PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Parker Aerospace, a business segment of Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that its Gas Turbine Fuel Systems PowerGen Division was awarded the fuel atomization nozzle and dual fuel manifold assembly for Vericor Power Systems’ TF50F oil field gas turbine. The newly designed fuel nozzle and manifold assembly will be produced using additive manufacturing (AM) and electron-beam manufacturing methods, enabling design features that provide cleaner fuel burn while reducing part count and improving manufacturing predictability.
Robust design, improved performance, reduced part count.
Fuel atomization and the control of fuel droplet size is critical to efficient gas turbine engine combustion; a key driver of droplet size optimization is the geometry of the internal flow paths within the engine’s fuel nozzles.
The Gas Turbine Fuel Systems PowerGen Division is leveraging its extensive engineering expertise in both aerospace and land-based gas turbine fuel nozzle design in developing the new fuel atomization nozzle and manifold assembly. The PowerGen Division worked closely with Parker Hannifin’s Additive Manufacturing Learning and Development Center, Parker’s company-wide resource dedicated to bringing Parker’s engineered solutions to market using additive manufacturing methods.
The new fuel nozzle design takes advantage of additive manufacturing techniques to improve fuel flow paths within the nozzle. This innovation enables better fuel atomization and distribution within the engine’s combustion chamber to enhance combustion performance, providing improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Further, additive manufacturing enables the new TF50F fuel nozzle to be produced using fewer parts than traditionally manufactured nozzles, with a 30-percent part-count reduction.
The new dual fuel manifold design takes advantage of Parker’s fully automated electron-beam welding capabilities to significantly improve the manufacturability of the manifold assembly. The welding takes place in a high-purity vacuum chamber leading to clean and predictable weld joints that are free of oxides and nitrates. Further, electron-beam welding eliminates the need for multi-pass welds, greatly reducing shrinkage and distortion.
Parker Aerospace’s fuel atomization expertise and the use of additive manufacturing combined to maximize value for Vericor. “Collaborating with Vericor to establish specifications and performance parameters helped the PowerGen team to get a clear picture of the best way to design and build the fuel nozzles and manifolds for the TF50F gas turbine,” said Steve O’Connor, general manager for the Gas Turbine Fuel Systems PowerGen Division. “By utilizing additive and electron-beam welding manufacturing methods – and removing the constraints of traditional manufacturing techniques – we are able to deliver a higher-performing system, requiring fewer parts, which also offers cost advantages to our customer.”
Testing and verification is complete, with manufacturing underway to support delivery of the new fuel nozzles to Vericor by early Q3 of 2019.
The Parker Aerospace stand is in hall 5, stand #C210 at the Paris Air Show, June 17-23, 2019.
About Parker Aerospace. Parker Aerospace is a global leader in the research, design, integration, manufacture, certification, and lifetime service of flight control, hydraulic, fuel and inerting, fluid conveyance, thermal management, lubrication, and pneumatic systems and components for aerospace and other high-technology markets. The company supports the world’s aircraft and aeroengine manufacturers, providing a century of experience and innovation for commercial and military aircraft.
About Parker Hannifin. Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than 100 years the company has engineered the success of its customers in a wide range of diversified industrial and aerospace markets. Learn more at www.parker.com or @parkerhannifin.
