Cross flow cooled catalytic reactor for a gas turbine

摘要

A catalytic combustor (34) for a gas turbine engine (30). A fuel-air mixture (50) is reacted on a catalytic surface (54) of a catalytic heat exchanger module (36) to partially combust the fuel (48) to form heat energy. The fuel-air mixture is formed using compressed air (44) that has been pre-heated to above a reaction-initiation temperature in a non-catalytic cooling passage (46) of the catalytic heat exchanger module (36). Because the non-catalytic cooling passages (46) provide the necessary pre-heating of the combustion air, no separate pre-heat burner is required. Fuel (48) is added to the pre-heated air (44) downstream of the non-catalytic cooling passage (46) and upstream of the catalytic surface (54), thereby eliminating the possibility of flashback of flame into the cooling passages (46). Both can-type (60) and annular (80) combustors utilizing such a combustion system are described.