Power plants – Combustion products used as motive fluid – With exhaust treatment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-28
2001-10-02
Casaregola, Louis J. (Department: 3746)
Power plants
Combustion products used as motive fluid
With exhaust treatment
C060S039780, C415S114000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295803
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to turbomachinery, and more specifically, to a cooling system for a combustion turbine engine, and particularly to a cooling system for hot turbine parts that returns the waste heat to the pre-combustion gas flow.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The performance of a gas/combustion turbine may be improved by increasing the temperature of the combustion process. As the firing temperature increases, the requirement for cooling of the turbine parts exposed to the combustion gases increases.
It is known to bleed a portion of the compressed air produced in the compressor section of a gas turbine for use as a cooling medium in the turbine portion of the engine. The compressed air may be injected into the flow of combustion gas to provide an insulating film along the turbine surfaces, or it may be passed through internal cooling passages formed in the hot turbine parts in a closed cooling system. After being heated in the internal cooling passages of a closed system, the heated compressed air may be returned to a lower pressure portion of the compressor, or alternatively, to the inlet of the combustor. By providing heated air to the combustor the overall efficiency of the gas turbine engine system may be improved. One example of such a prior art device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,076 issued to Huber et al. on Jul. 21, 1998, incorporated by reference herein.
One drawback of the prior art device of Huber is that the return of the hot compressed air to the combustor may cause fluid flow disturbances that complicate the design of the combustor system. Another drawback of the aforementioned configuration is that it is limited to compressed air as the cooling medium. What is needed is an apparatus and method for cooling a combustion turbine wherein the waste heat from the turbine portion is returned to the combustion air without generating a flow disturbance. It is also desired to provide a method and apparatus for cooling hot turbine parts in a manner that provides an efficient transfer of heat away from the turbine parts while returning the waste heat to the combustion process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the invention are satisfied by a gas turbine engine comprising a compressor having an outlet for discharging compressed air; a combustor having an inlet for receiving compressed air from the compressor outlet and an outlet for discharging combustion gas; a turbine having an inlet for receiving combustion gas from the combustor outlet and having a hot portion heated by the combustion gas; a cooling circuit for transferring heat from the hot portion to the compressed air, the cooling circuit further comprising: a heat exchanger disposed in a flow path of the compressed air between the compressor outlet and the combustor inlet; a cooling passage formed proximate the hot portion; a first connection between the outlet of the cooling passage and the inlet of the heat exchanger; and a second connection between the inlet of the cooling passage and the outlet of the heat exchanger.
In a combustion turbine system having a compressor for producing compressed air, a combustor for burning a fuel in the compressed air to produce combustion gas, a diffuser for directing the compressed air to the combustor, a turbine for extracting energy from the combustion gas, the turbine having a cooling passage formed therein, a method of cooling the turbine is disclosed herein comprising the steps of: providing a heat exchanger in the flow path of the compressed air between the compressor and the combustor; connecting the heat exchanger to the cooling passage to form a closed-loop cooling path; pumping a cooling fluid through the closed-loop cooling path to transfer heat energy from the turbine to the compressed air.
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Casaregola Louis J.
Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation
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