General Electric Company

Brendon Matthew Leeker

Kevin Richard Graziano

Stefan Joseph Cafaro

Harry Kirk Mathews, Jr

Nayan Vinodbhai Patel

Michael Scott McCambridge

Eric John Kress

Joseph Alfred Iannotti

Glen Peter Koste

Kum-Kang Huh

Tyler Frederick Hooper

Timothy Leo Schelfaut

Massimo Rufo

Timothy M Kasberg

Bradley Alan Bauer

Jason Case

A first electrical machine is operated according to a first mode and a second electrical machine is operated according to a second mode. A power split of operation of the first electrical machine and the second electrical machine is determined. The operation of the first electrical machine and the second electrical machine are controlled according to the power split. The power split is optimized to protect operating constraints of the components of the engine and the aircraft while delivering required thrust to the aircraft.

Method and apparatus for controlling electrical machines operating with a turbine engine

Systems and methods for high bandwidth control of thrust response for turbofan or turboprop engines are provided. Such systems and methods include an engine control system that processes a rate command and a feedback signal from an engine to generate separate fuel and electric machine control signals that respectively control fuel and electric machine dynamics of the engine to produce engine dynamics that result in desired thrust response.

High bandwidth control of turbofan/turboprop thrust response using embedded electric machines

A method for measuring shaft deflection in a turbomachine includes communicating one or more signals from a controller to a plurality of sensing devices positioned on a shaft of a turbomachine across an airgap defined between a rotating antenna positioned around the shaft and a stationary antenna aligned with the rotating antenna in a radial direction to excite the plurality of sensing devices; receiving a parameter of the shaft in a plurality of circumferentially spaced locations from the excited plurality of sensing devices; determining a magnitude of a deflection in the shaft as a function of the parameter of the shaft in the plurality of circumferentially spaced locations; and adjusting a startup sequence or a motoring sequence of the turbomachine based on the magnitude of the deflection.

System and method for reducing motoring time in a turbomachine based on shaft deflection

An engine controller may include a processor and a feedback interface electrically coupled to the processor and one or more electric machine motor generators deployed in an aircraft engine. A memory, electrically coupled to the processor, is configured to store reference data used to indicate a presence of an icing condition. The processor is configured to monitor a feedback signal received at the feedback interface from the one or more electric machine motor generators and identify whether the feedback signal indicates that the icing condition is currently present in the aircraft engine based on a correspondence between the feedback signal and the reference data. The processor is configured to initiate an icing condition mitigation action in response to identifying that the icing condition is present.

Systems and method for detecting and responding to icing conditions in gas turbine engines

A hybrid-electric gas turbine engine and method of operating includes independently controlling a first electric machine providing torque to a first shaft to maintain a desired clearance between a first set of blades rotatably coupled to the first shaft, and a casing.

Hybrid-electric gas turbine engine and method of operating

A method and system for cleaning a fuel nozzle during engine operation is provided. Operations include operating the compressor section to provide the flow of oxidizer at a first oxidizer flow condition to the combustion chamber, wherein the first oxidizer flow condition comprises an environmental parameter; operating the fuel system at a first fuel flow condition to produce a fuel-oxidizer ratio at the combustion chamber; comparing the environmental parameter to a first environmental parameter threshold; and transitioning the fuel system to a second fuel flow condition corresponding to a cleaning condition at the fuel nozzle if the environmental parameter is equal to or greater than the first environmental threshold.

System and method for fuel nozzle cleaning during engine operation

A method and system for fuel nozzle cleaning during engine operation is provided. The steps or operations include operating the compressor section to provide the flow of oxidizer to the combustion chamber, operating the fuel system at a first fuel flow condition, in which the first fuel flow condition provides a fuel-oxidizer ratio at the combustion chamber, operating the fuel system at a second fuel flow condition, in which the second fuel flow condition provides the fuel-oxidizer ratio at the combustion chamber equal at the first fuel flow condition and the second fuel flow condition, and operating the fuel system at a third fuel flow condition after operating the fuel system at the second fuel flow condition.

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Brendon Matthew Leeker