TURBINE LIFE ASSESSMENT AND INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHODS

• US 20110106747A1
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Singh, Jagmeet, Pandey, Achalesh Kumar, Hoyte, Scott Mordin
• Application Number:
  US12/609,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20110106747A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/52
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/003 Arrangements for testing or measuring for measuring vibrations G01H
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/005 Repairing methods or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 15/14 Testing gas-turbine engines or jet-propulsion engines

Abstract

A system for creating an inspection or part replacement recommendation for a unit forming a part of a fleet includes an assessment module that receives inputs from at least one portion of at least one turbine and produces an inspection recommendation. The assessment module includes a health assessment module that creates a risk of event estimate based on the inputs and historical operations data and a performance analyzer coupled to the health assessment module that creates the inspection or part replacement recommendation based on the risk of event estimate and information related to a cost.

Claims

1. A system for creating an inspection or part replacement recommendation for a unit, the system comprising:

an assessment module that receives inputs from at least one portion of at least one turbine and produces an inspection or part replacement recommendation, the assessment module including;

a health assessment module that creates a risk of event estimate based on the inputs and historical operations data; and

a performance analyzer coupled to the health assessment module that creates the inspection recommendation based on the risk of event estimate and information related to cost of the event.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller coupled to the health assessment module that provides at least a portion of the inputs and that controls operation of at least the portion of the at least one turbine.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one portion is a compressor.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the inputs include an indication of a chloride ion wet deposition level of the compressor.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the inputs further include at least one of:

a number of fired hours, a number of starts, an average temperature and an average humidity.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the information related to cost includes a cost of an unplanned outage and a cost of an inspection.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the performance analyzer determines if the unit is closer to a healthy state or an unhealthy state based on the inputs.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the risk of event is related to the determination if the unit is closer to the unhealthy state.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the health assessment module receives model parameters representing historical operation of similar units, the model parameters including a mean value and a covariance matrix for at least one parameter.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein model parameters comprise a chloride ion wet deposition level and other corrosive indicators

11. The system of claim 9, further including a model updater coupled to the performance analyzer that modifies the model parameters based on the risk of event estimate.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the performance analyzer also produces a lifetime prediction.

13. A method of forming a unit inspection or part replacement recommendation for a unit forming a part of a fleet, the method comprising:

receiving inputs at an assessment module from at least one portion of at least one turbine;

forming at a health assessment module a risk of event estimate based on the inputs and historical operations data; and

creating the inspection or part replacement recommendation based on the risk of event estimate and cost information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein creating includes:

receiving the cost information.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one portion is a compressor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the inputs include an indication of a chloride ion wet deposition level and other corrosive indicators of the compressor.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the cost information includes a cost of an unplanned outage and a cost of an inspection.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving model parameters representing historical operation of similar units, the model parameters including a mean value and a covariance matrix for at least one parameter.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a chloride ion wet deposition level and other corrosive indicators are included in the model parameters.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

updating the model parameters based on the risk of event estimate.