GB2417762A - Turbine case cooling to provide blade tip clearance - Google Patents
Turbine case cooling to provide blade tip clearance Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2417762A GB2417762A GB0419652A GB0419652A GB2417762A GB 2417762 A GB2417762 A GB 2417762A GB 0419652 A GB0419652 A GB 0419652A GB 0419652 A GB0419652 A GB 0419652A GB 2417762 A GB2417762 A GB 2417762A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- turbine
- engine
- turbine case
- case
- cooling
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01D—NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES
- F01D11/00—Preventing or minimising internal leakage of working-fluid, e.g. between stages
- F01D11/08—Preventing or minimising internal leakage of working-fluid, e.g. between stages for sealing space between rotor blade tips and stator
- F01D11/14—Adjusting or regulating tip-clearance, i.e. distance between rotor-blade tips and stator casing
- F01D11/20—Actively adjusting tip-clearance
- F01D11/24—Actively adjusting tip-clearance by selectively cooling-heating stator or rotor components
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
- F05D—INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS
- F05D2270/00—Control
- F05D2270/30—Control parameters, e.g. input parameters
- F05D2270/303—Temperature
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
- F05D—INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS
- F05D2270/00—Control
- F05D2270/40—Type of control system
- F05D2270/44—Type of control system active, predictive, or anticipative
Abstract
A gas turbine engine 32 has a model based predictive controller 38 which controls cooling of a turbine case (12, fig 1) by supplying, via valve 22, variable amounts of cool air between an inner and outer skin (14, 16) of the case (12). The controller 38 is supplied with a signal 50 from a model based system 44, 46 which predicts a future thermal expansion of the turbine case (12) so that the case (12) may be cooled in order to provide a required gap (30) between the turbine case (12) and turbine blade tip over time. Turbine running state is monitored by sensors which supplies signals 42 corresponding to, for example, temperature of gases exiting the low pressure turbine, other gas temperatures, fuel flow, engine spool speed and combustion chamber air pressure. An input 48 of the gap (30) is provided to the controller 38 during set up or construction. The model base system 44, 46 includes a dynamic thermodynamic model of the turbine blades and turbine case expansion and contraction rates.
Description
24 1 7762 Turbine Case Cooling
-
This invention concerns a method of controlling turbine case cooling in a gas turbine engine, and also a turbine case cooling arrangement for a gas turbine engine.
Turbine case cooling is often used in gas turbine engines, and particularly in larger gas turbine engines used on aircraft. This cooling is provided to try and maintain a required small gap between the outer tips of the turbine blade and the inner skin of the turbine case. As the core engine temperature rises, the inner skin will generally expand at a faster rate than the turbine blade, which tends to increase the size of this gap and hence reduce engine efficiency.
Accordingly, turbine case cooling is often provided to force cool air between the outer and inner skins of the turbine casing to reduce expansion of the inner skin.
Presently such cooling is carried out without any feedback as to the precise situation at any time, and thus the amount of cooling used requires to be conservative to avoid the risk of the turbine blade rubbing against the casing.
To provide sensors to measure this gap in use is very difficult, and particularly in view of the harsh working environment bearing in mind that the turbines are immediately downstream of the engine combustor. To date practical sensors which can provide operation over time in such conditions are not available. Using sensors would also have the disadvantages of extra weight and complexity in use, as well as extra operations during the build sequence.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of controlling turbine case cooling in a gas turbine engine, the method including monitoring the present running state of the engine and predicting with a model based system the future thermal expansion of the turbine case and turbine blades, and controlling cooling of the turbine case in response to said prediction to provide a required gap between the turbine case and the turbine blades over time.
The model based system preferably includes the turbine case and turbine blade expansion rates.
The engine monitoring may be carried out by measuring the turbine gas temperature, and particularly the temperature of gases exiting the low pressure turbine.
Alternatively, the engine monitoring may be carried out by any of: measuring the gas temperature in the engine other than in the turbine; measuring fuel flow in the engine; measuring the engine spool speed; or measuring the air pressure being delivered to the combustor.
The cooling of the turbine case is preferably provided by supplying cool air between the inner and outer skins of the turbine case, and the amount of air supplied may be variable.
The invention also provides a turbine case cooling arrangement for a gas turbine engine, the arrangement including a model based predictive controller which controls cooling of the turbine case using a method according to any of the preceding five paragraphs.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic rear view of a turbine of a gas turbine engine; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a turbine case cooling arrangement according to the invention; and Fig. 3 is a graph schematically illustrating operation of the arrangement of Fig. 2.
Fig. 1 shows a turbine 10 including a case 12 having inner and outer skins 14, 16 defining a cooling space 18 therebetween An opening 20 is provided leading into the cooling space 18, with a valve 22 controlling input of air into the cooling space 18. Air entering the cooling space 18 is shown by the arrows 24. The turbine 10 also includes a turbine disc 26 mounting a plurality of turbine blades 28. The enlarged part of Fig. 1 shows the gap 30 between the blades 28 and the inner skin 14.
In operation it is generally desirable to maintain the gap 30 at a constant minimum level to provide efficient operation of the engine, whilst avoiding any rubbing of the blades 28 against the inner skin 14.
Fig. 2 illustrates a turbine case cooling system according to the invention, for controlling the gap 30. In considering Fig. 2, an aero gas turbine engine 32 is shown which will have a combustor shown generally at 34 and a plurality of turbines shown generally at 36. The valve 22 is illustrated diagrammatically which is connected to a model based predictive controller (MBPC) 38. The controller 38 sends a signal 40 as required to control the valve 22.
A sensor (not shown) is provided to measure the temperature of the turbine gases exiting the low pressure turbine, and this produces a signal 42. The signal 42 is supplied to a dynamic thermodynamic model of the turbine blade expansion and contraction, and also a dynamic thermodynamic model 46 of the turbine case expansion and contraction. These models 44, 46 provide a signal 50 to the controller 38. An input 48 of the required gap 30 for the engine 32 is provided to the controller 38 during construction or set up.
In operation, in response to the signal 42 which provides an indication of the running state of the engine 32, the models 44, 46 predict the present and future expansion of the blades 28 and inner skin 14 and provide a signal 50 to the controller 38. The controller 38 provides appropriate signals 40 to control the valve 22 over time to maintain as constant a required gap 30 as possible, whilst also taking into effect the future differential expansions over time of the blades 28 and inner skin 14. In general the skin 14 will expand at a significantly quicker rate than the blades 28, and hence cooling will be provided by forcing cool air into the cooling space 18 to arrange for the expansion of the inner skin 14 to substantially mimic the expansion of the blades 28 and hence maintain the required gap 30.
A further explanation of the arrangement will now be described with reference to Fig. 3, which is a graph with time on the X axis, and the gap 30 on the Y axis. A reference trajectory 52 is provided for the gap 30 and the predicted gap is shown by dots. The control for the valve 22 is shown by the solid line.
As shown in Fig. 3 when t = 0 this is the present time with the past to the left and the future to the right of the Y axis. In practice a model is produced to describe the expansion and contraction of the inner skin 14 and blades 28, and the model can be tested to verify its accuracy. From this model the future behaviour of the system is predicted over a finite time interval, usually called the prediction horizon, starting at the current time t. These predictions are functions of the current state of the system and the future input variables u (t + k I k), where k = 0, 1, , N3 -1. N3 is used to denote the end of the control horizon. Finally the optimal control sequence of these input variables are chosen and the first input in this sequence (u (t I t)) is applied to the system under control. At the next time instant t+1, this process is repeated all over again with the prediction horizon shifted one time step ahead.
The predictive control algorithm can be summarized in the following steps.
1. At time t predict the output from the system, y (t + k I k), where k = N1, N1 + 1, , N2. These outputs will depend on the measured system states at time t and on the future control signals, u (t + j I t), j = 0, 1, A, N3 2. Then an optimization criterion is selected to optimise these variables with respect to u (t + j I t), j = 0, 1, a, N3.
3. Apply u(t) = u (t I t).
4. At the next time instance go to step 1 and repeat.
The optimization criterion mentioned in step 2 above can take various forms, but by far most commonly used is the quadratic criterion of some type. Using the standard formulation without constraints, a closed form solution can be attained. The following is a typical quadratic cost function.
N2 2 N3-t 2 J(t) = ||y(t + k I t) - r (t + k I t)|| + ||a(t + k I t)|| k=N, Q1tkJ Q2lkJ This cost function penalises differences between the predicted outputs y (t + k I k) and the reference trajectory r (t + k I t) over the prediction horizon, which starts at t + N2. It also penalises changes in the control signal a u (t + k I t) over the control horizon, which spans from t to t + N3 It is generally assumed that N3 N2 and that a u (t + k I t) = 0 for k 2 N3.
There is thus described a method and also an arrangement for providing improved turbine case cooling and thus increasing engine efficiency. The arrangement does not require significant additional apparatus, and monitors the running state of the engine by measuring turbine gas temperature, which approved and robust sensor measurement.
The predictive control architecture used allows the arrangement to know where the system will be in a defined number of timed sequences into the future based on the current measurement. This enables future changes to be taken into account to provide appropriate cooling to maintain a required gap. There is no requirement for further sensors to be added to the engine, thereby preventing additional cost and potential errors during running.
Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, the running state of the engine may be differently measured and could be carried out by measuring gas temperature elsewhere in the engine. Alternative possible measurements are the fuel flow in the engine, the spool speed, or the air pressure being delivered to the combustor. It may be that different methods of cooling the turbine casing could be used.
Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.
Claims (11)
- Clan s 1. A method of controlling turbine case cooling in a gas turbineengine (32), the method including monitoring the present running state of the engine (32) and predicting with a model based system (44, 46) the future thermal expansion of the turbine case (12) and turbine blades (28), and controlling cooling of the turbine case in response to said prediction to provide a required gap between the turbine case and the turbine blades over time.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the model based system (44, 46) includes the turbine case (12) and turbine blade (12) expansion rates.
- 3. A method according to claims 1 or 2 characterised in that the engine monitoring is carried out by measuring the turbine gas temperature
- 4. A method according to claim 3 characterised in that the engine monitoring is carried out by measuring the temperature of gases exiting the low pressure turbine.
- 5. A method according to claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the engine monitoring is carried out by any of: measuring the gas temperature in the engine other than in the turbine; measuring fuel flow in the engine; measuring the engine spool speed; or measuring the air pressure being delivered to the combustor.
- 6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the cooling of the turbine case (12) is provided by supplying cool air between the inner and outer skins (14, 16) of the turbine case 12.
- 7. A method according to claim 6, characterised in that the amount of air supplied is variable.
- 8. A turbine case cooling arrangement for a gas turbine engine, characterised in that the arrangement includes a model based predictive controller (38) which controls cooling of the turbine case (12) using a method according to any of the preceding claims.
- 9. A method of controlling turbine case cooling in a gas turbine engine, the method being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- 10. A turbine case cooling arrangement for a gas turbine engine arrangement being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- 11. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0419652A GB2417762B (en) | 2004-09-04 | 2004-09-04 | Turbine case cooling |
US11/199,181 US7621716B2 (en) | 2004-09-04 | 2005-08-09 | Turbine case cooling |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0419652A GB2417762B (en) | 2004-09-04 | 2004-09-04 | Turbine case cooling |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB0419652D0 GB0419652D0 (en) | 2004-10-06 |
GB2417762A true GB2417762A (en) | 2006-03-08 |
GB2417762B GB2417762B (en) | 2006-10-04 |
Family
ID=33156016
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB0419652A Expired - Fee Related GB2417762B (en) | 2004-09-04 | 2004-09-04 | Turbine case cooling |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US7621716B2 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2417762B (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP2025878A2 (en) * | 2007-08-03 | 2009-02-18 | General Electric Company | Aircraft gas turbine engine blade tip clearance control |
WO2012107670A1 (en) * | 2011-02-11 | 2012-08-16 | Snecma | Method for controlling the clearance at the tips the blades of a turbine rotor |
RU2472000C2 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2013-01-10 | Снекма | Turbomachine module equipped with radial gap improvement device |
US8688245B2 (en) | 2010-07-26 | 2014-04-01 | Rolls-Royce Plc | System control |
GB2516048A (en) * | 2013-07-09 | 2015-01-14 | Rolls Royce Plc | Tip clearance control method |
EP3130762A1 (en) | 2015-08-13 | 2017-02-15 | Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG | System for active adjustment of a radial gap size and corresponding aircraft engine |
US10975721B2 (en) | 2016-01-12 | 2021-04-13 | Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. | Cooled containment case using internal plenum |
Families Citing this family (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8065022B2 (en) * | 2005-09-06 | 2011-11-22 | General Electric Company | Methods and systems for neural network modeling of turbine components |
US8090456B2 (en) * | 2008-11-03 | 2012-01-03 | United Technologies Corporation | System and method for design and control of engineering systems utilizing component-level dynamic mathematical model |
US8131384B2 (en) * | 2008-11-03 | 2012-03-06 | United Technologies Corporation | Design and control of engineering systems utilizing component-level dynamic mathematical model with multiple-input multiple-output estimator |
US8315741B2 (en) * | 2009-09-02 | 2012-11-20 | United Technologies Corporation | High fidelity integrated heat transfer and clearance in component-level dynamic turbine system control |
US8668434B2 (en) * | 2009-09-02 | 2014-03-11 | United Technologies Corporation | Robust flow parameter model for component-level dynamic turbine system control |
US9453429B2 (en) | 2013-03-11 | 2016-09-27 | General Electric Company | Flow sleeve for thermal control of a double-wall turbine shell and related method |
WO2014152701A1 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2014-09-25 | United Technologies Corporation | Compact aero-thermo model based control system |
EP3109419A1 (en) * | 2015-06-25 | 2016-12-28 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Method for cooling a fluid flow engine |
GB2553806B (en) | 2016-09-15 | 2019-05-29 | Rolls Royce Plc | Turbine tip clearance control method and system |
US10428676B2 (en) * | 2017-06-13 | 2019-10-01 | Rolls-Royce Corporation | Tip clearance control with variable speed blower |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4849895A (en) * | 1987-04-15 | 1989-07-18 | Societe Nationale D'etude Et De Construction De Moteurs D'aviation (Snecma) | System for adjusting radial clearance between rotor and stator elements |
US4999991A (en) * | 1989-10-12 | 1991-03-19 | United Technologies Corporation | Synthesized feedback for gas turbine clearance control |
US5012420A (en) * | 1988-03-31 | 1991-04-30 | General Electric Company | Active clearance control for gas turbine engine |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6272422B2 (en) * | 1998-12-23 | 2001-08-07 | United Technologies Corporation | Method and apparatus for use in control of clearances in a gas turbine engine |
US7079957B2 (en) * | 2003-12-30 | 2006-07-18 | General Electric Company | Method and system for active tip clearance control in turbines |
-
2004
- 2004-09-04 GB GB0419652A patent/GB2417762B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2005
- 2005-08-09 US US11/199,181 patent/US7621716B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4849895A (en) * | 1987-04-15 | 1989-07-18 | Societe Nationale D'etude Et De Construction De Moteurs D'aviation (Snecma) | System for adjusting radial clearance between rotor and stator elements |
US5012420A (en) * | 1988-03-31 | 1991-04-30 | General Electric Company | Active clearance control for gas turbine engine |
US4999991A (en) * | 1989-10-12 | 1991-03-19 | United Technologies Corporation | Synthesized feedback for gas turbine clearance control |
Cited By (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP2025878A2 (en) * | 2007-08-03 | 2009-02-18 | General Electric Company | Aircraft gas turbine engine blade tip clearance control |
EP2025878A3 (en) * | 2007-08-03 | 2013-05-29 | General Electric Company | Aircraft gas turbine engine blade tip clearance control |
RU2472000C2 (en) * | 2007-12-14 | 2013-01-10 | Снекма | Turbomachine module equipped with radial gap improvement device |
US8688245B2 (en) | 2010-07-26 | 2014-04-01 | Rolls-Royce Plc | System control |
FR2971543A1 (en) * | 2011-02-11 | 2012-08-17 | Snecma | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING TURBINE ROTOR BLACK SUMP |
CN103429851A (en) * | 2011-02-11 | 2013-12-04 | 斯奈克玛 | Method for controlling the clearance at the tips the blades of a turbine rotor |
WO2012107670A1 (en) * | 2011-02-11 | 2012-08-16 | Snecma | Method for controlling the clearance at the tips the blades of a turbine rotor |
RU2578786C2 (en) * | 2011-02-11 | 2016-03-27 | Снекма | Method of clearance control at tips of turbine rotor blades |
US9476690B2 (en) | 2011-02-11 | 2016-10-25 | Snecma | Method for controlling the clearance at the tips of blades of a turbine rotor |
GB2516048A (en) * | 2013-07-09 | 2015-01-14 | Rolls Royce Plc | Tip clearance control method |
EP2824283A3 (en) * | 2013-07-09 | 2015-12-02 | Rolls-Royce plc | Method of controlling tip clearance of rotor blades |
EP3130762A1 (en) | 2015-08-13 | 2017-02-15 | Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG | System for active adjustment of a radial gap size and corresponding aircraft engine |
DE102015215479A1 (en) | 2015-08-13 | 2017-02-16 | Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co Kg | A system for the active adjustment of a radial gap size and aircraft engine with a system for the active adjustment of a radial gap size |
US10428675B2 (en) | 2015-08-13 | 2019-10-01 | Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co Kg | System for the active setting of a radial clearance size and aircraft engine with a system for the active setting of a radial clearance size |
US10975721B2 (en) | 2016-01-12 | 2021-04-13 | Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. | Cooled containment case using internal plenum |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7621716B2 (en) | 2009-11-24 |
US20060051197A1 (en) | 2006-03-09 |
GB2417762B (en) | 2006-10-04 |
GB0419652D0 (en) | 2004-10-06 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7621716B2 (en) | Turbine case cooling | |
US6272422B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for use in control of clearances in a gas turbine engine | |
EP2904242B1 (en) | Model based engine inlet condition estimation | |
JP5156210B2 (en) | Model-based iterative estimation of gas turbine engine component quality | |
EP3690559A1 (en) | Machine learned aero-thermodynamic engine inlet condition synthesis | |
EP2256301B1 (en) | Systems and methods for modifying the performance of a gas turbine | |
EP2149824B1 (en) | Methods and systems for estimating operating parameters of an engine | |
US7020595B1 (en) | Methods and apparatus for model based diagnostics | |
EP0858017B1 (en) | Means and method for system performance tracking | |
US7431557B2 (en) | Compensating for blade tip clearance deterioration in active clearance control | |
US8849542B2 (en) | Real time linearization of a component-level gas turbine engine model for model-based control | |
RU2578786C2 (en) | Method of clearance control at tips of turbine rotor blades | |
EP1013891A1 (en) | Method and apparatus for use in control and compensation of clearances in a gas turbine engine | |
JP2006002766A (en) | System and method of controlling air flow in gas turbine | |
US10801359B2 (en) | Method and system for identifying rub events | |
US20100138132A1 (en) | Engine health monitoring | |
US20130191004A1 (en) | Gas turbine engine control | |
Lambiris et al. | Adaptive modeling of jet engine performance with application to condition monitoring | |
EP2900985B1 (en) | Model based fuel-air ratio control | |
US6694742B2 (en) | Gas turbine system operation based on estimated stress | |
JP2017187018A (en) | Systems and methods for predicting physical parameters for fuel combustion system | |
KR100437523B1 (en) | Gas Turbine Engine Steady Performance Prediction Method by Transient Performance Test |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20180904 |