Importance

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Abstract

A simplex air blast fuel injection system and method for the atomization of fuel for ignition to drive a gas turbine includes a simplex nozzle which receives a fuel from a fuel pump powered by the turbine over a range of pressures between maximum and minimum pressures during the operation of the turbine, and also received fuel from the fuel pump at a substantially lower pressure than the minimum fuel pressure when the turbine is cranked during startup. The fuel is discharged from the nozzle orifice as a swirling stream of atomized fuel during turbine operation, and as a film which is insufficiently atomized to initiate ignition during the turbine startup. An air compressor is also powered by the turbine to supply air at a low pressure and high volume to the fuel issuing from the nozzle orifice during both turbine operation and startup. An air director shroud imparts a swirling motion to the low pressure, high volume air and directs the swirling air to adjacent the fuel film as it issues from the nozzle orifice during startup to produce a pressure differential between opposite sides of the film to explode and atomize the fuel film sufficiently to permit initiation of ignition during turbine startup. A stream of low pressure, high volume air is also directed to the swirling stream of atomized fuel during turbine operation and that air stream is also preferably swirling air.

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First Claim