Patent ID: 7137255

Claim:
An engine assembly comprising: a gas turbine engine producing an exhaust flow; and an afterburner apparatus coupled to the gas turbine engine, the afterburner apparatus including a combustor, a swirl generator and a variable area nozzle, the combustor having a combustor inlet, the swirl generator having an inlet housing, a swirl vane pack, a centerbody assembly, and a plurality of fuel injectors, the inlet housing being coupled to the combustor inlet, the inlet housing defining a hollow interior volume therein and serving as a conduit through which at least a portion of the exhaust flow is conducted, the hollow interior volume intersecting the combustor inlet at a dump step wherein the inlet housing has an inner dimension that is smaller than that of the combustor inlet, the swirl vane pack being disposed within the hollow interior volume and having a plurality of vanes, the vanes cooperating to change the velocity of the exhaust flow so that its velocity includes a substantial tangential velocity component, the centerbody assembly being coupled to the swirl vane pack and extending rearwardly therefrom, the plurality of fuel injectors being coupled to at least one of the inlet housing, the swirl vane pack and the centerbody assembly and dispensing a fuel therefrom; wherein the swirl generator converts the exhaust flow received therein into a swirling, three-dimensional flowfield; wherein a first portion of the flowfield flows over the dump step to form an outer recirculation zone; wherein a second portion of the flowfield forms a central recirculation zone that is anchored by an aft end of the centerbody assembly; wherein a first portion of the fuel mixes with the first portion of the flowfield to fuel the outer recirculation zone; wherein a second portion of the fuel mixes with the second portion of the flowfield to fuel the central recirculation zone; wherein a remaining portion of the fuel enters and fuels a core flow; and wherein the variable area nozzle receives combustion byproducts produced in the combustor by combustion of the fuel and produces propulsive thrust in response thereto.