Method and apparatus for compressor control and operation in industrial gas turbines using stall precursors

An apparatus for monitoring a compressor having at least one axial stage, comprising:

• an array of pressure sensors mounted around the at least one axial stage and operatively coupled to measure the dynamic pressure of gases flowing through the compressor stage;
• a processing system coupled to at least one sensor, said system recording and processing the pressure measurements made by at least one sensor, and said processing system generating a stall precursor value;
• a comparator operatively coupled to said processor system to compare the stall precursor value with a predetermined baseline value;
• and
• a real-time controller coupled to the comparator, the controller initiating corrective actions to prevent a compressor surge if the stall precursor value deviates from said predetermined baseline value, wherein the corrective action includes varying an operating line parameter of said compressor.

In a gas turbine having a compressor, a method for continuously monitoring and controlling surge events in the compressor, comprising the steps of:

• controlling the compressor to operate along one or more predetermined operating lines;
• monitoring the pressure of gases flowing through at least one stage the compressor at various positions in said stage;
• comparing the monitored pressure with a predetermined baseline value to estimate compressor degradation;
• performing a corrective action to mitigate compressor degradation to maintain a pre-selected level of compressor operability, wherein the corrective action includes adjusting the one or more predetermined operating lines of the compressor;
• and
• iterating said corrective actions performing step until the monitored pressure lies within a predetermined threshold.

An apparatus for continuously monitoring and controlling an axial flow compressor system, comprising:

• means for controlling the compressor to operate along one or more predetermined operating lines;
• means for measuring the dynamic pressure of gases flowing through at least one stage of the compressor and at a plurality of positions around the stage;
• means for processing the dynamic pressure measurements by at least one precursor detection algorithm to calculate a stall precursor signal magnitude;
• means for comparing the stall precursor signal magnitude with a predetermined baseline stall value;
• and
• means for performing corrective action if the precursor stall signal magnitude deviates from said baseline stall value, wherein the corrective action includes varying the one or more operating lines.

A method for continuously monitoring and controlling an axial flow compressor, comprising the steps of:

• providing a means for measuring the dynamic pressure of gases flowing through an axial stage of the compressor at a plurality of positions around the stage;
• providing a means for processing the dynamic pressure measurements by at least one precursor detection algorithm to calculate current operating stall precursor signal magnitudes;
• providing a means for comparing the current operating stall precursor signal magnitudes with a predetermined baseline stall value;
• and
• providing a means for performing a corrective action if the stall precursor signal magnitude deviates from said baseline value.

A stall precursor detector system for a gas turbine of the type having an axial flow compressor, the detector system comprising:

• an array of pressure sensors mounted around at least one stage of the axial flow compressor and said sensors coupled to measure the dynamic pressure of gases flowing through the at least one stage of the compressor;
• a processor system coupled to sensors, said processor system including a precursor detection algorithm for processing and comparing the dynamic pressure data from the sensors with predetermined baseline values for the operation of the compressor;
• a comparator operatively coupled to said processor system to compare the sensor measurements with predetermined baseline values;
• and
• a real-time controller coupled to said comparator, the controller initiating corrective actions to prevent a subsequent compressor surge if the measured pressure values deviate from said predetermined baseline values.