Patent ID: 7739873

Claim:
A gas turbine engine combustion system comprising: a plurality of fuel injectors circumferentially disposed around a combustor, a plurality of fuel nozzle valves in a one to one fuel supply relationship with the fuel injectors, an electronic controller controllably connected to the fuel nozzle valves for individually controlling the fuel nozzle valves to eliminate and/or reduce hot streaking between nozzle vanes in a turbine nozzle immediately downstream of the combustor in response to sensed hot streak conditions in a combustion zone of the combustor, the means for sensing the hot streak conditions including temperature sensors operably mounted in the combustor to measure gas temperatures in a combustion zone in the combustor and connected in signal supply relationship to the electronic controller controllably connected to the fuel nozzle valves to individually control the fuel nozzle valves in response to hot streak conditions calculated by the electronic controller using input from the sensors, at least some of the temperature sensors mounted in one or more positions chosen from a group of first, second, and third positions, and the first position being in proximity of at least one of the fuel injectors within outer and inner combustor cowlings of the combustor, the second position being in an annular dome plate of the combustor, and the third position being in an outer liner of the combustor.