Combustor control based on fuel modulation and passive optical sensors
US8371102B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 26, 2009 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 21, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF05D2270/804
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A system for controlling the uniformity of combustion over a range of operating conditions in a combustor with a plurality of fuel nozzles. The system includes a number of optical sensors, each sensor comprising an optical probe that collects naturally occurring optical radiation emanating from a segment of the combustor or combustor exhaust, and at least one transducer that receives the radiation collected by the probes, compares the intensity of collected radiation from each sensor in a plurality of spectral pass-bands that are indicative of the fuel/air ratio in the combustor segments, and produces output signals that are indicative of the state of combustion in the combustor segments. A control system receives the output signals from the transducers and in response controls the fuel flow to the fuel nozzles to achieve an output from each of the sensors that has been determined to be indicative of a predetermined state of combustion.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.