System and method for combined propeller speed and propeller pitch control for a turbopropeller engine

Abstract

An electronic control system () for a turbopropeller engine () having a gas turbine () and a propeller assembly () coupled to the gas turbine (), controls propeller operation based on a pilot input request, via generation of a driving quantity (Ip) for an actuation assembly () designed to adjust a pitch angle (β) of propeller blades () of the propeller assembly (). The control system () envisages: a propeller speed regulator (), receiving at its input a propeller speed error (ep), indicative of a difference between a propeller speed measure (Nr) and a propeller speed demand (Nrref), and generating at its output, based on the propeller speed error (ep), a first control quantity (Outi); a propeller pitch regulator (), receiving at its input a propeller pitch error (ep), indicative of a difference between a propeller pitch demand ( ) and a pitch position measure (β), and generating at its output, based on the propeller pitch error (ep), a first control quantity (Out); and a priority selection stage (), configured to implement a priority selection between the first and the second control quantities, for providing at the output the driving quantity (IP), based on the priority selection between the first and the second control quantities.