US 11,920,792 B1
Cooling turbine engine fuel-air mixer with steam
Gregory Boardman, Owens Cross Roads, AL (US)
Assigned to RTX CORPORATION, Farmington, CT (US)
Filed by Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Farmington, CT (US)
Filed on Mar. 13, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/120,818.
Int. Cl. F23R 3/28 (2006.01); F23D 14/62 (2006.01); F23D 14/64 (2006.01); F23L 7/00 (2006.01); F23R 3/14 (2006.01)
CPC F23R 3/283 (2013.01) [F23D 14/62 (2013.01); F23D 14/64 (2013.01); F23L 7/005 (2013.01); F23R 3/14 (2013.01); F23R 3/286 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An operating method for a turbine engine, comprising:
injecting fuel into an inner passage of a fuel-air mixer;
directing swirled air into the inner passage to mix with the fuel within the inner passage;
cooling a sidewall forming and circumscribing the inner passage, the cooling comprising flowing steam through a steam passage embedded radially within the sidewall;
igniting a mixture of the fuel and the swirled air within the inner passage to form combustion products; and
directing quench air through apertures in the sidewall to quench the combustion products within the inner passage.
 
2. An apparatus for a turbine engine, comprising:
a fuel-air mixer including an inner passage, a sidewall, a steam passage, a fuel nozzle and an air swirler;
the inner passage extending axially along an axis within the fuel-air mixer;
the sidewall extending circumferentially around and axially along the inner passage;
the steam passage embedded within the sidewall and extending along the inner passage;
the fuel nozzle configured to direct fuel into the inner passage; and
a plurality of steam outlets arranged through the sidewall in an array about the axis, the plurality of steam outlets fluidly coupled with and downstream of the steam passage;
the air swirler configured to direct swirled air into the inner passage for mixing with the fuel, and the air swirler extending radially across the steam passage to the inner passage.