Gas Turbine Engine Event-Triggered Control for Stable MBC Execution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines often require unnecessary model-based control (MBC) executions, even when operating at stable states, leading to inefficiencies and increased resource usage.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an event trigger control system that only executes MBC calculations and executions when a state change is detected, eliminating periodic executions during steady-state operations by using a feedback control system with a measurement unit, controller, and feedback unit to assess and respond to operational state changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If model-based control (MBC) is executed periodically at each time step, then the control system maintains high responsiveness and stability, but the computational resources are wasted when the gas turbine engine operates at stable operation points
Solution Approach 1:
The control execution frequency is made dynamic rather than fixed. The system adapts the control execution interval based on the actual operational state of the gas turbine engine, executing MBC only when state changes are detected and using longer intervals or skipping executions during stable operation periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of control execution timing based on the operational state. By monitoring state parameters and comparing them against thresholds, the system adjusts when MBC executions occur, transitioning from fixed periodic execution to conditional execution based on state parameter changes.
2Reliability
If model-based control (MBC) is executed at every time step, then the control system ensures optimal performance under all conditions, but the overall productivity and efficiency are reduced due to unnecessary computations during steady-state operations
Solution Approach 1:
The control execution frequency is made dynamic rather than fixed. The system adapts the control execution interval based on the actual operational state of the gas turbine engine, executing MBC only when state changes are detected and using longer intervals or skipping executions during stable operation periods.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying full control execution at every time step, the system applies partial action by executing MBC only when necessary (when state changes are detected). This reduces unnecessary computations while maintaining adequate control performance for the actual operational needs.
3Measurement precision
If the feedback control system continuously monitors and executes MBC, then the system maintains high precision control, but the complexity of the control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional modules: state monitoring unit, state change detection unit, and MBC execution unit. This segmentation allows each module to perform its specific function independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining monitoring precision.
Solution Approach 2:
An event trigger mechanism acts as an intermediary between continuous state monitoring and discrete MBC executions. This intermediary filters continuous state data, identifies significant changes, and triggers control executions only when necessary, reducing the burden on the control system while maintaining monitoring accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
A feedback control system 20 is provided and includes a controller 22 to control an operation of a motive element in accordance with current and previous measured states. The controller 22 includes a servo 221, a processor 222 and an event trigger controller 224. The event trigger controller 224 is configured to cause the processor 222 to command the servo 221 to perform model based control (MBC) executions in an event a difference between the current and previous measured states exceeds a threshold based on the previous measured state or the current measured state exceeds a limit, and skip the MBC executions in an event the difference does not exceed the threshold and the current measured state does not exceed the limit.