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Control of flow instabilities in turbomachines

  • US 5,230,603 A
  • Filed: 08/13/1991
  • Issued: 07/27/1993
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A control system for a turbomachine having a front fan and a core engine containing further compressor stages, the front fan feeding part of its output to the core engine, the control system for modifying fluid flow through the turbomachine, the turbomachine having rotor blading for compressing the flow through the turbomachine and nose bullet means attached to the fan upstream of the blading, the control system comprising:

  • sensor means located to sense precursory disturbances in the flow of fluid past the blading, said precursory disturbances being disturbances which develop into unstable flow conditions deleterious to the proper working of the compressor stages;

    actuator means for generating corrective disturbances in the flow of fluid past the blading, the corrective disturbances being corrective to the precursory disturbances; and

    signal processing means for driving the actuator means in dependence upon the sensor signals to produce the corrective disturbances, wherein the nose bullet means includes the actuator means, the actuator means being constructed to transiently change the effective profile of an external surface of the bullet means relative to the flow of fluid thereover when driven by the signal processing means, whereby the corrective disturbances are produced in the flow of fluid over the surface of the nose bullet means before the fluid encounters the blading, and the corrective disturbances passing between adjacent fan blades adjacent their radially inner ends without adversely effecting the performance of the fan, to thereby enter the core engine to modify fluid flow therein.

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