Methods and apparatus for supplying cooling air to turbine engines

• Main Authors: SMITH, MITCHELL DONALD, GRIFFITHS, JAMES ALAN, BARTOS, JAMES WILLIAM
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 26.04.2006
• Subjects: AIR INTAKES FOR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; BLASTING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; COMBUSTION ENGINES; CONTROLLING FUEL SUPPLY IN AIR-BREATHING JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; GAS-TURBINE PLANTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL; HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS,IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT; HEATING; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS; POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; WEAPONS

A cooling air cooling system (40) is selectively operable to reduce fuel gum deposits within the cooling system during gas turbine engine operations. The cooling system includes a recirculating loop (46) that includes at least three heat exchangers (50, 52, 54) in fluid communication with the recirculating loop. A first heat exchanger cools cooling air (42) supplied to the gas turbine engine. A second heat exchanger cools fluid exiting the first of the heat exchangers with fan discharge air (43) prior to the fluid entering the third heat exchanger. A third heat exchanger uses combustor main fuel flow (44) to cool the fluid circulating in the recirculating loop.