The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 29, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 26, 2002
Kelly J. Benson, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Jimmy D. Thornton, Morgantown, WV (US);
George A. Richards, Morgantown, WV (US);
Douglas L. Straub, Morgantown, WV (US);
Kelly J. Benson, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Jimmy D. Thornton, Morgantown, WV (US);
George A. Richards, Morgantown, WV (US);
Douglas L. Straub, Morgantown, WV (US);
Woodward Governor Company, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method to sense the onset of combustion stability is presented. An electrode is positioned in a turbine combustion chamber such that the electrode is exposed to gases in the combustion chamber. A control module applies a voltage potential to the electrode and detects a combustion ionization signal and determines if there is an oscillation in the combustion ionization signal indicative of the occurrence of combustion stability or the onset of combustion instability. A second electrode held in a coplanar but spaced apart manner by an insulating member from the electrode provides a combustion ionization signal to the control module when the first electrode fails. The control module broadcasts a notice if the parameters indicate the combustion process is at the onset of combustion instability or broadcasts an alarm signal if the parameters indicate the combustion process is unstable.