TABLE OF CONTENTS "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were big things."
Antonio Smith
Controls and instrumentation on contemporary gas turbine engines serve several purposes. They include but are not limited to
Providing the operator with indicators in terms of pressure, temperature, vibration, strain, and other parameters that give the operator a snapshot of how the gas turbine and gas turbine system is performing.
Making life easier for the operator in terms of providing a sometimes automated means to control a system with less manual labor and, in some cases, less "guessing." However, with complex systems, the easier the system is to operate, the higher the level of operator knowledge required.
Providing owners and operators with a means of controlling a turbine system remotely.
Coupled with PLCs, Pentiums, and other software, they provide an operator with an ability to diagnose the problem on a system.
With the advent of complex software architecture and other technology, such as fuzzy logic, potential diagnostics on a system have reached a new level. "Artificial intelligence" is now possible, allowing software to "select" a "solution" from a matrix of parameters, potential problems, and solutions. In most cases, artificial intelligence works better on highly monitored test systems, such as some of the cutting-edge research being done by the U.S. Air Force laboratories. The "intelligence" can work with only the data it is given however. "Real-world" systems are prone to mishaps, such as operators knocking into...
