Individual Blade Height Monitoring for Better Control
CapaciSense ™ tip clearance systems have been successfully used worldwide by gas turbine manufacturers to verify the blade tip to frame clearances in prototype engines for many years. The twin requirements here are for fuel efficiency from clearances as small as possible, but no blade rubbing when clearances drop to zero
By using our CapaciSense ™ system, designers can get a clear picture of the blade tip clearances and use that information as one signal in the adaptive control loop. By using that signal to control running turbines, greater fuel efficiency is possible.
As our 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.
