US 12,320,293 B1
Turbine engine including a steam system
Arthur W. Sibbach, Boxford, MA (US); James R. Reepmeyer, Montgomery, OH (US); Koji Asari, Sharonville, OH (US); Erich Alois Krammer, West Chester, OH (US); and Robert R. Rachedi, Morrow, OH (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on Nov. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/515,864.
Int. Cl. F02C 3/30 (2006.01); F01K 11/02 (2006.01); F23R 3/28 (2006.01)
CPC F02C 3/30 (2013.01) [F01K 11/02 (2013.01); F23R 3/286 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A turbine engine for an aircraft, the turbine engine comprising:
a turbo-engine including:
a combustor positioned in a core air flow path to receive compressed air, the core air flow path including a plurality of core air flow path zones for core air to flow therethrough, the combustor being fluidly coupled to a fuel source to receive fuel, the fuel being injected into the combustor to mix with the compressed air to generate a fuel and air mixture, the fuel and air mixture being combusted in a primary combustion zone of the combustor to generate combustion gases;
an engine shaft; and
a turbine located downstream of the combustor to receive the combustion gases and to cause the turbine to rotate, the turbine coupled to the engine shaft to rotate the engine shaft when the turbine rotates;
a fan having a fan shaft coupled to the turbo-engine to rotate the fan shaft; and
a steam system fluidly coupled to the core air flow path to provide steam to the core air flow path to add mass flow to the core air, the steam system including:
a boiler located downstream of the combustor, the boiler receiving water and being fluidly connected to the combustor to receive the combustion gases and to boil the water to generate the steam;
a water pump in fluid communication with the boiler to direct a flow of water into the boiler;
a core steam flow control valve operable to control the flow of the steam into the core air flow path; and
a controller operatively coupled to the water pump to control an output of the water pump and the flow of water into the boiler, and operatively coupled to the core steam flow control valve to control an amount of the steam injected into the core air flow path, wherein the controller is configured to:
receive an input indicating a change in an operating condition of the turbine engine, the operating condition being a power level of the turbine engine;
determine if the turbine engine is being accelerated or decelerated; and
change, when the controller determines that the turbine engine is being accelerated or decelerated, the output of the water pump and to adjust the position of the core steam flow control valve to change the flow of the steam into the core air flow path.