Gas supply system control architecture for commercial aircraft engine test validation

Abstract

The application provides a kind of air source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine test verification, it includes: sequentially from top to bottom connected first layer control architecture, second layer control architecture and third layer control architecture, first layer control architecture includes engineer station, at least one operator station and at least one host computer network switch group consisting of host computer system, and host computer system is placed in central control room;Second layer control architecture includes group control cabinet, at least one load distribution and performance control cabinet and at least one lower computer network switch group consisting of lower computer system, and lower computer system is placed in control room;Third layer control architecture includes at least one machine set instrument valve and at least one pipeline instrument valve.The application enhances the speed and response time of signal processing, also avoids the inability of the whole air source system caused by single fault because of using the same control cabinet to control all machine sets, greatly improves the reliability and availability of system.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aero-engine test verification, in particular to a gas source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine test verification. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the prior art, the test device required for commercial aero-engine test verification has complex and variable requirements for gas sources, including high-temperature gas source supply with a temperature close to 850K and a pressure of 5.5MPa, normal-temperature air extraction with a pressure of 12KPa, low-temperature gas source supply with a temperature of 190K and a pressure of 0.2MPa, and a plurality of compressor units are involved. When different types of units are connected in series or in parallel, the process gas source system needs to have the characteristics of rapidness, precision and stability to meet the gas demand of the test device.

[0003] Therefore, it is particularly important to avoid compressor unit surge during gas supply, to eliminate the coupling problem caused by series and parallel operation of the unit, and to realize load balancing and highly stable automatic control of the unit.

[0004] At present, there is no case of load distribution and automatic group control of large centrifugal compressor units for series and parallel process gas supply of commercial aero-engine test verification in China.

[0005] Therefore, the present application inventors design a gas source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine test verification in order to overcome the above technical problems. SUMMARY

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to overcome the defects in the prior art that commercial aero-engine test verification cannot meet the requirements of gas sources, and to provide a gas source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine test verification.

[0007] The present application solves the above technical problems by the following technical solutions:

[0008] A gas source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine test verification, characterized in that the gas source system control system comprises a first layer control architecture, a second layer control architecture and a third layer control architecture connected in turn from top to bottom, the first layer control architecture comprises an engineer station, at least one operator station and an upper computer system composed of at least one upper computer network switch, the upper computer system is placed in a central control room and is used for configuration programming of the control system and monitoring and operation of process parameters;

[0009] The second layer control architecture comprises a group control cabinet, at least one load distribution and performance control cabinet and a lower computer system composed of at least one lower computer network switch, the lower computer system is placed in a control room and is used for group control, load distribution control and performance control of the on-site unit.

[0010] The third-layer control architecture includes at least one unit instrument valve and at least one pipeline instrument valve for the acquisition and processing of field signals.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the host computer network switches is connected to each of the engineer stations, and the host computer network switches are connected to the slave computer network switches in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the lower-level network switches is connected to each of the load distribution and performance control cabinets respectively.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the gas source system control architecture further includes at least one unit control cabinet, which is connected between the corresponding load distribution and performance control cabinet and the unit instrument valves, and the unit control cabinet, the load distribution and performance control cabinet and the unit instrument valves correspond one-to-one.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pipeline instrument valve is a gas source pipeline instrument valve, which is connected to the group control cabinet.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the operator station reads historical data from the engineer station via redundant Ethernet communication to review the data.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the group control cabinet and the load distribution and performance control cabinet are both equipped with redundant PLCs, power supply modules and communication modules to realize load distribution control and group control of the entire gas source unit.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the group control cabinet simultaneously controls multiple load distribution and performance control cabinets and multiple unit control cabinets.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the load distribution and performance control cabinet obtains signals from the intake valves and anti-surge valves of each unit through communication and hard-wired connection. When the group control cabinet obtains the deviation between the main pipe pressure feedback signal and the system set pressure, it calculates and assigns the balance coefficient to the load distribution and performance control cabinet of each unit.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the unit control cabinet is a compressor unit control cabinet, the unit instrument valves include a compressor anti-surge valve and a compressor intake valve, the compressor unit control cabinet is connected to the load distribution and performance control cabinet, and the load distribution and performance control cabinet is connected to the compressor anti-surge valve and the compressor intake valve;

[0020] The compressor control cabinet automatically adjusts the compressor anti-surge valve and the compressor intake valve by feeding back and monitoring the signals from the unit's instrument valves.

[0021] The positive and progressive effects of this invention are as follows:

[0022] This invention relates to a gas supply system control architecture for commercial aero-engine testing and verification. By employing redundant, fast-response PLC controllers, redundant UPS, and redundant network communication, the safe and reliable operation of the gas supply system is well guaranteed. The fast-response PLC controllers enable the control system to quickly and effectively adjust to changes in gas supply disturbances through on-site unit status monitoring and valve control responses, ensuring the stability of the unit and gas supply, thereby guaranteeing the smooth progress of aero-engine testing.

[0023] Meanwhile, the gas source system control architecture employs a one-to-one control cabinet for each centrifugal compressor unit on-site to collect unit status signals and obtain control over the intake valve and anti-surge valve. Load distribution calculations and unit performance control are performed through independent redundant controllers, enhancing signal processing speed and response time. This also avoids the situation where a single control cabinet controlling all units could cause the entire gas source system to fail due to a single fault, greatly improving system reliability and availability. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The above and other features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, in which the same reference numerals always denote the same features, wherein:

[0025] Fig. 1 This is a schematic diagram of the air source system control architecture for commercial aircraft engine testing and verification according to the present invention.

[0026] Fig. 2 This is a schematic diagram of the load distribution control logic of two units in the air source system control architecture used for commercial aero-engine testing and verification according to the present invention.

[0027] Fig. 3 This is a schematic diagram of performance control and anti-surge control in the air source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine testing and verification according to the present invention.

[0028] [Attached image labels]

[0029] Engineer Station 10

[0030] Operator Station 20

[0031] Host computer network switch 30

[0032] Group control cabinet 40

[0033] Load distribution and performance control cabinet 50

[0034] Lower-level network switch 60

[0035] Unit Instrument Valves 70

[0036] Piping Instrument Valves 80

[0037] Unit control cabinet 90

[0038] Compressor unit control cabinet 91

[0039] Compressor anti-surge valve 71

[0040] Compressor intake valve 72 Detailed Implementation

[0041] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, examples of which are shown in the drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used in all the drawings to denote the same or similar parts.

[0043] Furthermore, although the terminology used in this invention is selected from commonly known and used terms, some terms mentioned in this specification may have been selected by the applicant in his or her judgment, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant sections of the description herein.

[0044] Furthermore, the invention should be understood not only through the actual terminology used, but also through the meaning implied by each term.

[0045] like Figs. 1 to 3 As shown, this invention discloses a gas source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine testing and verification, comprising: a first-layer control architecture, a second-layer control architecture, and a third-layer control architecture connected sequentially from top to bottom. The first-layer control architecture includes a host computer system consisting of an engineer station 10, at least one operator station 20, and at least one host computer network switch 30. The host computer system is located in a central control room and is used for the configuration programming of the control system and the monitoring and operation of process parameters.

[0046] The second-layer control architecture includes a lower-level system consisting of a group control cabinet 40, at least one load distribution and performance control cabinet 50, and at least one lower-level network switch 60. This lower-level system is located in the control room and is used for group control, load distribution control, and performance control of the field units. The second-layer control architecture is used to handle interface signals and communication with the unit control cabinets.

[0047] The third-layer control architecture includes at least one unit instrument valve 70 and at least one pipeline instrument valve 80 for the acquisition and processing of field signals. For example, the pipeline instrument valve 80 can preferably be a gas source pipeline instrument valve, which is connected to the group control cabinet 40. The third-layer control architecture is installed in the field for the acquisition and processing of field signals, and is connected to the unit control cabinet and the group control cabinet I / O cards respectively via cables according to standard signals.

[0048] Preferably, each host computer network switch 30 is connected to each engineering station 10, and each host computer network switch 30 is connected to a corresponding slave computer network switch 60. Each slave computer network switch 60 is connected to each load distribution and performance control cabinet 50.

[0049] Furthermore, the gas source system control architecture also includes at least one unit control cabinet 90, which is connected between the corresponding load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 and the unit instrument valve 70. The unit control cabinet 90, the load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 and the unit instrument valve 70 correspond one-to-one.

[0050] Preferably, the operator station 10 reads historical data from the engineer station 10 via redundant Ethernet communication to review the data. The group control cabinet 40 and the load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 are both equipped with redundant PLCs, power modules, and communication modules to realize load distribution control and group control of the entire gas source unit.

[0051] The group control cabinet 40 here can simultaneously control multiple load distribution and performance control cabinets 50 and multiple unit control cabinets 90. The load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 obtains signals from the intake valves and anti-surge valves of each unit through communication and hard-wired connections. When the group control cabinet 40 obtains the deviation between the main pipe pressure feedback signal and the system set pressure, it calculates and assigns a balance coefficient to each unit's load distribution and performance control cabinet.

[0052] Here, the unit control cabinet 90 is preferably a compressor unit control cabinet 91, and the unit instrument valves 70 preferably include a compressor anti-surge valve 71 and a compressor intake valve 72. The compressor unit control cabinet 91 is connected to the load distribution and performance control cabinet 50, and the load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 is connected to the compressor anti-surge valve 71 and the compressor intake valve 72. The compressor unit control cabinet 91 implements automatic adjustment of the compressor anti-surge valve 71 and the compressor intake valve 72 by feedback and monitoring of the signals from the unit instrument valves.

[0053] All the control cabinets mentioned above employ redundant, fast-response 20ms PLC controllers, redundant UPS power supplies, and redundant network communication. For centrifugal compressor units, a one-to-one control cabinet is used for dedicated load distribution calculations and performance control, while a group control cabinet is used to achieve group control and decoupled control of the units.

[0054] Based on the above structural description, the air source system control architecture of this invention for commercial aircraft engine testing and verification is implemented according to the above three levels, as follows:

[0055] I. First-level host computer system

[0056] The first-level host computer system of the medium- and high-pressure gas source control system is configured with one engineering station 10 and eight operator stations 20. Engineering station 10 is equipped with a large-capacity hard drive, high-capacity memory, and a processor, serving as a clock synchronization server and data server. Operator stations 20 read historical data from the engineering station via redundant Ethernet communication for data review. Both engineering station 10 and operator stations 20 are equipped with dual network cards, and redundant communication is achieved through two redundant network switches, ensuring reliable communication for the host computer system.

[0057] II. Second-level lower-level machine system

[0058] The second-level lower-level system uses two redundant network switches to achieve redundant data communication with the upper-level system and between the lower-level control cabinets. The group control cabinet 40 and the load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 are both equipped with redundant PLCs, power modules, and communication modules to achieve load distribution control and group control of the entire gas source unit.

[0059] like Fig. 2 The diagram shown illustrates the logic principle of load distribution control. Centrifugal compressor units have an optimal performance range and must avoid surge and blockage zones during operation. To ensure stable operation, energy efficiency, and extended service life when multiple units (same or different models) are used for gas supply, and to prevent any unit from operating near the surge zone, a load distribution function is required to ensure that each unit operates at its most suitable operating point.

[0060] The load distribution and performance control cabinet obtains signals from the intake valves and anti-surge valves of each unit through communication and hard-wired connections. When the group control cabinet obtains the deviation between the main pipe pressure feedback signal and the system set pressure, it calculates and assigns a balance coefficient to each unit's load distribution and performance control cabinet. The unit load distribution and performance control cabinet 50 then issues new adjustment commands to the units based on the new coefficients. This stabilizes the unit's outlet pressure by adjusting the opening of the unit's intake valve and anti-surge valve in combination with the unit's PID control and decoupling control between units.

[0061] The group control cabinet collects, calculates, and outputs commands for the pressure, flow, temperature, and operating conditions of the gas source pipeline network, achieving load balancing and stabilization of the main gas supply pipeline pressure for all operating compressor units from an overall control perspective.

[0062] III. Local control and instrumentation valves and piping instrumentation valves for the third-level unit

[0063] like Fig. 3 As shown, the local control cabinet of the third-level unit automatically adjusts the intake valve and anti-surge valve by feeding back and monitoring the unit's instrument signals, thereby enabling the compressor unit to output gas according to the set pressure. The local control cabinet also receives control signals and coupled control signals from the load distribution and performance control cabinet, and determines the control authority of the intake valve and anti-surge valve through logic operations, thereby realizing the adjustment of the unit's pressure and flow.

[0064] Furthermore, the local control cabinet will not interfere with the protection of the compressor unit and will perform safety protection according to the unit's design logic. Instruments on the pipeline monitor parameters such as pressure, temperature, and flow rate within the main gas supply pipeline. The pressure signal is also used as feedback for the closed-loop control of the gas supply pipeline pressure stability, and for valves.

[0065] As described above, the air source system control architecture of this invention for commercial aero-engine testing and verification belongs to the field of aero-engine ground air intake testing technology. It is based on a control architecture with redundant, fast-response controllers, power supplies, and network configurations. The control architecture includes process control cabinets, load distribution control cabinets, power distribution cabinets, network switches, engineering workstations, and operator stations. It enables rapid and reliable monitoring and control of field units, instrument sensors, valves, and other air source system equipment through a one-to-one control cabinet. Combined with one-to-one load distribution calculations and overall group control, it achieves safe, rapid, stable, and reliable operation of the air source system, meeting the testing requirements of the test equipment.

[0066] In summary, the gas source system control architecture of this invention for commercial aero-engine testing and verification effectively ensures the safe and reliable operation of the gas source system by employing redundant fast-response PLC controllers, redundant UPS, and redundant network communication. The fast-response PLC controllers enable the control system to quickly and effectively adjust to changes in gas source disturbances by monitoring the status of the on-site unit and responding to valve control, thus ensuring the stability of the unit and gas supply and guaranteeing the smooth progress of aero-engine testing.

[0067] Meanwhile, the gas source system control architecture employs a one-to-one control cabinet for each centrifugal compressor unit on-site to collect unit status signals and obtain control over the intake valve and anti-surge valve. Load distribution calculations and unit performance control are performed through independent redundant controllers, enhancing signal processing speed and response time. This also avoids the situation where a single control cabinet controlling all units could cause the entire gas source system to fail due to a single fault, greatly improving system reliability and availability.

[0068] For those skilled in the art, the above disclosure is merely illustrative and does not constitute a limitation of this application. Although not explicitly stated herein, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and corrections to this application. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are suggested in this application and therefore remain within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

[0069] Furthermore, this application uses specific terms to describe embodiments of the application. For example, "an embodiment," "one embodiment," and / or "some embodiments" refer to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different locations in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the application can be appropriately combined.

[0070] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, those skilled in the art should understand that these are merely illustrative examples, and the scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present invention, but all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control architecture for a gas source system used in the testing and verification of commercial aircraft engines, characterized in that, The gas source system control system includes: a first-layer control architecture, a second-layer control architecture, and a third-layer control architecture connected sequentially from top to bottom. The first-layer control architecture includes an upper-level computer system consisting of an engineer station, at least one operator station, and at least one upper-level computer network switch. The upper-level computer system is placed in the central control room and is used for the configuration programming of the control system and the monitoring and operation of process parameters. The second-layer control architecture includes a lower-level system consisting of a group control cabinet, at least one load distribution and performance control cabinet, and at least one lower-level network switch. The lower-level system is placed in the control room and is used for group control, load distribution control, and performance control of the field units. The third-layer control architecture includes at least one unit instrument valve and at least one pipeline instrument valve for the acquisition and processing of field signals. Each of the lower-level network switches is connected to each of the load distribution and performance control cabinets respectively; The gas source system control architecture also includes at least one unit control cabinet, which is connected between the corresponding load distribution and performance control cabinet and the unit instrument valves. The unit control cabinet, the load distribution and performance control cabinet and the unit instrument valves correspond one-to-one. The group control cabinet and the load distribution and performance control cabinet are both equipped with redundant PLCs, power modules, and communication modules to realize load distribution control and group control of the entire gas source unit. The group control cabinet simultaneously controls multiple load distribution and performance control cabinets and multiple unit control cabinets. The load distribution and performance control cabinet obtains signals from the intake valves and anti-surge valves of each unit through communication and hard-wired connections. When the group control cabinet obtains the deviation between the main pipe pressure feedback signal and the system set pressure, it calculates and assigns the balance coefficient to the load distribution and performance control cabinet of each unit.

2. The air source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine testing and verification as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the host computer network switches is connected to each of the engineer stations, and the host computer network switches are connected to the slave computer network switches in a one-to-one correspondence.

3. The air source system control architecture for commercial aero-engine testing and verification as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The pipeline instrument valve is a gas source pipeline instrument valve, which is connected to the group control cabinet.

4. The air source system control architecture for commercial aircraft engine testing and verification as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The operator station reads historical data from the engineer station via redundant Ethernet communication to review the data.

5. The air source system control architecture for commercial aircraft engine testing and verification as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The unit control cabinet is a compressor unit control cabinet. The unit instrument valves include a compressor anti-surge valve and a compressor intake valve. The compressor unit control cabinet is connected to the load distribution and performance control cabinet. The load distribution and performance control cabinet is connected to the compressor anti-surge valve and the compressor intake valve. The compressor control cabinet automatically adjusts the compressor anti-surge valve and the compressor intake valve by feeding back and monitoring the signals from the unit's instrument valves.

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