SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING COMPONENT LIFE IN A POWER SYSTEM

• US 20150185111A1
• Filed: 12/22/2014
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc), Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc. (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Armstrong, Michael J., Ruff, Christopher K., Smith, John W., Cline, Curtis H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,048,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2045/0085 Devices for aircraft health monitoring, e.g. monitoring flutter or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/80 Diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/14 Testing gas-turbine engines or jet-propulsion engines
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction

Abstract

An aircraft includes first and second gas turbine engines having a first component and a second component that is redundant with the first component, and an engine health monitoring system (EHMS) coupled to the first and second gas turbine engines. The EHMS is configured to calculate a remaining useful life (RUL) of the first component and of the second component, calculate a rate-of-life consumption of the first component and of the second component, predict when failure of the first component and failure of the second component will occur based on the RUL of each and based on the respective rate-of-life consumption of each, and provide instructions for altering operation of the aircraft that affects the RUL of the first or second component.

Claims

1. An aircraft, comprising:

first and second gas turbine engines having a first component and a second component that is redundant with the first component; and

an engine health monitoring system (EHMS) coupled to the first and second gas turbine engines, the EHMS configured to;

calculate a remaining useful life (RUL) of the first component and of the second component;

calculate a rate-of-life consumption of the first component and of the second component;

predict when failure of the first component and failure of the second component will occur based on the RUL of each and based on the respective rate-of-life consumption of each; and

provide instructions for altering operation of the aircraft that affects the RUL of the first or second component.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the first component is in the first turbine engine and the second redundant component is in the second turbine engine, and the EHMS is configured to provide the instructions such that the first or second gas turbine having the component with the lowest RUL is operated less stringently to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

3. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein the instructions include operating instructions to ensure adequate differential thrust between the first turbine engine and the second turbine engine.

4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the first and second components are both in the first gas turbine engine, and the EHMS is configured to provide the instructions such that the first gas turbine is operated to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

5. The aircraft of claim 4, wherein the first component is coupled to a first power circuit of the first gas turbine engine, and the second component is coupled to a second power circuit of the first gas turbine engine, and the EHMS is configured to provide the instructions for altering operation of the first and second power circuits to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the EHMS is configured to provide the instructions such that an operator of the aircraft has operational options for the aircraft that include options to:

A) maximize a propulsion system objective comprising one of a thrust, an electrical loading, and a specific fuel consumption;

B) extend the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL; and

C) vary a load between the first component and the second component.

7. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the EHMS is configured to calculate the RUL of the first and second components based on a local observation of the first and second components within the aircraft.

8. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the EHMS is configured to calculate the RUL of the first and second components based on a lifing model of the first and second components that includes component failures of the same components within a fleet of aircraft.

9. A method of operating an aircraft, comprising:

calculating a remaining useful life (RUL) of a first component and of a second component of the aircraft that is redundant with the first component;

calculating a rate-of-life consumption of the first component and of the second component;

predicting when failure of the first component and failure of the second component will occur based on the RUL of each and based on the respective rate-of-life consumption of each; and

providing instructions for altering operation of the aircraft that affects the RUL of the first or second component.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first component is in the first turbine engine and the second redundant component is in the second turbine engine, and further comprising providing the instructions such that the first or second gas turbine having the component with the lowest RUL is operated less stringently to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising providing the instructions to include adequate differential thrust between the first turbine engine and the second turbine engine.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second components are both in the first gas turbine engine, and further comprising providing the instructions such that the first gas turbine is operated to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first component is coupled to a first power circuit of the first gas turbine engine, and the second component is coupled to a second power circuit of the first gas turbine engine, and further comprising providing the instructions for altering operation of the first and second power circuits to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing the instructions such that an operator of the aircraft has operational options for the aircraft that include options to:

A) maximize a propulsion system objective comprising one of a thrust, an electrical loading, and a specific fuel consumption;

B) extend the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL; and

C) vary a load between the first component and the second component.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising calculating the RUL of the first and second components based on a local observation of the first and second components within the aircraft.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising calculating the RUL of the first and second components based on a lifing model of the first and second components that includes component failures of the same components within a fleet of aircraft.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying computer-executable instructions comprising instructions to:

calculate a remaining useful life (RUL) of a first component and of a second component of an aircraft that is redundant with the first component;

calculate a rate-of-life consumption of the first component and of the second component;

predict when failure of the first component and failure of the second component will occur based on the RUL of each and based on the respective rate-of-life consumption of each; and

provide instructions for altering operation of the aircraft that affects the RUL of at least one of the first and second components.

18. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first component is in the first turbine engine and the second redundant component is in the second turbine engine, and wherein the instructions further comprise steps such that the first or second gas turbine having the component with the lowest RUL is operated less stringently to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL, and wherein the instructions further include a limitation to a differential thrust between the first turbine engine and the second turbine engine.

19. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first and second components are both in the first gas turbine engine, and further comprising providing the instructions such that the first gas turbine is operated to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL, wherein the first component is coupled to a first power circuit of the first gas turbine engine, and the second component is coupled to a second power circuit of the first gas turbine engine;

and further comprising providing the instructions for altering operation of the first and second power circuits to increase the RUL of the component with the lowest RUL.

20. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise steps to perform one of:

calculate the RUL of the first and second components based on a local observation of the first and second components within the aircraft; and

calculate the RUL of the first and second components based on a lifing model of the first and second components that includes component failures of the same components within a fleet of aircraft.