Control systems for apparatus
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorPeter J. Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Infra-red radiation detectors are used in gas turbine engines to detect radiation produced by the turbine blades giving an indication of blade temperature. Above a given limit the signal produced by the detector is passed to the fuel control system to shut down the fuel supply to the engine. An additional detector is provided which receives the same image as the first detector but is biased to detect radiation in the visible light part of the spectrum. When incandescent particles pass through the field of vision of the detectors both show an increase in signal due to both types of radiation being increased during this transient event. The signal from the second detector is used to reduce the signal from the first detector by an amount sufficient to prevent the fuel supply being temporarily shut down.
Claims3
A fuel control system for a gas turbine engine comprising:
- first and second radiation detectors positioned to monitor radiation emanating from combustion equipment of the engine, the first detector being responsive to radiation in the infra-red frequency range to produce a first signal representative of the radiation in the infra-red frequency range, the second detector being responsive to radiation in the visible frequency range produced by a transient radiation event which also produces radiation in the infra-red frequency range to produce a second signal representative of the radiation in the visible frequency range, a function generator operative to receive the second signal and derive therefrom a third signal indicative of the radiation in the infra-red frequency range corresponding to the detected radiation in the visible frequency range, a comparator means for comparing the first and third signals and operative to produce a fourth signal, and control means responsive to said fourth signal for regulating the fuel supplied to the combustion equipment of the engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.