Cooling system and method for combustors

Abstract

The cooling system includes a jacket disposed at least partially around a combustor having a combustor channel opening. The jacket includes a slot having an opening oriented towards a downstream end of the combustor. The slot may include a width ranging from around 0.5% to around 100% of a width of the combustor channel opening. The slot accepts a coolant through the opening of the slot.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling system comprising:
 a combustor having a central axis;   a jacket disposed at least partially around the combustor, wherein the jacket includes a slot having an opening oriented towards a downstream end of the combustor.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the slot includes a width ranging from around 0.5% to around 100% of a width of a channel opening of the combustor. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the slot is substantially parallel with the central axis. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the slot is angled in comparison to the central axis. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the opening of the slot includes a tapered surface. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein an interior wall of the slot includes a wavy surface. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the slot accepts a coolant through the opening of the slot. 
     
     
         8 . The cooling system of  claim 7 , wherein the coolant includes at least one of a fuel and an oxidizer. 
     
     
         9 . The cooling system of  claim 7 , wherein the coolant is injected in at least one of subsonic and supersonic core flow. 
     
     
         10 . The cooling system of  claim 7 , wherein a flow of the coolant is at a lower pressure than a pressure in the combustor. 
     
     
         11 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the slot further includes a stator vane to change directionality of the coolant flow. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the jacket has discrete cooling holes to enable additional film cooling. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling system of  claim 1 ; wherein a wall of the jacket includes a porous material to enable transpiration cooling. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling system of  claim 1 ; wherein a wall of the jacket is coated with a thermal barrier coating. 
     
     
         15 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , further including a downstream nozzle. 
     
     
         16 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the combustor includes at least one of a hollow cylinder and a concentric cylinder. 
     
     
         17 . The cooling system of claim  19 , wherein the concentric cylinder includes a coolant slot. 
     
     
         18 . The cooling system of claim  19 , wherein the cylinder of the combustor includes at least one of a diverging wall and a converging wall. 
     
     
         19 . A method of using a cooling system configured to cool an end wall or lower an operating temperature of a combustor having a combustor channel opening around a central axis, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing the cooling system having a jacket disposed at least partially around the combustor, wherein the jacket includes a slot having an opening oriented towards a downstream end of the combustor;   injecting a coolant into the opening of the slot; and   cooling the combustor.   
     
     
         20 . The method of claim  22 , wherein the injected coolant has a coolant flow ranging from around 10% to around 200% of a main inlet air flow of the combustor. 
     
     
         21 . The method of claim  22 , wherein the cooling system accepts oblique shock waves.