Lifing and performance optimization limit management for turbine engine

• US 9,853,581 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2013
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Armstrong, Michael, French, Mat
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Darrin
• Application Number:
  US14/127,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20150042103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 15/10 Adaptations for driving, or combinations with, electric generators
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/12 responsive to temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/14 responsive to other specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/32 Arrangement, mounting, or driving, of auxiliaries
• 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 2270/06 to match engine to driven device
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/101 Compressor surge or stall
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/11 to prolong engine life
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 2101/30 for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 9/04 Control effected upon non-electric prime mover and dependent upon electric output value of the generator

Abstract

A control for a multi-shaft turbine engine system using electrical machines seeks optimal system performance while accommodating hard and soft component limits. To accommodate the component limits, the control may generate a number of possible operating point options reflecting potential trade-offs in performance, lifing, efficiency, or other objectives.

Claims

1. A control for a turbine engine system comprising a plurality of components including a multi-shaft turbine engine and one or more electrical machines coupled to the shafts of the turbine engine, the control comprising:

a vehicle manager;

a constraint analyzer to determine applicable component limits based on current operating conditions of the turbine engine system, wherein each of the component limits defines an operating region in which, if the component limit is exceeded, the life or safety of the component may be compromised; and

a limit management optimizer to generate a desired operating point and one or more possible operating points for the system based on the current operating conditions, the applicable component limits, and an optimization objective, wherein the one or more possible operating points each represents an objective trade-off involving a modification of the optimization objective to maintain the component limits or a modification of one or more of the component limits;

wherein the limit management optimizer communicates data relating to the desired operating point and the possible operating points to the vehicle manager, and the vehicle manager selects the desired operating point or one of the possible operating points based on a trade-off between two or more of performance, efficiency, lifing, reliability, and stability;

wherein the limit management optimizer communicates a control signal to one or more system controllers for the system to achieve the selected operating point, and wherein the one or more system controllers control the turbine engine system to achieve the selected operating point in response to the control signal.

2. The control of claim 1, wherein the control signal comprises a power extraction control signal and the control communicates the control signal to a generator control unit configured to control the operation of a generator coupled to one of the shafts of the turbine engine system.

3. The control of claim 1, wherein the component limits comprise one or more soft limits that if exceeded, result in a non-fatal penalty to the operation of the system.

4. The control of claim 1, wherein the component limits comprise one or more hard limits that if exceeded, result in a failure of a component of the system.

5. The control of claim 1, wherein the optimization objective comprises one or more of performance, efficiency, lifing, reliability and stability.

6. The control of claim 1, wherein the vehicle manager communicates the selected operating point to the control.

7. The control of claim 1, wherein the constraint analyzer uses a system model to determine the applicable component limits, and the system model comprises data relating to an estimated state of the system.

8. A method for controlling the allocation of power extracted from a plurality of shafts of a turbine engine during operation of the turbine engine, the shafts having one or more electrical machines coupled thereto, the method comprising:

analyzing current operating conditions of the turbine engine;

determining a optimization objective, the optimization objective being defined to maximize one of performance, efficiency, component lifing, reliability, and stability of the turbine engine;

determining a component limit based on the current operating conditions, the component limit relating to a component of the turbine engine;

determining a desired operating point for the turbine engine based on the current operating conditions and the optimization objective,

determining whether the desired operating point violates the component limit;

determining one or more possible operating points for the turbine engine, each of the possible operating points representing one of an objective trade-off involving a modification of the optimization objective to maintain the component limit and a modification of the component limit;

communicating data relating to the desired operating point and the possible operating points to a vehicle manager;

selecting, by the vehicle manager, the desired operating point or one of the possible operating points based on a trade-off between two or more of performance, efficiency, lifing, reliability, and stability;

sending a control signal to a controller to control the operation of one or more of the electrical machines, wherein the control signal relates to the desired operating point or one of the possible operating points; and

controlling, by the controller, the operation of the one or more of the electrical machines to achieve the selected operating point in response to the control signal.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising receiving data relating to the desired operating point and/or one or more of the possible operating points from the vehicle manager.

10. A control for a turbine engine system including a multi-shaft turbine engine and one or more electrical machines coupled to the shafts, the control being configured to perform the method of claim 8.