US 12,442,312 B2
Methods and system for cleaning gas turbine engine
Ambarish Jayant Kulkarni, Niskayuna, NY (US); Bernard Patrick Bewlay, Niskayuna, NY (US); Byron Andrew Pritchard, Jr., Loveland, OH (US); Nicole Jessica Tibbetts, Delanson, NY (US); Michael Edward Eriksen, Milford, OH (US); and Eric John Telfeyan, Delanson, NY (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Cincinnati, OH (US)
Filed on Jun. 21, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/749,805.
Application 18/749,805 is a continuation of application No. 17/518,901, filed on Nov. 4, 2021, abandoned.
Application 17/518,901 is a continuation of application No. 15/443,048, filed on Feb. 27, 2017, granted, now 11,174,751, issued on Nov. 16, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0384666 A1, Nov. 21, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F01D 25/00 (2006.01); B08B 3/02 (2006.01); B08B 9/00 (2006.01); F02C 7/30 (2006.01)
CPC F01D 25/002 (2013.01) [B08B 3/02 (2013.01); B08B 9/00 (2013.01); F02C 7/30 (2013.01); B08B 2230/01 (2013.01); F05D 2220/323 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for cleaning one or more components of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
forming a working fluid having droplets of a detergent entrained in a flow of steam, wherein forming the working fluid includes atomizing the detergent in an atomizing nozzle prior to discharging the working fluid from a fluid delivery mechanism into the gas turbine engine;
controlling a size distribution of the droplets in the working fluid by controlling a steam pressure of the flow of steam in which the droplets of the detergent are entrained, wherein the size distribution includes droplets having different sizes, wherein a first portion of the droplets has a size smaller than 100 microns and is for cleaning a cooling circuit of the one or more components of a combustor or a turbine section of the gas turbine engine, and a second portion of the droplets has a size less than 250 microns and is for cleaning a gas flow path including the one or more components of a compressor, the combustor, or the turbine section of the gas turbine engine; and
introducing the working fluid into the gas flow path and the cooling circuit of the gas turbine engine such that the working fluid impinges upon one or more surfaces of the one or more components of the gas turbine engine.