David J Monk

US Patent:

20220333531, Oct 20, 2022

Filed:

Feb 22, 2022

Appl. No.:

17/676992

Inventors:

- Austin TX, US
Patrick Bailey - Hutto TX, US
David Monk - Hutto TX, US
Felipe Gomez del Campo - Boston MA, US
Drew Weibel - Dorchester MA, US
Ilya Gulko - Richmond Hts OH, US
Ford McClure - West Palm Beach FL, US

International Classification:

F02C 7/266
F23R 3/16

Abstract:

An ignition and combustion assist system and method comprising a plasma igniter and electronic driver unit for use with gas turbine engines operating under low air densities, reduced voltage conditions and overall pressure ratios of 3:1 to 7:1. The plasma igniter has an inner chamber housing a centrally positioned and electrically isolated electrode attached to an electrical lead, driver unit, and AC or DC power supply. The electrode features a corner positioned near an outlet end of the igniter, where a plasma arc ignites a fuel-air mixture creating a flame extending into a primary burn region of a combustor of the gas turbine. The driver unit is in two embodiments and configured with low-cost microsecond voltage wave time periods or energy-efficient nano-second pulses. The method uses the plasma igniter and the electronic driver units described herein separately with other components or together.