🔍 Key Concepts

• Combustion process in a gas turbine and what is needed for efficient burning • How a swirl cup / air shroud affects the fuel spray pattern from the nozzle • The relationship between cooling, turbulence, and air-fuel mixing inside the combustor

💭 Think About

• Think about the primary job of the fuel nozzle in a gas turbine and what must happen to the fuel before it can burn efficiently. • Consider how introducing a swirling motion of air at the nozzle tip changes the way fuel is distributed and interacts with the air stream. • Ask yourself whether each listed effect (cooling, turbulence, mixing) is a primary design purpose of the air shroud, or a side benefit, or not related.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what the swirl cup physically does to the air and fuel as they leave the nozzle tip. • Check whether turbulence alone is the goal, or if it is used to achieve another objective. • Confirm if cooling the nozzle tip is a main design function of the air shroud, or if that function is handled by other parts of the system.