Control of machinery with calibrated performance model

• US 10,061,298 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2016
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology, LLC (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Singh, Anurag, Di Palma, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/139,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20170315537A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/20 by throttling; by adjusting vanes
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/3213 an intermediate stage of the turbine
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/81 Modelling or simulation
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/20 to optimize the performance of a machine
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/303 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4097 characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM G05B19/4093 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/42155 Model
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/50068 Test valve, object, store parameters, machine object to get wanted performance

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods, systems, and program products for controlling a machine. Methods according to the present disclosure can include: calculating, using a performance model of the machine, a set of inter-stage conditions of the machine corresponding to one of a set of input conditions and a set of output conditions during an operation of the machine, wherein the machine includes a turbine component having a fluid path therein traversing a plurality of turbine stages and a plurality of inter-stage positions; calibrating the performance model of the machine based on a difference between a predicted value in the performance model of the machine and one of the set of input conditions and the set of output conditions; and adjusting an operating parameter of the machine based on the calibrated performance model and the calculated set of inter-stage conditions of the machine.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a machine, the method comprising:

calculating, using a performance model of the machine, a set of inter-stage conditions of the machine corresponding to one of a set of input conditions and a set of output conditions during an operation of the machine, wherein the machine includes a turbine component having a fluid path therein traversing a plurality of turbine stages and a plurality of inter-stage positions, and wherein each of the set of input conditions, the set of output conditions, and the set of inter-stage conditions includes one of a temperature, a pressure, and a flow rate;

calibrating the performance model of the machine based on a difference between a predicted value in the performance model of the machine and one of the set of input conditions and the set of output conditions; and

adjusting an operating parameter of the machine based on the calibrated performance model and the calculated set of inter-stage conditions of the machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance model of the machine includes a threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion within the turbine component of the machine.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the calibrating of the performance model includes adjusting the threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the adjusting of the operating parameter of the machine includes reducing the flow rate within the inlet in response to the thermal stress and thermal expansion exceeding the threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance model of the fluid path includes a start-up rate for each of the plurality of turbine stages in the turbine component of the machine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the operating parameter includes adjusting the position of a control valve of the turbine component.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the calculating, calibrating, and adjusting with the calibrated performance model.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein performance model corresponds to a different machine from the machine being controlled.

9. A system for controlling a machine, the system comprising:

a system controller in communication with a monitoring system of the machine, the system controller being operable to;

calculate, using a performance model of the machine, a set of inter-stage conditions of the machine corresponding to a set of input conditions and a set of output conditions during an operation of the machine, wherein the machine includes a turbine component having a fluid path therein traversing a plurality of turbine stages and a plurality of inter-stage positions, wherein each of the set of input conditions, the set of output conditions, and the set of inter-stage conditions includes one of a temperature, a pressure, and a flow rate, and

calibrate the performance model of the machine based on a difference between a predicted value in the performance model of the machine and one of the set of input conditions and the set of output conditions; and

a control valve operably coupled to the system controller and an inlet of the turbine component, the control valve being operable to adjust an operating parameter of the machine based on the calibrated performance model and the calculated set of inter-stage conditions of the machine.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the performance model of the machine includes a threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion within the turbine component of the machine.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the system controller is further operable to adjust the threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion based on the difference between the predicted value in the performance model of the machine and one of the set of input conditions and the set of output conditions.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the system adjusts the control valve to modify the flow rate in the inlet of the turbine component in response to an internal condition of the selected one of the plurality of inter-stage positions exceeding a threshold value.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the performance model of the fluid path includes a start-up rate for each of the plurality of turbine stages in the turbine component of the machine.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the system controller is further configured to the calculating, calibrating, and adjusting with the calibrated performance model in response to an adjustment of the control valve.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the system controller is in communication with a controller of a different machine, and wherein the performance model is pre-configured based using an operation of the different machine.

16. A program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for controlling a machine, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program code for causing a computer system to:

calculate, using a performance model of the machine, a set of inter-stage conditions of the machine corresponding to a set of input conditions and a set of output conditions during an operation of the machine, wherein the machine includes a turbine component having a fluid path therein traversing a plurality of turbine stages and a plurality of inter-stage positions, wherein each of the set of input conditions, the set of output conditions, and the set of inter-stage conditions includes one of a temperature, a pressure, and a flow rate;

calibrate the performance model of the machine based on a difference between a predicted value in the performance model of the machine and one of the set of input conditions and the set of output conditions; and

adjust an operating parameter of the machine based on the calibrated performance model and the calculated set of inter-stage conditions of the machine.

17. The program product of claim 16, the operating parameter of the machine includes the flow rate within the inlet.

18. The program product of claim 16, further comprising program code for causing the computer system to repeat the calculating, calibrating, and adjusting with the calibrated performance model.

19. The program product of claim 16, wherein the performance model of the machine includes a threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion within the turbine component of the machine.

20. The program product of claim 16, further comprising program code for causing the computer system to adjust adjusting the threshold value of thermal stress and thermal expansion based on the calibrated performance model.