US3819321A

US3819321A - Cooled combustor-nozzle assembly

Info

Publication number: US3819321A
Application number: US00215968A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Witt
Original assignee: United Aircraft Corp
Current assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corp
Priority date: 1972-01-03
Filing date: 1972-01-03
Publication date: 1974-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-25

Abstract

A combination combustor-nozzle is formed of stacked wafers, or plates. Each wafer has two cut-out sections separated by a web. One cut-out section forms a portion of the combustion chamber and mixing chamber while the other cut-out section forms a portion of the diffuser. The webs form nozzles between the wafers. Openings in the wafers adjacent the portion of the cut-out section forming the combustion chamber have grooves extending to the inner edge of the plate forming an injector. A manifold directs a fuel and oxidant to these openings. Other openings in the wafers have a groove connected thereto which extends along the webs to the edge of the wafer adjacent the downstream end of the cut-out forming the combustion chamber. A coolant or diluent supply directs its fluid to these grooves.

Description

United States Patent [191 Witt [11] v 3,819,321 June 25, 1974 COOLED COMBUSTOR-NOZZLE ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: Donald L. Witt, North Palm Beach,

Fla.

[73] Assignee: United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Conn.

[22] Filed: Jan. 3, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 215,968

[52] US. Cl. 431/350, 60/39.74 A, 239/555 [51] Int. Cl. F23d 13/24 [58] Field of Search 431/158, 328, 350; 239/555, 265.11; 60/39.74 A

[56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,685,916 8/1954 Martt 239/555 3,413,704 12/1968 Addomset al..' 60/39.74 A

3,602,432 8/1971 Mulready 239/555 3,605,408 9/1971 McGough 60/3974 A 3,615,054 10/1971 Botz .f. 239/555 3,710,574 1/1973 Pearson 60/39.74 A

Primary Examiner-Carroll B. Dority, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jack N. McCarthy 5 7] ABSTRACT A combination combustor-nozzle is formed of stacked wafers, or plates. Each wafer has two cut-out sections separated by a web. One cut-out section forms a portion of the combustion chamber and mixing chamber while the other cut-out section forms a portion of the diffuser. The webs form nozzles between the wafers.

Openings in the wafers adjacent the portion of the cutout section forming the combustion chamber have grooves extending to the inner edge of the plate forming an injector. A manifold directs a fuel and oxidant to these openings. Other openings in the wafers have a groove connected thereto which extends along the webs to the edge of the wafer adjacent the downstream end of the cut-out forming the combustion chamber. A coolant or diluent supply directs its fluid to these grooves.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 1 COOLED COMBUSTOR-NOZZLE ASSEMBLY I BACKGROUND OFTl-IE I VENTION This invention relates to combustion apparatus 'and nozzle means for use in lasers. One nozzle construction made up of wafers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,432.

' SUMM RY OF THE INVENTION A primary object'of the presentinvention is to provide a cooled combustor-nozzle assembly for advanced laser systems for operation at temperature levels beyond those .now. experienced.

In accordance with the present invention, a cooling passage is provided between adjacent wafers.- These passages extend to a point adjacent the combustion chamber for injection of fluid thereinto; r

In accordancewith the present invention, a single assembly is formed-containing an injector,'combustion chamber, and nozzle means. I I

Further, wafers are bonded into an integral structure eliminating seals and any, flow disturbance due to leak- Further, anotherfluid canbeinjected at the exit I plane of the nozzles to provide for more effi'cient laser formed in each wafer adjacent the end of the cut-out section 10.

Grooves

32, 34 and 36 connect the

openings

24, 26 and 28, respectively, to the edge of the wafer located away from the connecting web 12. Holes 20 and 22 are connected by grooves on the face of the wafer to the edge of the wafer where it forms the combustion chamber 14. A groove 38 extends from the opening 20 along one edge of the web 12 to approximately the center thereof, where it then goes across the web and back along the otheredge and along the edge of the mixing chamber 16 where it then goes back to a point adjacent the hole 24. At'thispoint, it turns and goes in the opposite direction along the edge of the combustion chamber 14 where it Stops. The end of the passage has two

short grooves

42 and 44 which connect the groove 38 to the edge of the combustion chamber 14.

A groove 48 extends from the opening 22 along one edge of the web 12 to'approximately the center thereof, where it then goes across the web and back along the other edge'and'along the edge of the mixing chamber 16 where it then goes back to a point adjacent the hole At this point it turns and goes in the opposite direction along the edge of the combustion chamber 14 where it stops. The end of the passage has two short grooves 52 and-54 which connect the groove to the edge of thecombustion chamber 14.

The wafer member 4 is formed flat on one side A and contoured on the other side B. The flat side A of all of the wafers contains the associated grooves 38,- 42 and 44 and associated

grooves

48, 52 and 54. The surface B of each web 12 is formed having a rounded surface FIG. 5 is a'view showing wafers together forr'ning a I nozzle and a complete nozzle'segment'.

FIG.-6 is a view showing several nozzle wafers lined up fon'ning" different nozzle segments.

FIG. 7' isa modification of the means formingthe nozzle segments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. 1, a combined combustornoule assembly 2 is shown which is comprised of a plurality of wafer members 4 fixedly mounted between end plates 6 and 7. Each wafer member4-is formed having two cut-out sections 8 and lfl'separated by a connecting web l2. Cut-out section 8 iscontoured to provide the cross-section of a combustion chamber 14' and a mixing chamber'l fii Cut-out section 10 provides for a laser cavity 18 andcan be contoured to provide the cross-section of a diffuser 18' having an, exit opening 19. A flange section 17 extends outwardly from. the exit opening 19 forming along flange when the'wafer members are assembled. Holes 15 can be located in the assembled long flange for attaching an extension -to the laser cavity if necessary. A laser cavity is shown in US. Pat. application, Ser. No. 772,072, filed Oct. 29, 1968 for a Closed Cycle Device.

A hole .20 is formed at one end of said connecting web 12 and a hole 22isformed at'the other end of said 56, a flat portion 58, a curved portion 62 which curves outwardly'to an edge C and then a curved portion 64 which curves inwardly to the flat side A at point D. Spacers-66 are provided, each spacer having a height which is greater than the heightof point C, which properly spaces adjacent faces B to form a two-dimensional nozzle 50 (see FIG. 5). In building up a combustornozzle assembly ,the wafers are stacked having like sides together. Each end plate would be a flat surface so that the first wafer member 4, wafer No. 1, would have its flat side A placed thereagainst. This would leave side B exposed; the next wafer member 4, wafer No; 2, would have its side B placed against the side B of wafer No. 1. This would leave side A exposed; then the third wafer member 4, wafer No. 3, would have its side A placed against the side A of wafer No. 2. This continues for the length of the combustor-nozzle assembly which can be of any desirable length stopping at a flat surface. The

grooves

32, 34 and 36 are located on opposite sides of the wafer members 4 so that when the wafer members are stacked in the manner disclosed above, the grooves form the passageways as shown in FlG.-3, that is the

grooves

32, 34 and 36 of each wafer mate withthe flat side of an adjacent wafer.

Grooves

38 and 48 are located on the'same sides of wafer members 4 so that when the wafer members are stacked in the manner disclosed above, the grooves combine to form a larger cooling passage between the mating wafer members 4. x

End plate 6 is formed having openings which correspond to the

openings

20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 of the wafer members 4. A manifold 74 has two inlet conduits 76 and 78 connected to the openings 20' and 22 of the end plate 6. A manifold 84 has two inlet conduits 86 and 88 connected to the

openings

24 and 28 of the end plate 6 and a conduit 94 is connected to opening 26 thereof. An ignition means 96 is provided to ignite a combustible mixture in the combustion chamber 14. End plate 7 may be a mirror image of end plate 6 or a flat plate.

The assembly of wafer members 4 and end plates 6 and 7 are bonded together to form an integral structure and ensure against leakage between the openings and grooves. When the combustor-nozzle assembly is ready for operation, a diluent supply and control are connected to manifold 74, a fuel supply and control are connected to manifold 84, and an oxidizer supply and control are connected to conduit 94. The fuel and oxidizer enter the combustion chamber 14 through the triplet injector formed by the

grooves

32, 34 and 36. A coolant is delivered to openings 22 and 20 and passes through the

grooves

38 and 48, respectively, to the

grooves

42, 44 and 52, 54. Nitrogen, which is a fluid with a high flow rate for laser operations, is a logical fluid for use as a coolant for a C gas dynamic laser. The nitrogen is used to cool the connecting web, or bar 12, and the combustion and mixing chamber walls before it is injected through

openings

42, 44 and 52, 54. CO can be used for the fuel and 0 can be used for the oxidizer.

FIG. 6 discloses a modification of the wafer member 4 wherein, in addition to the large cooling passages formed by

mating grooves

38 and 48, further grooves 35 are provided adjacent to the downstream edge of connecting web 12. These grooves 35 form a full passageway across the web 12 when the combustor-nozzle assembly is bonded together. A plurality of grooves 37 extend from the grooves 35 to the downstream edge of the web 12 and these grooves form passages which extend from the passage formed by grooves 35 to the downstream edges of mating wafer members 4. A separate manifold system can supply reactants or diluents at the nozzle exit plane. CO or H O injected at the nozzle exit plane could increase the laser output capability of the pure CO gas dynamic laser system.

In FIG. 7 a configuration is shown wherein the webs are shown of different construction. Alternate wafer members 4 have

different webs

12A and 12B. The webs 12A have passages 100 extending therethrough which form the nozzle sections and webs 123 have a longitudinal groove 102 which mates with opening 22A. Small nozzles 104 extend along the length of the web 128 and connect the groove 102 to the downstream edge of the web 128. In this configuration, for a chemical laser, gases from the initial combustion process in combustion chamber 14 and mixing chamber 16 enter the laser cavity 18 through the nozzles 50A and the reactant and diluent can be supplied through aligned openings 22A in wafer members 4A to the grooves 102 of each web 128. The reactant and diluent are injected into the laser cavity 18 through the nozzles 104. The area ratio of the two

nozzles

50A and 104 may be different and can be selected to optimize flow and mixing conditions. Wake and shock effects from the nozzle exit plane may be reduced by tilting the assembly of wafer members 4 relative to the laser cavity 18 so as to direct each laser beam particle through an identical set of wake and shock disturbances rather than a varying but symmetrical pattern of disturbances.

I claim:

1. In combination, a combustor-nozzle device comprising a plurality of wafers; each wafer having first and second cut-out portions with a web means therebetween; said first cut-out portion forming a section of an injector, combustion chamber and mixing chamber; said web means forming a portion of a nozzle; said second cut-out portion forming a section of a laser cavity; each web means having one flat side and one contoured side; alternate sets of web means having different size nozzles formed therein; each wafer has a hole aligned with a hole in each adjacent wafer; said aligned holes forming a passage through said wafers; the noules of one set of web means being connected to said combustion chamber and mixing chamber; the other nozzle of the other set of said web means being connected to the passage formed by the aligned holes.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 including means for supplying CO to the passage formed by the aligned holes.

3. In combination in a laser system, a combustornozzle device comprising a plurality of stacked wafers; each wafer having a first enclosed cut-out portion and a second adjacent cut-out portion having an open end, web means being formed between said cut-out portions; the plurality of first cut-out portions forming the face of an injector, combustion chamber and mixing chamber; the plurality of web means forming a plurality of rows of nozzles therebetween; the plurality of second cut-out portions forming a laser cavity; a nozzle row is formed by a contoured side of one web means and a cooperating side of an adjacent web means.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein each wafer has a hole located therein aligned with a hole in each adjacent wafer; said aligned holes forming a passage through said wafers; groove means connect said passage to a cut-out portion; means for supplying a diluent to the passage formed by the aligned holes; said diluent being passed to said laser cavity.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said groove means extends along said web means to act as a nozzle coolant as well as diluent for the laser cavity.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said diluent is nitrogen.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said diluent is CO

Claims

1. In combination, a combustor-nozzle device comprising a plurality of wafers; each wafer having first and second cut-out portions with a web means therebetween; said first cut-out portion forming a section of an injector, combustion chamber and mixing chamber; said web means forming a portion of a nozzle; said second cut-out portion forming a section of a laser cavity; each web means having one flat side and one contoured side; alternate sets of web means having different size nozzles formed therein; each wafer has a hole aligned with a hole in each adjacent wafer; said aligned holes forming a passage through said wafers; the nozzles of one set of web means being connected to said combustion chamber and mixing chamber; the other nozzle of the other set of said web means being connected to the passage formed by the aligned holes.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 including means for supplying CO2 to the passage formed by the aligned holes.

3. In combination in a laser system, a combustor-nozzle device comprising a plurality of stacked wafers; each wafer having a first enclosed cut-out portion and a second adjacent cut-out portion having an open end, web means being formed between said cut-out portions; the plurality of first cut-out portions forming the face of an injector, combustion chamber and mixing chamber; the plurality of web means forming a plurality of rows of nozzles therebetween; the plurality of second cut-out portions forming a laser cavity; a nozzle row is formed by a contoured side of one web means and a cooperating side of an adjacent web means.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said diluent is nitrogen.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said diluent is CO2.