Turbine fuel efficiency is critical for plant operators and active adaptive control of clearances is becoming a critical way to achieve that. Higher fuel efficiency means lower operating costs per megawatt and is highly significant to power plant operators, often swinging the decision on which turbine to install.
By using our CapaciSense ™ system, turbine designers can get a live picture of the blade tip clearances in prototype engines as they start, run & stop. As the turbines fuel efficiency is directly affected by the size of the clearance, designers and manufacturers are using that information to achieve higher efficiency for subsequent builds by adjusting the designed clearances
As the capacitive sensors will survive in high temperatures to 1400ºC / 2552ºF , even the turbine stage blade clearance can be measured, an important factor as this means the whole engine can be monitored, not just the lower temperature compressor areas. This raises the possibility of controlling the various stages differentially and optimising the whole turbine rather than just one zone.
