Gas Turbine Actuator Control System Centralization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas turbine engine actuator systems require complex and redundant control units within each actuator, leading to increased weight, cost, and manufacturing complexity due to the need for separate power conditioning, position sensing, and drive modules, which are not efficiently managed by existing electronic engine controllers.
Innovation Solution
A centralized control unit with actuator control modules, including a power conditioning module, actuator position module, and drive module, is electrically coupled to the electronic engine controller and multiple actuators, allowing for shared resources and reduced redundancy, thereby simplifying the actuator systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate dedicated control units are included within each actuator for power conditioning, position sensing, and drive functions, then each actuator can independently interpret instructions and provide feedback, but the complexity, weight, and cost of each actuator increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates separate dedicated control units (power conditioning, position sensing, drive modules) from individual actuators into a single centralized control unit that serves all actuators. This merging reduces the complexity, weight, and cost of each actuator while maintaining independent control capability through shared resources and communication bus architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized control unit is designed to perform multiple functions across all actuators - power conditioning, position sensing, and drive control - rather than having dedicated single-function units in each actuator. This multi-functional approach reduces redundancy and simplifies the overall system architecture.
2Reliability
If separate dedicated control units are included within each actuator, then each actuator can independently interpret instructions and provide feedback, but the weight and cost of the actuator system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control functions (power conditioning, position sensing, drive modules) from multiple individual actuators into a single centralized control unit. This consolidation eliminates redundant components across the system, significantly reducing the total weight of the actuator system while maintaining independent control of each actuator through shared communication buses.
3Reliability
If separate dedicated control units are included within each actuator, then each actuator can independently interpret instructions and provide feedback, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple dedicated control units into a single centralized control unit that serves all actuators. This merging reduces the total number of components that need to be manufactured and assembled, simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs. The standardized centralized unit can be produced more efficiently than multiple custom actuator-specific control units.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized control unit is designed as a universal module that can control multiple different actuator types through standard communication protocols. This universality reduces manufacturing complexity by eliminating the need to produce custom control units for each actuator, allowing for standardized production processes and reduced tooling requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling actuators within a gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes an electronic engine controller, a plurality of actuators, and a central control unit. The central control unit includes an actuator control unit electrically coupled to the electronic engine controller and a plurality of actuator control modules. Each of the actuator control modules is electrically coupled to each of the plurality of actuators. A method is also disclosed.