Physics-based lifespan modeling

• US 9,477,224 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Ayhan, Ali Osman, Behera, Ajay Kumar, Madelone, John Joseph Jr., Khan, Khan Mohamed Khirullah Genghis, Ali, Mohamed Ahmed, Isburgh, Anne Marie, Jammu, Vinay Bhaskar, Velagandula, Omprakash
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Suzanne
• Application Number:
  US12/333,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,874 Days
• Field of Search: 703 6- 7
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

Abstract

An embodiment of a method for lifespan modeling for a turbine engine component includes determining a design-phase model of the lifespan of an turbine engine component; fusing the design-phase model with sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component to produce an updated model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component; and fusing the updated model with data collected during an inspection of the turbine engine component to produce an overall model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component. Systems for lifespan modeling for a turbine engine component are also provided.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for lifespan modeling for a turbine engine component, the method comprising:

determining a design-phase model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by a computer, wherein the design-phase model comprises a plurality of physics-based models for the lifespan of the turbine engine component, the plurality of physics-based models comprising at least one of;

low cycle fatigue, high cycle fatigue, crack propagation, creep, plasticity, oxidation, corrosion, and wear, and wherein the plurality of physics-based models are expressed as functions of turbine engine component data, the turbine engine component data comprising at least one of;

stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life;

determining an initial probability distribution of the lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the design phase model;

fusing the design-phase model with sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component to produce an updated model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by the computer, wherein the sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component comprises at least one of operating temperature, pressure, motion, velocity, acceleration, and geometric clearances;

determining an updated probability distribution of a lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the updated model;

fusing the updated model with data collected during an inspection of the turbine engine component to produce an overall model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by the computer, wherein the data collected during the inspection of the turbine engine component corresponds to the turbine engine component data of the plurality of physics based models of the design-phase model; and

determining an overall probability distribution of the lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the overall model.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising fusing the overall model with sensor data collected during subsequent operation of the turbine engine component.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising fusing the overall model with inspection data from a subsequent inspection of the turbine engine component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of physics-based models comprise low cycle fatigue, high cycle fatigue, crack propagation, creep, plasticity, oxidation, corrosion, and wear, and wherein the physics-based crack propagation model comprises a 3-dimensional computer model.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising fusing the plurality of physics-based models into the design-phase model.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the turbine engine component data comprises:

stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component comprises operating temperature, pressure, motion, velocity, acceleration, and geometric clearances.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the data collected during an inspection of the turbine engine component comprises stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein fusing the updated model comprises recalculating the updated model in terms of the data collected during inspection to produce the overall model.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing at least one of service contract pricing, maintenance planning, or other financial or contractual risk based on the overall model.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a projected turbine engine component lifespan based on the overall model to a user.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing an initial service contract cost for the turbine engine component based on the design-phase model.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising updating the initial service contract cost for the turbine engine component based on the overall model.

12. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing computer code that, when executed by a computer, implements a method for lifespan modeling for an turbine engine component, wherein the method comprises:

determining a design-phase model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by a computer, wherein the design-phase model comprises a plurality of physics-based models for the lifespan of the turbine engine component, the plurality of physics-based models comprising at least one of;

low cycle fatigue, high cycle fatigue, crack propagation, creep, plasticity, oxidation, corrosion, and wear, and wherein the plurality of physics-based models are expressed as functions of turbine engine component data, the turbine engine component data comprising at least one of;

stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life;

determining an initial probability distribution of the lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the design phase model;

fusing the design-phase model with sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component to produce an updated model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by the computer, wherein the sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component comprises at least one of operating temperature, pressure, motion, velocity, acceleration, and geometric clearances;

determining an updated probability distribution of a lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the updated model;

fusing the updated model with data collected during an inspection of the turbine engine component to produce an overall model of the lifespan of the turbine engine component by the computer, wherein the data collected during the inspection of the turbine engine component corresponds to the turbine engine component data of the plurality of physics based models of the design-phase model; and

determining an overall probability distribution of the lifespan of the turbine engine component based on the overall model.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the plurality of physics-based models comprise low cycle fatigue, high-cycle fatigue, crack propagation, creep, plasticity, oxidation, corrosion, and wear, and wherein the physics-based crack propagation model comprises a 3-dimensional computer model.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising fusing the plurality of physics-based models into the design-phase model.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the turbine engine component data comprises:

stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the sensor data collected during operation of the turbine engine component comprises operating temperature, pressure, motion, velocity, acceleration, and geometric clearances.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the data collected during an inspection of the turbine engine component comprises stress, temperature, stress intensity factor, crack length, degree of damage due to oxidation, corrosion and wear, initiation life, crack propagation life, and damage accumulation life.

20. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computing an initial service contract cost for the turbine engine component based on the design-phase model, and updating the service contract cost for the turbine engine component based on the overall model.