Patent ID: 8459033

Claim:
A gas turbine engine system for combusting a flow of fuel, comprising: a combustor; and a fuel system, comprising: a fuel line configured to provide the flow of fuel to the combustor; a fuel heat exchanger positioned on the fuel line, wherein the fuel heat exchanger is configured to provide the flow of fuel to the combustor at a substantially constant temperature to maintain a Modified Wobbe Index (MWI) of the flow of fuel within a desired range; a temperature control valve positioned on the fuel line upstream of the fuel heat exchanger, wherein the temperature control valve divides the fuel line into a bypass line and a heat exchanger line such that the flow of fuel in the bypass line bypasses the fuel heat exchanger and the flow of fuel in the heat exchanger line is directed to the heat exchanger, and wherein the bypass line and the heat exchanger line merge together downstream of the heat exchanger to reform the fuel line; a first temperature sensor positioned on the fuel line upstream of the temperature control valve; a second temperature sensor positioned on the fuel line downstream of the merger of the bypass line and the heat exchanger line, wherein the temperature control valve is configured to control the fuel based on temperatures from the first and second sensors; and a gas control valve positioned downstream of the second temperature sensor and upstream of the combustor, wherein the gas control valve is configured to control the volume or flow rate of the flow of fuel entering the combustor.