TORCH IGNITOR SYTEM FOR A COMBUSTOR OF A GAS TURBINE ENGINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME

An embodiment of a torch ignitor system for a combustor of a gas turbine engine includes a torch ignitor (10), the torch ignitor include a combustion chamber (16) oriented about a torch axis (A), the combustion chamber having axially upstream (102) and downstream (104) ends defining a flow direction through the combustion chamber, along the axis. The torch ignitor further includes a tip (106) at a downstream end of the elbow for issuing the injection of combustion products. An embodiment of a method (200) includes initiating combustion (202) in a combustion chamber of a torch ignitor to produce an ignition jet flame extending along an ignition jet flame axis, and igniting (206) a fuel/air mixture in a gas turbine combustor by issuing a respective spray cone of the fuel/air mixture from a respective fuel injectors in a plurality of fuel injectors, wherein the ignition jet flame axis intersects a plurality of the spray cones.