Patent Application
20230016408
This disclosure relates generally to an engine and, more particularly, to monitoring a fuel system of the engine.
A gas turbine engine includes a fuel system for directing fuel from a fuel reservoir to a plurality of fuel injectors. Fuel leakage from the fuel system may pose an operational and/or an environmental hazard. It is known in the art therefore to include sensors for detecting fuel leaks within the gas turbine engine. While known systems and methods for detecting fuel leaks have various advantages, there is still room in the art for improvement, particularly where the fuel is a highly combustible fuel such as hydrogen.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an assembly is provided for an engine. This engine assembly includes a fuel system, a sensor and a processing system. The fuel system includes a fuel source, an engine component and a fuel circuit configured to direct fuel from the fuel source to the engine component. The sensor is configured to provide sensor data indicative of a measured parameter of the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component. The processing system is configured to identify a fuel leak in the fuel system based on the sensor data. The fuel leak is identified when a measured value corresponding to the measured parameter of the fuel is less than an expected value corresponding to an expected parameter for the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, another assembly is provided for an engine. This engine assembly includes a fuel system, a sensor and a processing system. The fuel system includes a fuel source, a fuel injector and a fuel circuit configured to direct fuel from the fuel source to the fuel injector. The sensor is configured to provide sensor data indicative of a measured pressure of the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the fuel injector. The processing system is configured to identify a fuel leak in the fuel system based on the sensor data. The fuel leak is identified when a measured value of the measured pressure of the fuel is different than an expected value of an expected pressure for the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the fuel injector.
According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided involving an engine. During this method, fuel is directed through a fuel circuit from a fuel source to an engine component. Sensor data is provided indicative of a measured parameter of the fuel being directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component. The sensor data is processed to identify a fuel leak. The fuel leak is identified when a measured value corresponding to the measured parameter of the fuel is less than an expected value corresponding to an expected parameter for the fuel being directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component.
The fuel may be or otherwise include hydrogen fuel. The measured parameter may be a pressure of the hydrogen fuel within and directed through the fuel circuit.
The processing system may also be configured to identify the fuel leak as being located upstream of the sensor when the measured value corresponding to the measured parameter of the fuel is less than the expected value corresponding to the expected parameter for the fuel.
The sensor may be configured as or otherwise include a fuel pressure sensor. The measured parameter of the fuel may be a measured pressure of the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component.
The sensor may be configured as or otherwise include a fuel flow sensor. The measured parameter of the fuel may be a measured flowrate of the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component.
The expected value may be a first expected value. The fuel leak may be identified when the measured value corresponding to the measured parameter of the fuel is less than the first expected value corresponding to the expected parameter for the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component during a first mode of engine operation. The fuel leak may be identified when the measured value corresponding to the measured parameter of the fuel is greater than a second expected value corresponding to the expected parameter for the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component during a second mode of engine operation.
The engine assembly may also include a second sensor configured to provide second sensor data indicative of a second measured parameter of the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component. The processing system may also be configured to identify the fuel leak in the fuel system based on the second sensor data. The fuel leak may be identified when a second measured value corresponding to the second measured parameter of the fuel is different than a second expected value corresponding to a second expected parameter for the fuel directed through the fuel circuit from the fuel source to the engine component.
The measured parameter and the second measured parameter may be of a common type of parameter.
The processing system may also be configured to identify a malfunction in the sensor or the second sensor by processing the sensor data and the second sensor data.
The fuel circuit may include a valve with an orifice. The sensor may be arranged at the orifice.
The fuel circuit may include a pump with an orifice. The sensor may be arranged at the orifice.
The engine may be a gas turbine engine. The engine component may be configured as or otherwise include a fuel injector within the gas turbine engine.
The fuel may be or otherwise include hydrogen fuel.
The fuel may be or otherwise include hydrocarbon fuel.
The engine assembly may also include an indicator configured to provide an indication to an engine operator following identification of the fuel leak by the processing system.
The fuel circuit may include a flow regulator. The processing system may also be configured to signal the flow regulator to reduce or stop flow of the fuel through the fuel circuit to the engine component when the fuel leak is identified.
The engine assembly may also include a safety system configured to purge the fuel circuit with an inert fluid following identification of the fuel leak by the processing system.
The fuel system may also include a second fuel reservoir. The processing system may also be configured to signal the fuel system to direct second fuel to the engine component from the second fuel reservoir when the fuel leak of the fuel from the fuel reservoir is identified.
The present disclosure may include any one or more of the individual features disclosed above and/or below alone or in any combination thereof.
The foregoing features and the operation of the invention will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings.
The engine assembly 20 of
The fuel source 28 is configured to provide fuel for the fuel system 22. The fuel source 28 may also be configured to contain and hold a quantity of the fuel prior to, during and/or after engine operation. The fuel source 28, for example, may be configured as a fuel reservoir such as a container; e.g., a tank, a cylinder, a pressure vessel, a bladder, etc. The fuel source 28 of
The engine component 30 may be, may include or may be part of any component or structure of the engine which may receive the fuel. The engine component 30 of
The fuel circuit 32 is configured to direct (e.g., flow, pump and/or otherwise deliver) the fuel from the fuel source 28 to the engine component 30. The fuel circuit 32 of
The fuel circuit 32 includes at least one flow passage 38. This flow passage 38 of
Referring to
For ease of description, the fuel circuit 32 is described above and shown in
Referring again to
The sensor 56 may be connected to, fluidly coupled inline with and/or otherwise arranged with the fuel circuit 32. For example, referring to
Referring to
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The memory 62 is configured to store software (e.g., program instructions) for execution by the processing device 64, which software execution may control and/or facilitate performance of one or more operations such as those described in the methods below. The memory 62 may be a non-transitory computer readable medium. For example, the memory 62 may be configured as or include a volatile memory and/or a nonvolatile memory. Examples of a volatile memory may include a random access memory (RAM) such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a video random access memory (VRAM), etc. Examples of a nonvolatile memory may include a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a computer hard drive, etc.
In step 702, the fuel is direct to the engine component 30 through the fuel circuit 32. The processing system 26 of
The fuel may be a non-hydrocarbon fuel such as, but not limited to, hydrogen fuel. The fuel, for example, may be stored in the fuel source 28 (e.g., a reservoir) as liquid hydrogen or a mixture of liquid hydrogen and hydrogen gas. At least some or all of the liquid hydrogen may subsequently by vaporized within the fuel circuit 32 (e.g., via a vaporizer; not shown) to provide hydrogen gas (e.g., H2 gas) to the engine component 30. The engine component 30 may also or alternatively be configured as a vaporizer. The engine component 30, for example, may be configured to vaporize at least some or all of the liquid hydrogen prior to or while providing the hydrogen fuel for mixing with the air. Alternatively, the hydrogen fuel may be stored as substantially hydrogen gas within the fuel source 28. In such embodiments, the fuel pump 42 may be omitted where a pressure of the hydrogen (H2) gas stored in the fuel source 28 is greater than pressure within the combustion chamber 66. Of course, various other types of non-hydrocarbon fuels are known in the art, and the present disclosure is not limited to any particular ones thereof. Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to non-hydrocarbon fuel applications. For example, the fuel may alternatively be or otherwise include a more typical hydrocarbon fuel such as, but not limited to, kerosene or jet fuel.
The fuel can be a highly combustible substance. This is particularly true where the fuel is or otherwise includes a gaseous fuel such as hydrogen (H2) gas. Leakage of the fuel from the fuel system 22 and its fuel circuit 32 may therefore be problematic. Fuel leakage, for example, may pose a safety hazard where the fuel may be ignited and combusted outside of the combustion chamber 66. Fuel leakage may also pose an environmental hazard. To monitor for possible fuel leakage from the fuel system 22, the sensor system 24 obverses the fuel directed to the engine component 30. The sensor 56, for example, measures a parameter of the fuel directed through (e.g., flowing within) the fuel circuit 32 from the fuel source 28 to the engine component 30. In step 704, the sensor 56 generates sensor data (e.g., a voltage signal) indicative of the measured parameter, and provides the sensor data to the processing system 26.
In step 706, the sensor data is monitored to identify (e.g., detect) a fuel leak in the fuel system 22. The processing system 26, for example, processes the sensor data. The processing system 26 may compare a value (referred to as a measured value) corresponding to the measured parameter to a value (referred to as an expected value) corresponding to an expected parameter for the fuel at the sensor location, where the expected value may be stored as a predetermined value for a particular set of operating conditions in the memory 62. The processing system 26 may thereby compare what is actually occurring within the fuel circuit 32 at the sensor location (the measured parameter) to what is expected to occur within the fuel circuit 32 at the sensor location (the expected parameter) for a particular mode of engine operation. Where the measured value is different (e.g., less or greater) than the expected value, the processing system 26 may determine a fuel leak is present in the fuel system 22.
Where the measured value is less than the expected value (e.g., by at least a threshold amount), the processing system 26 may determine a fuel leak is present within the fuel system 22 and, more particularly, within the fuel circuit 32 upstream of the sensor 56. For example, where the sensor 56 measures a fuel pressure within the fuel circuit 32 of X−2 Bar at the sensor location but expects the fuel pressure within the fuel circuit 32 to be X Bar at the sensor location, the processing system 26 may determine that 2 Bar of the fuel is leaking from the fuel circuit 32 upstream of the sensor 56. The measured pressure of the fuel at the sensor location may be less than expected because some of the fuel (e.g., 2 Bar of the fuel) may be leaking out of the fuel circuit 32 prior to reaching the sensor location thereby driving the measured fuel pressure lower than expected. A similar comparison may be made where the sensor measures flowrate (or another parameter) of the fuel within the fuel circuit 32 at the sensor location. For example, where the measured fuel flowrate is less than expected, the processing system 26 may determine some of the fuel is leaking out of the fuel circuit 32 prior to reaching the sensor location thereby driving the measured fuel flowrate lower than expected.
Referring to
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The method 700 is described above as detecting/identifying the fuel leak during operation of the engine. However, in other embodiments, a fuel leak may also or alternatively be identified while the engine is non-operational. For example, the sensor system 24 may observe fuel flow within the fuel circuit 32 and then provide the sensor data to the processing system 26. Where the measured value (e.g., a positive value) corresponding to the measured parameter is higher than the expected value (e.g., here a zero value) corresponding to the expected parameter, the processing system 26 may identify presence of a fuel leak in the fuel circuit 32. For example, where the sensor 56 measures a positive fuel pressure within the fuel circuit 32 when there should be a zero fuel pressure, there is likely a fuel leak in a control element upstream of the sensor location. Similarly, where the sensor 56 measures a positive fuel flowrate within the fuel circuit 32 when there should be a zero fuel flowrate, again there is likely a fuel leak in a control element upstream of the sensor location.
The sensor system 24 is described above as including the single sensor 56. However, in other embodiments, the sensor system 24 may include a plurality of the sensors 56A-C (generally referred to as “54”) as shown, for example, in
Where the sensor system 24 includes the multiple sensors 56, the processing system 26 may be adapted to identify a sensor malfunction. For example, where the upstream sensor (e.g., 56A) measures a parameter different than expected, but multiple of the downstream sensors (e.g., 56B and 56C) measures parameters that are expected, the processing system 26 may determine that the upstream sensor (e.g., 56A) is malfunctioning.
Where the sensor system 24 includes the multiple of sensors 56, the processing system 26 may identify a region in the fuel circuit 32 where the fuel leak is located. For example, where the measured parameters from all of the sensors 56 are different than expected, the processing system 26 may determine a fuel leak is at least located upstream of those sensors 56; e.g., upstream of the sensor 56A. In another example, where the measured parameter from one of the downstream sensors (e.g., 56B or 56C) is different than expected but the measured parameter from one of the upstream sensors (e.g., 56A or 56B) is as expected, the processing system 26 may determine a fuel leak is at least located fluidly between the upstream and the downstream sensors 56.
The fuel pump 42 is described above as a main fuel pump between the fuel source 28 and the engine component 30. However, in other embodiments, the fuel system 22 and its fuel circuit 32 may include at least one additional fuel pump. In such embodiments, the fuel pump 42 may still be configured as the main (e.g., upstream) fuel pump. Alternatively, the fuel pump 42 may be configured as a boost pump; e.g., a downstream fuel pump. One or each of these fuel pumps may be configured with a respective sensor 56 at one of its orifices (e.g., its inlet or its outlet) as described above.
As described above, each sensor 56 may be arranged at (e.g., on, adjacent or proximate) an orifice (e.g., an inlet or an outlet) of a flow regulation element (e.g., the fuel pump 42 or the fuel valve 44). With such an arrangement, the expected parameter of the fuel may be easier to predict. For example, where the sensor 56 is positioned at the inlet or the outlet of the pump 42 or the valve 44, a pressure and a flowrate at those locations may be readily predicted assuming normal fuel system operation. The present disclosure, however, is not limited to any particular sensor locations.
The fan section 88 includes a fan rotor 94. The compressor section 89 includes a compressor rotor 95. The turbine section 91 includes a high pressure turbine (HPT) rotor 96 and a low pressure turbine (LPT) rotor 97, where the LPT rotor 97 is configured as a power turbine rotor. Each of these rotors 94-97 includes a plurality of rotor blades arranged circumferentially around and connected to one or more respective rotor disks.
The fan rotor 94 is connected to the LPT rotor 97 through a low speed shaft 100. The compressor rotor 95 is connected to the HPT rotor 96 through a high speed shaft 102. The low speed shaft 100 extends through a bore of the high speed shaft 102 between the fan rotor 94 and the LPT rotor 97.
During operation, air enters the turbine engine 80 through the airflow inlet 84. This air is directed through the fan section 88 and into a core flowpath 104 and a bypass flowpath 106. The core flowpath 104 extends sequentially through the engine sections 89-91; e.g., an engine core. The air within the core flowpath 104 may be referred to as “core air”. The bypass flowpath 106 extends through a bypass duct, which bypasses the engine core. The air within the bypass flowpath 106 may be referred to as “bypass air”.
The core air is compressed by the compressor rotor 95 and directed into the (e.g., annular) combustion chamber 66 of a (e.g., annular) combustor 108 in the combustor section 90. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber 66 via one or more fuel injectors 110 (e.g., the engine components 30) and mixed with the compressed core air to provide a fuel-air mixture. This fuel-air mixture is ignited and combustion products thereof flow through and sequentially cause the HPT rotor 96 and the LPT rotor 97 to rotate. The rotation of the HPT rotor 96 drives rotation of the compressor rotor 95 and, thus, compression of air received from an inlet into the core flowpath 104. The rotation of the LPT rotor 97 drives rotation of the fan rotor 94, which propels bypass air through and out of the bypass flowpath 106. The propulsion of the bypass air may account for a significant portion (e.g., a majority) of thrust generated by the turbine engine 80.
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the disclosure. For example, the present disclosure as described herein includes several aspects and embodiments that include particular features. Although these features may be described individually, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that some or all of these features may be combined with any one of the aspects and remain within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.
