Patent ID: 8096132

Claim:
A combustor for combusting a mixture of fuel and air, the combustor comprising: a swirler for receiving a flow of air and a flow of fuel, the fuel and air being mixed together under the influence of the swirler, the swirler imparting a swirling flow to the fuel/air mixture, the swirler having a central channel therethrough; a prechamber in fluid communication with the swirler for receiving the swirling fuel/air mixture, the prechamber being a cylindrical member defining a central axis, the prechamber imparting an axial flow to the swirling fuel/air mixture in a downstream direction along the central axis, thereby creating a vortex flow of the fuel/air mixture having a low pressure region along the central axis; and a combustion chamber in fluid communication with and downstream of the prechamber, the combustion chamber having a greater flow area than a flow area of the prechamber, thereby permitting the vortex to expand radially and create a recirculation flow in which combustion products from combustion of the fuel/air within the combustion chamber are drawn upstream along the central axis back into the prechamber, a cooling assembly received in the channel, the cooling assembly defining an axis that is co-linear with the central axis of the prechamber, the cooling assembly in fluid communication with a source of air that is cooler than the recirculation flow and directing the cooler air in a downstream direction into the prechamber thereby creating a cooling flow.