Siemens Energy, Inc.

Siemens Corporation

Upul P DeSilva

Heiko Claussen

Nancy H Ulerich

Justinian Rosca

Michelle Xiaohong Yan

Richard Hobart Bunce

Chengli He

Karthik Ragunathan

Tong Fang

Christine P Spiegelberg

Yanxia Sun

Getnet S Kidane

A method for estimating a time of flight of an acoustic signal in a hot gas flow path having background noise wherein a plurality of transceivers each generate an acoustic signal. The method includes providing an acoustic signal of interest that travels in a direction opposite a reference acoustic signal on a first acoustic path between a pair of transceivers. The method also includes identifying at least one minimum peak height in the acoustic signal of interest having a peak height that is greater than the background noise. Further, the method includes obtaining time of flight information of other acoustic paths having substantially the same path length as the first path to provide a range of time of flights wherein a time of flight that falls within the time of flight range and is associated with a minimum peak height forms the estimated time of flight.

Method for estimating time of flight for acoustic pyrometry

A method of calibrating transceiver positions inside an acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel that contains a plurality of transceivers, includes determining () a speed of sound in the acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel from a temperature and gas composition of a gas inside the acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel, acquiring () time-of-flight (TOFs) &#x394;timeasurements from a plurality of pairs i,j of transceivers inside the acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel, estimating () a radius of the acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel from an average of the acquired TOF measurements, and using () an estimated radius of the acoustic pyrometry measuring vessel to estimate errors &#x394;&#x3b8;j of displacement angles of the transceivers.

Fully automated calibration for acoustic pyrometry

A profile map of parameter values in a region is determined based on average values along linear paths through the region. In one example, a temperature map of a region of a gas turbine engine is created based on time-of-flight measurements from acoustic transceiver pairs arranged circumferentially around the region. A speed of sound for each transceiver pair is determined based on the time-of-flight measurements. An average temperature along each path is estimated from the time of flight, and the profile map is computed from the average temperatures. The profile map may be computed using a polynomial approximation technique, a grid optimization technique or a basis function technique.

Parameter distribution mapping in a gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine including a hybrid waveguide for placement adjacent a flow path for hot combustion gases in the engine is presented. The waveguide includes first and second opposing ends and a first section formed of a first material extending from a transition region to the first end and a second section formed of a second material extending from the transition region to the second end. The first material is a metal or a ceramic and the second material is an electrically isolating material having a lower thermal conductivity than the material of the first section. A membrane may be used to isolate a cavity of the waveguide from combustion gas.

Acoustic measurement system incorporating a hybrid waveguide providing thermal isolation

Techniques for monitoring health of an igniter () in a gas turbine engine () include a sensor () mounted to detect signals in a combustor () and a processor () in electrical communication with the sensor. The processor is configured to receive () from the sensor first data that indicates signal changes in each of a plurality of time bins during operation of the igniter in the combustor. Information characteristics of the first data are determined (). A value is determined () of a similarity measure that indicates similarity of the information characteristics to target information characteristics. Based on the value of the similarity measure, a condition of the igniter is determined () and a device is operated () based on the conditions, for example the condition is presented on a display ().

Method and system for igniter health monitoring in a gas turbine engine

Thermoacoustic sensors, such as dynamic pressure sensors, in the combustor measure vibratory responses of the combustor. An integrated monitoring and control system controller correlates sensor readings with combustion thermoacoustic properties in order to identify combustion anomalies by wavelet or Fourier analysis techniques; determine bulk temperature characteristics within the combustor with dominant mode frequency analysis techniques; and optionally determines absolute active path temperatures within the combustor with acoustic pyrometry transmission and time-of-flight analysis techniques. In some embodiments all of the monitoring functions are performed with a commonly shared array of thermoacoustic sensors that function as both combustion dynamics thermoacoustic vibration/wave receivers and acoustic transmitters. The monitored combustion properties are used for controlling gas turbine combustion.

Multi-functional sensor system for gas turbine combustion monitoring and control

A method and system for determining a temperature of a working gas passing through a passage to a turbine section of a gas turbine engine. The method includes identifying an acoustic frequency at a first location in the engine upstream from the turbine section, and using the acoustic frequency for determining a first temperature value at the first location that is directly proportional to the acoustic frequency and a calculated constant value. A second temperature of the working gas is determined at a second location in the engine and, using the second temperature, a back calculation is performed to determine a temperature value for the working gas at the first location. The first temperature value is compared to the back calculated temperature value to change the calculated constant value to a recalculated constant value. Subsequent first temperature values at the first location may be determined based on the recalculated constant value.

Temperature measurement in a gas turbine engine combustor

A method for determining waveguide temperature for at least one waveguide of a transceiver utilized for generating a temperature map. The transceiver generates an acoustic signal that travels through a measurement space in a hot gas flow path defined by a wall such as in a combustor. The method includes calculating a total time of flight for the acoustic signal and subtracting a waveguide travel time from the total time of flight to obtain a measurement space travel time. A temperature map is calculated based on the measurement space travel time. An estimated wall temperature is obtained from the temperature map. An estimated waveguide temperature is then calculated based on the estimated wall temperature wherein the estimated waveguide temperature is determined without the use of a temperature sensing device.

Method for determining waveguide temperature for acoustic transceiver used in a gas turbine engine

Techniques for determining temperature and velocity in a space inside a gas turbine engine () include mounting acoustic sensors () in the engine. The sensors are mounted to detect acoustic signals in a space () of fluid flow without extending into the space. A first sensor () is displaced a first distance () from a different second sensor () in a first direction parallel to fluid flow through the space. First and second signals are detected at the first and second sensors, respectively. A travel time difference between the first and the second sensors is determined by control system () module () based on the first and second signals. Velocity of fluid flow in the space is determined by the module based on the travel time difference. Temperature of fluid flow in the space is determined by the module based on either the first or the second signals or both.

Method and system for determining distribution of temperature and velocity in a gas turbine engine

An acoustic transceiver is implemented for measuring acoustic properties of a gas in a turbine engine combustor. The transceiver housing defines a measurement chamber and has an opening adapted for attachment to a turbine engine combustor wall. The opening permits propagation of acoustic signals between the gas in the turbine engine combustor and gas in the measurement chamber. An acoustic sensor mounted to the housing receives acoustic signals propagating in the measurement chamber, and an acoustic transmitter mounted to the housing creates acoustic signals within the measurement chamber. An acoustic measurement system includes at least two such transceivers attached to a turbine engine combustor wall and connected to a controller.

Nonintrusive transceiver and method for characterizing temperature and velocity fields in a gas turbine combustor

Performance of a gas turbine engine is monitored by computing a mass flow rate through the engine. Acoustic time-of-flight measurements are taken between acoustic transmitters and receivers in the flow path of the engine. The measurements are processed to determine average speeds of sound and gas flow velocities along those lines-of-sound. A volumetric flow rate in the flow path is computed using the gas flow velocities together with a representation of the flow path geometry. A gas density in the flow path is computed using the speeds of sound and a measured static pressure. The mass flow rate is calculated from the gas density and the volumetric flow rate.

Nonintrusive performance measurement of a gas turbine engine in real time

Active acoustic pyrometry-based gas flow temperature measurement, such as for monitoring of gas turbine combustors, including industrial gas turbine (IGT) combustors is incorporated into the combustion monitoring and control system by addition of an acoustic transmitter or acoustic transceiver that transmits a sound wave in a line-of-sight with a plurality of acoustic sensors, such as dynamic pressure sensors. For temperature measurement, in some embodiments sound transmission time-of-flight that is directed generally transverse the gas flow path is measured by the controller and correlated with gas flow temperature along the line-of-sight. In other embodiments line-of-sight correlated gas flow temperatures in up and down stream planar paths are interpolated. In an integrated thermoacoustic pressure-based sensor and monitoring/control system embodiment, the controller determines absolute active path temperatures with acoustic transmission and time-of-flight analysis techniques.

Active measurement of gas flow temperature, including in gas turbine combustors

An acoustic signal traversing a hot gas is sampled at a source and a receiver and is represented in overlapping windows that maximize useable signal content. Samples in each window are processed to represented in different sparsified bins in the frequency domain. Determining a signal delay between the source and the receiver from a summation of maximum smoothed coherence transform cross-correlation values of different data windows wherein a sparseness of a mean smoothed coherence transform cross-correlation of windows is maximized. Determining a set of delay times wherein outliers are deleted to estimate a time of flight from which a temperature of the hot gas is calculated.

Noise robust time of flight estimation for acoustic pyrometry

An apparatus for controlling operation of a gas turbine engine including at least one acoustic transmitter/receiver device located on a flow path boundary structure. The acoustic transmitter/receiver device includes an elongated sound passage defined by a surface of revolution having opposing first and second ends and a central axis extending between the first and second ends, an acoustic sound source located at the first end, and an acoustic receiver located within the sound passage between the first and second ends. The boundary structure includes an opening extending from outside the boundary structure to the flow path, and the second end of the surface of revolution is affixed to the boundary structure at the opening for passage of acoustic signals between the sound passage and the flow path.

Acoustic transducer in system for gas temperature measurement in gas turbine engine

For a gas turbine engine (), a method and apparatus for determining temperature of combustion gas in a flow path () of the engine. In one embodiment a waveguide () includes a cavity () with a first waveguide end () including a barrier layer () which may be a membrane. With the first end positioned to inject an acoustic signal into the flow path, the barrier layer () isolates the cavity from combustion gas. Acoustic instrumentation positioned along the surface () of a wall () of the waveguide provides generation and propagation of acoustic signals into the flow path for detection and measurement after reflection back into the cavity. The wall may include sections of two different materials, one material having a higher melting temperature than the other, or one material having greater electrically isolating properties than the other section.

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Oviedo, FL, United States of America

Upul P DeSilva