System and method for controlling operation of a gas turbine based power plant

• US 10,458,342 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2014
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology, LLC (General Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Morgan, Rex Allen, Balkcum, III, James Tyson, Watts, Stephen R., Jordan, Jr., Harold Lamar, VanTassel, Brad Wilson
• Primary Examiner(s): Huntley, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US14/488,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20150081121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 700287
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/003 Arrangements for testing or measuring for measuring vibrations G01H
• 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: F05D 2270/11 to prolong engine life
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/44 active, predictive, or anticipative
• 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

A system for controlling a gas turbine power plant includes a plurality of sensors configured to transmit signals indicative of one or more operating parameters of the gas turbine, and a control system in electronic communication with each sensor. The control system is configured to compute cumulative wear for one or more hardware components of the gas turbine based at least in part on the signals. Instructions are inputted into the control system which indicates a desired operational mode for the gas turbine. The control system may then compute a hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear. The hardware consumption rate may then be displayed to an operator via a display device. The operator may use the hardware consumption rate to determine potential economic impact of operating the gas turbine at the desired operational mode.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a gas turbine, comprising:

a plurality of sensors, each sensor being configured to sense and communicate a signal indicative of an operating parameter of the gas turbine;

a control system including a computing device in electronic communication with each sensor of the plurality sensors, wherein the control system is configured to;

receive the signals from the sensors, at least one of the signals being indicative of a fuel parameter;

compute cumulative wear for one or more hardware components of the gas turbine based at least in part on the fuel parameter and a combustor type of the gas turbine via the computing device;

receive input instructions selecting a desired operating mode for the gas turbine;

compute a hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear and the desired operating mode via the computing device;

display the hardware consumption rate to an operator via a display device that is in electronic communication with the control system; and

adjust the desired operating mode of the gas turbine based at least in part on the hardware consumption rate and a cost of fuel.

2. The system as in claim 1, wherein the desired operating mode is based at least in part on one or more power plant economic objectives.

3. The system as in claim 2, wherein the power plant economic objectives include at least one of remaining hardware component life, gas turbine outage schedule, power plant output, heat rate of the gas turbine and power plant emissions compliance.

4. The system as in claim 1, wherein the computing device includes one or more physics based hardware life models of the at least one of the one or more hardware components of the gas turbine.

5. The system as in claim 4, wherein at least one of the cumulative wear and the hardware consumption rate is based at least partially on one or more of the one or more physics based hardware component life models.

6. The system as in claim 1, wherein the hardware component of the gas turbine is one of a combustion liner, a transition duct, a fuel nozzle, a stationary turbine vane or a turbine blade.

7. The system as in claim 1, wherein the one or more sensed operating parameters of the gas turbine includes at least one of compressor discharge temperature, combustion gas temperature, cooling medium temperature and exhaust gas temperature.

8. The system as in claim 1, wherein the hardware consumption rate is based at least in part on one or more output parameters associated with the desired operating mode, wherein the one or more output parameters includes generator power output.

9. The system as in claim 1, wherein the fuel parameter comprises at least one of a fuel temperature or a fuel composition.

10. The system as in claim 1, wherein the control system is further configured to compute the hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear, the desired operating mode, and operational data from a heat steam recovery generator.

11. A method for controlling a gas turbine, comprising:

computing cumulative wear for a hardware component of the gas turbine based at least in part on a fuel parameter and a combustor type of the gas turbine via a computing device of a control system;

inputting into the control system a desired operating mode for the gas turbine;

computing via the computing device a hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear and the desired operating mode;

providing the hardware consumption rate to an operator via a display device; and

adjusting the desired operating mode of the gas turbine based at least in part on the hardware consumption rate and a cost of fuel.

12. The method as in claim 11, further comprising selecting the desired operating mode based on the hardware consumption rate.

13. The method as in claim 11, further comprising selecting a different desired operating mode based on the hardware consumption rate, computing a second hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear and one or more output parameters of the desired operating mode via the computing device and providing the second hardware consumption rate to the operator via the display device.

14. The method as in claim 11, further comprising selecting or deselecting the desired operating mode for the gas turbine based at least in part on the hardware consumption rate and one or more power plant economic objectives.

15. The method as in claim 14, wherein the power plant economic objectives include at least one of remaining hardware component life, gas turbine outage schedule, power plant output, heat rate of the gas turbine and power plant emissions compliance.

16. The method as in claim 11, wherein the cumulative wear is based at least partially on a physics based hardware life model of the component of the gas turbine.

17. The method as in claim 11, wherein the one or more sensed operating parameters includes at least one of compressor discharge temperature, combustion gas temperature, cooling medium temperature and exhaust gas temperature.

18. The method as in claim 11, wherein the hardware consumption rate is based at least in part on one or more output parameters associated with the desired operating mode, wherein the one or more output parameters includes generator power output.

19. The method as in claim 11, wherein the one or more sensed operating parameters includes at least one of ambient conditions at an inlet to the gas turbine, fuel temperature, fuel quality or composition, wheel space temperature, and combustion dynamics.

20. A system for controlling a gas turbine, comprising:

a sensor configured to sense and communicate a signal indicative of a fuel parameter of the gas turbine;

a control system including a computing device in electronic communication with the sensor, wherein the control system is configured to;

receive the signal indicative of the fuel parameter from the sensor;

compute cumulative wear for one or more hardware components of the gas turbine based on the fuel parameter via the computing device;

receive input instructions selecting a desired operating mode for the gas turbine;

compute a hardware consumption rate based at least in part on the cumulative wear and the desired operating mode via the computing device; and

adjust the desired operating mode of the gas turbine based at least in part on the hardware consumption rate and a cost of fuel.