuel metering unit pressurizing valve 108 is closed and the fuel system is unpressurized, the flow divider/ecology valve 130 will be in the position shown in FIG. 1a. The two springs 136, 138 in the assembly hold the two flow divider valves 132, 134 closed. An elastomeric face seal 140 (i.e., o-ring) prevents leakage from the manifold 106 to either of the nozzle tips 112, 114. Any fuel in the manifold 106 flows to the fuel tank connection 142.

[00024] The nozzle passages 116, 118 are bored in housing 144. The retention passages 124, 126 are formed on the inner wall of the housing 144 or on the outer wall of sleeve 146 inserted into housing 144. The cavities 120, 122 are formed within the sleeve 146. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, the retention passages are formed on the outer wall of sleeve 146.

[00025] Turning now to FIG. 2, the valve assembly position during starting is shown. The fuel metering unit pressurizing valve 108 has opened and metered flow is being supplied to the fuel manifold 106 as indicated by arrow 150. The connection 142 to the fuel tank is blocked by the pressurizing valve 108. Fuel pressure builds and overcomes the force of the nozzle spring 138 and moves the piston 152 of valve 132 to the right. As the piston 152 translates, fuel that is in ecology cavities 120, 122 is displaced from the ecology cavities 120, 122 that fills the passages 116, 118 leading to the nozzle tips 112, 114. The flow displaced from cavities 120, 122 flows through the retention passage 124, 126 before filling the nozzle passages 116, 118. This retention passage 124, 126 retains fuel in all nozzle locations around the engine circumference. The retention passage 124, 126 allows the installation of the same nozzle assembly at any location around the circumference of the engine, thereby reducing cost since only one type of nozzle assembly is manufactured.

[00026] When the piston 152 moves further to the right as illustrated in FIG. 3, port 154 is opened. When port 154 is opened, metered flow is provided to nozzle tip 112. The nozzle valve 134 remains closed until metered flow is increased by the fuel control and pressure builds. As the piston 152 moves to the right, the volume of ecology cavity 120 diminishes and any fuel in the ecology cavity 120 that is displaced by the movement of piston 152 flows into nozzle passage 116.

[00027] Turning now to FIG. 4, as fuel flow continues to increase, the fuel control fuel pressure will build until it reaches a point where the divider valve 134 opens. Fuel then flows into cavity 122 and to nozzle 114 via port 158, retention passage 126 and nozzle passage 118. Flow division between nozzle 112 and nozzle 114 is determined by the valve port areas, spring forces, and nozzle tip orifice areas. The flow division is known in the art and need not be discussed here.

[00028] Turning now to FIG. 5, as the fuel flow decreases, the fuel pressure lowers. When the pressure gets low enough where the spring force is greater than the pressure force, divider valve 134 closes, leaving only nozzle 112 flow. When fuel is selected off by the operator, the pressurizing valve 108 closes. The closing of the valve 108 shuts off fuel to the manifold 106 and simultaneously connects the fuel manifold 106 to the fuel tank via passage 142. This allows the nozzle assembly piston 152 to move to the left as a result of the fuel pressure becoming lower than the force of the spring 138. The movement of the piston 152 to the left creates a suctioning effect that results in fuel being pulled from nozzle passages 116, 118 into the two fuel cavities 120, 122 as the piston 152 moves towards the closed position. Removal of the fuel from the hot passages 116, 118 of each nozzle prevents coking of the fuel in the hot passages 116, 118.

[00029] As previously indicated, the retention passage 124, 126 retains fuel in all nozzle locations around the engine circumference, which provides the ability to locate the valve in any position with respect to gravity. For example, FIG. 1b illustrates the valve positioned with respect to gravity such that all the fuel pulled from the nozzle and nozzle passages during engine shutdown as described below is all pulled into the ecology cavities. FIG. 1c illustrates the valve positioned with respect to gravity such that a portion of the fuel pulled from the nozzle and nozzle passages remains in the retention passage when the engine is shut down.

[00030] FIG. 6 shows a simplified representation of the valve of the invention at four positions around the circumference of combustion chamber 102 with the valves 132, 134 in the closed position as represented by block 210. For purposes of illustration, only ecology cavity 122 and nozzle passage 118 are shown and the direction of gravity is illustrated by arrow 208. Valve 200 is at a “12 o'clock” position, valve 202 is at a “3 o'clock” position, valve 204 is at a “6 o'clock” position, and valve 206 is at a “9 o'clock” position. With adequate piston translation to pull a small amount of air into each ecology cavity 120, 122, the assembly 100 can be tilted in any position and the fluid in the cavity will have to flow “up hill” through the spiral groove 124, 126 to get out of the assembly 110. The “up-hill” flow prevents fluid from dripping out of the ecology cavities 120, 122. For example, fluid has to travel “up-hill” through section 126₂ in valve 200 before flowing into the chamber 102. Fluid must travel “up-hill” through section 126₁ in valve 202 before flowing into chamber 102. In valve 204, fluid in cavity 122 must flow up to retention passage port 158 before it can flow down to nozzle passage 118 and then it must flow “up-hill” in nozzle passage 118 to reach the combustion chamber 102. In valve 206, fluid in cavity 122 must flow up to retention passage port 158 before it can flow down to section 126₁ and then it must flow “up-hill” in section 126₂ before it can reach the combustion chamber 102 via nozzle passage 118.

[00031] Turning now to FIGS. 7-9, an alternate embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In this embodiment, two independent pistons 300, 302 are used for the ecology function. This design allows each manifold to be filled and drained independently. This has the advantage of keeping nozzle passage 118 empty (i.e., dry) until just before flow is desired in nozzle 114. When the fuel metering unit pressurizing valve 108 has opened, metered flow is being supplied to the fuel manifold 106 as indicated by arrow 150. The connection 142 to the fuel tank is blocked by the pressurizing valve 108. Fuel pressure builds and overcomes the force of the nozzle spring 136 and moves the piston 300 to the right. As the piston 300 translates, fuel that is in ecology cavity 120 is displaced and flows into passage 116 via port 304 of cavity 120.

[00032] When the piston 300 moves further to the right as illustrated in FIG. 8, piston 300 will eventually reach the fully actuated position and port 304 will close and port 306 will open. When port 306 is opened, metered flow is provided to nozzle tip 112. Piston 302 remains closed until metered flow is increased by the fuel control and pressure builds. When pressure is high enough to overcome the force of spring 138, piston 302 will begin to move to the right and fuel in cavity 122 will flow through port 308 and into the retention passage 126 via port 158.

[00033] Turning now to FIG. 9, as fuel flow continues to increase, the fuel pressure will build until it reaches a point where the port 310 opens. Fuel then flows into retention passage 126 and to nozzle 114 via port 310 and port 156. Upon shutdown, the system works similar to the first system described. As the fluid pressure decreases, the force of the springs 136, 138 will eventually be higher than the fluid pressure and the pistons 300, 302 will move to the left. The movement of the piston 300, 302 to the left creates a suctioning effect that results in fuel being pulled from nozzle passages 116, 118 into the two fuel cavities 120, 122 via ports 304, 308 as the pistons 300, 302 move towards the closed position. The springs may be sized such that one of the pistons 300, 302 begins to move towards the closed position before the other piston.

[00034] The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[00035] Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.