System and method for real-time detection of gas turbine or aircraft engine blade problems

• US 20090228230A1
• Filed: 03/06/2008
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Balasubramanian, Srihari, Chati, Mandar Kalidas, Jammu, Vinay Bhaskar, Nirmalan, Nirm Velumylum, Rai, Sudhanshu, Velagandula, Omprakash
• Application Number:
  US12/075,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20090228230A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/113
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/085 to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/003 Arrangements for testing or measuring for measuring vibrations G01H
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/112 by limiting temperatures
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/70 Type of control algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/14 Testing gas-turbine engines or jet-propulsion engines

Abstract

A method and system are implemented to detect gas turbine blade problems in real time and provide more accurate prediction capabilities than known techniques due to inclusion of physics-based correction and temperature modeling methods for the hot gas path parts lifing. The system and method use pyrometer data and operational data to generate physics-based corrections of pyrometer data and physics-based bucket temperature estimations and failure signatures.

Claims

1. A gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system configured to identify changes between measured relative or absolute bucket temperatures and baseline temperatures.

2. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 1, wherein the baseline temperatures are based on pyrometer monitoring data and at least one on-site monitor configured to monitor desired operational parameters.

3. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 2, wherein the operational parameters are selected from gas turbine or aircraft engine temperatures, pressures, load, and combustion dynamics.

4. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 2, wherein the pyrometer and the at least one on-site monitor are configured together to monitor gas turbine or aircraft engine operational parameters in real-time.

5. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 1, wherein the bucket relative temperature is generated via a model based filter configured to reduce variations in pyrometer signals based on variations in desired operational parameters and to generate a corrected pyrometer signal therefrom.

6. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 5, further configured generate a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature in response to the corrected pyrometer signal.

7. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 1, further configured to identify a failure mode associated with a failed bucket.

8. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 7, wherein the failure mode is identified via a bucket failure mode signature database and a comparator configured to compare a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature with bucket failure mode signature data within the database to identify the failure mode associated with a failed bucket.

9. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 1, wherein the bucket relative temperature differences correlate with bucket failure modes selected from bucket thermal barrier coating spallation, bucket cracks, bucket platform cracks, and bucket cooling passage blockages.

10. A gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system comprising:

a first pyrometer and at least one on-site monitor configured together to generate gas turbine or aircraft engine operational parameters;

a first model based filter configured to reduce variations in pyrometer signals based on variations in the operational parameters and to generate a first corrected pyrometer signal therefrom;

a first physics-based signal processor configured to generate a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature in response to the corrected pyrometer signal;

a bucket failure mode signature database; and

a first comparator configured to compare the normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature with bucket failure mode signature data within the database to identify a failure mode associated with a failed bucket.

11. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 10, wherein the operational parameters are selected from gas turbine temperatures, pressures, load and combustion dynamics.

12. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 10, wherein the failure mode signature data are associated with bucket failure modes selected from bucket thermal barrier coating spallation, bucket cracks, bucket platform cracks, and bucket cooling passage blockages.

13. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 10, further comprising a second pyrometer and at least one additional on-site monitor configured together to generate gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket operational parameters in response to various induced bucket failure modes.

14. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 13, further comprising a second model based filter configured to reduce variations in pyrometer signals based on variations in the operational parameters generated in response to various induced bucket failure modes and to generate a corrected second pyrometer signal therefrom.

15. The gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure mode detection system according to claim 14, further comprising a second physics-based signal processor configured to generate a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature in response to the corrected second pyrometer signal.

16. A method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes, the method comprising:

monitoring gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket operational parameters in real-time via a pyrometer and at least one on-site monitor;

filtering pyrometer signals based on variations in the operational parameters and generating a corrected pyrometer signal therefrom;

generating a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature in response to the corrected pyrometer signal;

generating a bucket failure mode signature database offline; and

comparing the normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature with bucket failure mode signature data within the database to identify a failure mode associated with a failed bucket.

17. The method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes according to claim 16, wherein monitoring gas turbine or aircraft engine operational parameters in real-time via a pyrometer and at least one on-site monitor comprises monitoring gas turbine or aircraft engine operational parameters selected from temperatures, pressures, load, combustion dynamics.

18. The method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes according to claim 16, wherein filtering pyrometer signals based on variations in the operational parameters and generating a corrected pyrometer signal therefrom comprises processing the pyrometer signals via a modeling filter to reduce variations in the pyrometer signal due to operational condition variations.

19. The method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes according to claim 16, wherein generating a normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature in response to the corrected pyrometer signal comprises processing the bucket failure mode data via a physics-based normalization model element to generate the normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature.

20. The method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes according to claim 16, wherein generating a bucket failure mode signature database offline comprises:

inducing various bucket failure modes and generating bucket failure mode data therefrom; and

processing the bucket failure mode data via a physics-based normalization model element to generate a library of normal and abnormal signatures representing failed buckets.

21. The method for detecting gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket failure modes according to claim 16, wherein comparing the normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature with bucket failure mode signature data within the database to identify a failure mode associated with a failed bucket comprises comparing the normalized gas turbine or aircraft engine bucket temperature signature with bucket failure mode signature data within the database and generating a temperature deviation profile therefrom.