Systems and methods for engine wear reduction

An engine system comprising:

• a pitch actuator configured to affect a pitch of a plurality of variable pitch blades of an engine;
• a secondary thrust effector device;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the pitch actuator and the secondary thrust effector device, the processor being configured to:
• change the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades via the pitch actuator in response to changes in a target engine parameter in a normal operating mode;
• detect a trigger condition for a wear reduction mode;
• and
• in response to the trigger condition being detected, switch from the normal operating mode to the wear reduction mode, wherein in the wear reduction mode, the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades is maintained at a first angle, and the secondary thrust effector device is controlled in response to the changes in the target engine parameter to compensate for an effect of the pitch actuator on the target engine parameter, wherein in response to the same amount of change in the target engine parameter, the secondary thrust effector device is controlled to cause a greater effect on an output parameter of the engine in the wear reduction mode as compared to the normal operating mode.

An engine system comprising:

• a pitch actuator configured to affect a pitch of a plurality of variable pitch blades of an engine;
• a secondary thrust effector device;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the pitch actuator and the secondary thrust effector device, the processor being configured to:
• change the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades via the pitch actuator in response to changes in a target engine parameter in a normal operating mode;
• detect a trigger condition for a wear reduction mode;
• and
• in response to the trigger condition being detected, switch from the normal operating mode to the wear reduction mode, wherein in the wear reduction mode, the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades is maintained at a first angle, and the secondary thrust effector device is controlled in response to the changes in the target engine parameter to compensate for an effect of the pitch actuator on the target engine parameter,
• wherein the processor is further configured to:
• determine, while in the wear reduction mode, target pitch angles for the plurality of variable pitch blades based on flight conditions and the target engine parameter;
• switch from the wear reduction mode to an adjustment mode when an average target pitch angle in a time window deviates from the first angle for more than a threshold amount;
• and
• change, in the adjustment mode, the angles of the plurality of variable pitch blades from the first angle to the average target pitch angle;
• and
• in response to the plurality of variable pitch blades being pitched to the average target pitch angle, switch to the wear reduction mode.

An engine system comprising:

• a pitch actuator configured to affect a pitch of a plurality of variable pitch blades of an engine;
• a secondary thrust effector device;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the pitch actuator and the secondary thrust effector device, the processor being configured to:
• change the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades via the pitch actuator in response to changes in a target engine parameter in a normal operating mode;
• detect a trigger condition for a wear reduction mode;
• and
• in response to the trigger condition being detected, switch from the normal operating mode to the wear reduction mode, wherein in the wear reduction mode, the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades is maintained at a first angle, and the secondary thrust effector device is controlled in response to the changes in the target engine parameter to compensate for an effect of the pitch actuator on the target engine parameter, wherein in the normal operating mode, the pitch actuator is in a closed command loop with the target engine parameter and the secondary thrust effector device is in an open command loop.

An engine system comprising:

• a pitch actuator configured to affect a pitch of a plurality of variable pitch blades of an engine;
• a secondary thrust effector device;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the pitch actuator and the secondary thrust effector device, the processor being configured to:
• change the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades via the pitch actuator in response to changes in a target engine parameter in a normal operating mode;
• detect a trigger condition for a wear reduction mode;
• and
• in response to the trigger condition being detected, switch from the normal operating mode to the wear reduction mode, wherein in the wear reduction mode, the pitch of the plurality of variable pitch blades is maintained at a first angle, and the secondary thrust effector device is controlled in response to the changes in the target engine parameter to compensate for an effect of the pitch actuator on the target engine parameter, wherein in the wear reduction mode, the secondary thrust effector device is in a closed command loop with the target engine parameter and the pitch actuator is in an open command loop.