Gas Turbine Speed Sensor Cooling Jacket Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing speed sensor systems in gas turbine engines fail to withstand high temperatures, limiting their effectiveness and reliability in high-temperature areas.
Innovation Solution
A cooling jacket is designed to encase the speed sensor, with a larger inner cross-sectional area than the sensor itself, directing cooling fluid around the sensor to maintain it within a safe temperature range, allowing it to operate in high-temperature environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the speed sensor is placed in high-temperature areas of the gas turbine engine, then the sensor can detect over-speed conditions in critical areas, but the sensor cannot withstand the high temperatures and fails to operate reliably
Solution Approach 1:
A cooling jacket is introduced as an intermediary component between the sensor and the high-temperature environment. The cooling jacket directs cooling fluid around the sensor, creating a thermal barrier that protects the temperature-sensitive sensor from the extreme heat while allowing the sensor to remain positioned in the critical upstream segment of the turbine section for accurate speed detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-temperature environment, which initially poses a threat to sensor operation, is converted into a benefit by using the temperature differential to drive cooling fluid flow through the cooling jacket. The cooling system utilizes the thermal gradient between the hot engine environment and the cooler fluid to actively remove heat from the sensor, transforming the harmful thermal exposure into a controlled cooling mechanism.
2Temperature
If conventional speed sensor systems are used without cooling, then the system design is simpler, but the sensors fail to withstand high temperatures and lose effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into distinct functional components: the sensor element itself, the cooling jacket, and the cooling fluid circulation system. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the sensor for accurate speed detection and the cooling jacket for thermal protection - while maintaining overall system functionality. The cooling jacket acts as a separate protective subsystem that can be designed and maintained independently from the sensor.
3Reliability
If the cooling jacket is designed with larger inner cross-sectional area than the sensor, then cooling fluid can effectively circulate around the sensor, but the overall device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling jacket is designed with specific geometric parameters - an inner cross-sectional area larger than the sensor outer cross-sectional area - to optimize cooling fluid flow characteristics. This parameter change ensures adequate flow velocity and heat transfer coefficient while maintaining a practical, manufacturable design. The enlarged inner cross-section allows the cooling fluid to effectively surround and cool the sensor without creating excessive complexity in the jacket structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cooling jacket effectively keeps the sensor within its maximum allowable temperature range, enabling its use in high-temperature areas, such as the upstream segment of a gas turbine engine, where it can detect over-speed conditions and reduce costs compared to alternative technologies.
Implementation Method 1
directing cooling fluid through the cooling jacket, the cooling fluid cooling the outer surface of the sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine engine may include a compressor section of the turbine engine. The turbine engine may include a combustion section of the turbine engine. The combustion section may be downstream of the compressor section. The turbine engine may include a turbine section of the turbine engine. The turbine section may be downstream of the combustion section. The turbine engine may include a sensor for speed detection. The sensor may be disposed at an upstream segment of the turbine section. The sensor may include a cooling jacket. The cooling jacket may encase at least a portion of the sensor. A cooling fluid may be in fluid communication with the cooling jacket and an outer surface of the sensor. The cooling jacket may be shaped to direct cooling fluid around the sensor.