Patent ID: 7707835

Claim:
A combustor for a gas turbine comprising: a combustor housing including a flow liner extending in a generally axial direction and a flow sleeve surrounding and spaced from said flow liner, arranged to define a flow path for flowing air in a generally axial flow direction between said liner and said flow sleeve to at least one burner at an aft end of the combustor; and an inlet to said flow sleeve for introducing additional air into the flow path in substantially the same axial direction as the direction of air flow along the flow path wherein said inlet is formed by an annular casing member attached to an inner wall of said flow sleeve within a radially outer portion of said flow path, thereby creating an annular plenum within said flow sleeve, said flow sleeve having at least one radially-oriented hole for flowing the additional air into the plenum in a radial direction substantially perpendicular to said axial flow direction, said casing provided with at least one axially-oriented exit aperture in communication with said plenum wherein said plenum and said axially oriented exit aperture are configured to turn the additional air in said annular plenum from said radial direction to said axial flow direction thereby enabling the additional air to be introduced into the flow path substantially in said axial flow direction and thus preventing radial cross flow of the additional air with the air flowing in said flow path.