Active control of unsteady motion phenomena in turbomachinery
First Claim
1. In a turbomachine, a control system for actively controlling the dynamics of at least one mode of at least one unsteady motion phenomenon associated with the blading of said turbomachine, said control system having a control bandwidth which is at least partly coextensive with the bandwidth of said unsteady motion phenomenon and comprising:
- (a) an array of sensors located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon for continuously producing from each of said sensors sensor signals related to said unsteady motion phenomenon;
(b) signal processing means connected to receive said sensor signals from each of said sensors and having at least one channel for continuously processing said sensor signals and continuously outputting control signals; and
(c) actuator means located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon, said actuator means being adapted to be continuously driven by said control signals;
wherein said signal processing means comprises;
(i) means for summing sensor signals from each of said sensors in predetermined combinations thereof and weighting said sums to obtain signals representing at least one independent measure of said at least one mode in said at least one channel; and
(ii) means for modifying said signals representing said at least one independent measure in said at least one channel to obtain said control signals in controlled phase and amplitude relationship to said at least one mode, said actuator means thereby producing outputs effective to change said dynamics of said at least one mode so as to minimize the physical effects of said dynamics on said turbomachine,said signal processing means and at least one other part of said control system being disposed for rotation relative to each other, said one other part of said control system being selected from said sensor means and said actuator means, said rotation being tied to rotation of rotary parts of said turbomachine, said signal processing means incorporating heterodyning means for fixing the frame of reference of the signal processing means relative to the frame of reference of said at least one other part of the system.
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Abstract
A control system actively controls at least one troublesome mode of an unsteady motion phenomenon in turbomachinery in order to enable an increase in the operating range of the turbomachinery. For example, rotor blade flutter or rotating stall may be controlled in a turbocompressor. The control system has a control bandwidth which is at least partly coextensive with the bandwidth of the unsteady motion phenomenon and operates by passing sensor signals related to the unstady motion phenomenon from a sensor array in the turbomachine to a mode filter which produces a signal or signals which are related to the troublesome mode or modes. The selected mode signals are amplified and phase-shifted by time-variable amounts so as to produce control signals having controlled amplitude and phase relationship to the troublesome mode. Actuators in an actuaor array are continuously driven by the control signals and produce physical effects in the turbomachine which act counter to the troublesome mode without exciting others.
55 Citations
19 Claims
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1. In a turbomachine, a control system for actively controlling the dynamics of at least one mode of at least one unsteady motion phenomenon associated with the blading of said turbomachine, said control system having a control bandwidth which is at least partly coextensive with the bandwidth of said unsteady motion phenomenon and comprising:
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(a) an array of sensors located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon for continuously producing from each of said sensors sensor signals related to said unsteady motion phenomenon; (b) signal processing means connected to receive said sensor signals from each of said sensors and having at least one channel for continuously processing said sensor signals and continuously outputting control signals; and (c) actuator means located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon, said actuator means being adapted to be continuously driven by said control signals; wherein said signal processing means comprises; (i) means for summing sensor signals from each of said sensors in predetermined combinations thereof and weighting said sums to obtain signals representing at least one independent measure of said at least one mode in said at least one channel; and (ii) means for modifying said signals representing said at least one independent measure in said at least one channel to obtain said control signals in controlled phase and amplitude relationship to said at least one mode, said actuator means thereby producing outputs effective to change said dynamics of said at least one mode so as to minimize the physical effects of said dynamics on said turbomachine, said signal processing means and at least one other part of said control system being disposed for rotation relative to each other, said one other part of said control system being selected from said sensor means and said actuator means, said rotation being tied to rotation of rotary parts of said turbomachine, said signal processing means incorporating heterodyning means for fixing the frame of reference of the signal processing means relative to the frame of reference of said at least one other part of the system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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14. In a turbomachine, a control system for actively controlling the dynamics of at least one mode out of a plurality of modes of at least one unsteady motion phenomenon associated with the blading of said turbomachine, said control system having a control bandwidth which is at least partly coextensive with the bandwidth of said unsteady motion phenomenon and comprising:
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(a) an array of sensors located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon for continuously producing from each of said sensors sensor signals related to said unsteady motion phenomenon; (b) signal processing means connected to receive said sensor signals from each of said sensors and having a plurality of channels for continuously processing said sensor signals and continuously outputting control signals, said plurality of channels being at least equal in number to said plurality of modes, said signal processing means and at least one other part of said control system being disposed for rotation relative to each other, said one other part of said control system being selected from said sensor means and said actuator means, said rotation being tied to rotation of rotary parts of said turbomachine, said signal processing means incorporating heterodyning means for fixing the frame of reference of the signal processing means relative to the frame of reference of said at least one other part of the system; and (c) an array of actuators located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon, said actuators being adapted to be continuously driven by said control signals; said signal processing means comprising means (V) for obtaining a set of independent measures of said plurality of modes by obtaining a plurality of differentially weighted sums of said sensor signals, means (D) for differentially weighting said set of independent measures of said plurality of modes, and means (U) for differentially weighting said differentially weighted set of independent measures thereby producing said control signals, whereby said actuators have outputs which are weighted with respect to each other thereby to counter said at least one mode without causing said other modes to become unstable; wherein each actuator in said array of actuators comprises a fluid injector means arranged to inject additional fluid into the turbocompressor, valve means arranged to modulate the flow of fluid out of the injector means, and drive means connected to said valve means to vary the state thereof independently of other valve means in said array in accordance with said control signals thereby to cause said additional fluid to be injected to counter said unsteady motion phenomenon.
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15. In a turbomachine, a control system for actively controlling the dynamics of at least one mode out of a plurality of modes of at least one unsteady motion phenomenon associated with the blading of said turbomachine, said control system having a control bandwidth which is at least partly coextensive with the bandwidth of said unsteady motion phenomenon and comprising:
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(a) an array of sensors located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon for continuously producing from each of said sensors sensor signals related to said unsteady motion phenomenon; (b) signal processing means connected to receive said sensor signals from each of said sensors and having a plurality of channels for continuously processing said sensor signals and continuously outputting control signals, said plurality of channels being at least equal in number to said plurality of modes, said signal processing means and at least one other part of said control system being disposed for rotation relative to each other, said one other part of said control system being selected from said sensor means and said actuator means, said rotation being tied to rotation of rotary parts of said turbomachine, said signal processing means incorporating heterodyning means for fixing the frame of reference of the signal processing means relative to the frame of reference of said at least one other part of the system; and (c) an array of actuators located in said turbomachine in predetermined relationship to said unsteady motion phenomenon, said actuators being adapted to be continuously driven by said control signals; said signal processing means comprising means (V) for obtaining a set of independent measures of said plurality of modes by obtaining a plurality of differentially weighted sums of said sensor signals, means (D) for differentially weighting said set of independent measures of said plurality of modes, and means (U) for differentially weighting said differentially weighted set of independent measures thereby producing said control signals, whereby said actuators have outputs which are weighted with respect to each other thereby to counter said at least one mode without causing said other modes to become unstable; wherein each actuator in said array of actuators comprises a fluid bleed means arranged to extract fluid from the turbocompressor, valve means arranged to modulate the flow of fluid through the bleed means, and drive means connected to said valve means to vary the state thereof independently of other valve means in said array in accordance with said control signals thereby to cause said fluid to be extracted to counter said unsteady motion phenomenon.
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Specification