System and method for detecting airfoil clash within a compressor

Abstract

A system for detecting airfoil clashing within a compressor comprises a compressor having a row of rotor blades and an adjacent row of stator vanes, an acoustic emission detection system that generates an acoustic emissions signal, a rotor blade monitoring system that generates a blade pass signal, and a processing unit that is in electronic communication with the acoustic emission detection system and the rotor blade monitoring system. The processing unit is configured to fuse the acoustic emissions signal with the blade pass signal to provide a combined signal that is indicative of an airfoil clashing event between the rotor blades and the adjacent row of stator vanes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for detecting airfoil clashing within a compressor, comprising:
 a. a compressor having a row of rotor blades and an adjacent row of stator vanes;   b. an acoustic emission detection system that generates an acoustic emissions signal;   c. a rotor blade monitoring system that generates a blade pass signal; and   d. a processing unit in electronic communication with the acoustic emission detection system and the rotor blade monitoring system, wherein the processing unit fuses the acoustic emissions signal with the blade pass signal to provide a combined signal that is indicative of an airfoil clashing event between the rotor blades and the adjacent row of stator vanes.   
     
     
         2 . The system as in  claim 1 , wherein the airfoil clashing event corresponds to an acoustic emissions signal that exceed a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         3 . The system as in  claim 2 , wherein the acoustic emission signal includes information that is indicative of at least one of amplitude, magnitude of acoustic energy release or duration of acoustic energy release. 
     
     
         4 . The system as in  claim 1 , wherein the blade pass signal includes information that is indicative of time of arrival of the rotor blades that falls outside of a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         5 . The system as in  claim 1 , wherein the blade monitoring system identifies rotor blade position of damaged rotor blades within the row of rotor blades. 
     
     
         6 . The system as in  claim 1 , wherein the processing unit generates an alarm signal that corresponds to the airfoil clashing event. 
     
     
         7 . The system as in  claim 1 , wherein the compressor is a component of a gas turbine, the system further comprising one or more operating sensors that detect one or more operating parameters of the gas turbine. 
     
     
         8 . The system as in  claim 7 , wherein the processing unit determines root cause for the airfoil clashing event based on the detected one or more operating parameters. 
     
     
         9 . A gas turbine, comprising:
 a. a compressor having an outer casing that surrounds a row of rotor blades coupled to a shaft and an adjacent row of stator vanes arranged in an annular array around the shaft;   b. a combustor disposed downstream from the compressor;   c. a turbine disposed downstream from the combustor; and   d. a system for detecting airfoil clashing between the row of rotor blades and the row of stator vanes, the system comprising:
 i. an acoustic emission detection system that generates an acoustic emissions signal; 
 ii. a rotor blade monitoring system that generates a blade pass signal; and 
 iii. a processing unit in electronic communication with the acoustic emission detection system and the rotor blade monitoring system, wherein the processing unit fuses the acoustic emissions signal with the blade pass signal to provide a combined signal that is indicative of an airfoil clashing event between the rotor blades and the adjacent row of stator vanes. 
   
     
     
         10 . The gas turbine as in  claim 9 , wherein the airfoil clashing event corresponds to an acoustic emissions signal that exceed a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         11 . The gas turbine as in  claim 10 , wherein the acoustic emission signal includes information that is indicative of at least one of amplitude, magnitude of acoustic energy release or duration of acoustic energy release. 
     
     
         12 . The gas turbine as in  claim 9 , wherein the blade pass signal includes information that is indicative of time of arrival of the rotor blades that falls outside of a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         13 . The gas turbine as in  claim 9 , wherein the blade monitoring system identifies rotor blade position of damaged rotor blades within the row of rotor blades. 
     
     
         14 . The gas turbine as in  claim 9 , wherein the processing unit generates an alarm signal that corresponds to the airfoil clashing event. 
     
     
         15 . The gas turbine as in  claim 9 , further comprising one or more operating sensors that detect one or more operating parameters of the gas turbine. 
     
     
         16 . The gas turbine as in  claim 15 , wherein the processing unit determines root cause for the airfoil clashing event based on the detected one or more operating parameters. 
     
     
         17 . A method for detecting airfoil clashing between a row of rotor blades and an adjacent row of stator vanes within a compressor, comprising:
 a. sensing acoustic emissions from the stator vanes;   b. generating an acoustic emissions signal from the sensed acoustic emissions;   c. sensing time of arrival information of the rotor blades;   d. generating a blade pass signal from the sensed time of arrival information;   e. communicating the acoustic emission signal and the blade pass signal to a processing unit; and   f. analyzing the acoustic emission signal and the blade pass signal simultaneously to detect an airfoil clashing event.   
     
     
         18 . The method as in  claim 17 , wherein the acoustic emissions signal includes information that is indicative of at least one of frequency amplitude, magnitude of acoustic energy release or duration of acoustic energy release. 
     
     
         19 . The method as in  claim 17 , further comprising fusing the acoustic emissions signal with the blade pass signal to provide at least one of an output signal or an alarm signal indicative to an actual or predicted airfoil clashing event. 
     
     
         20 . The method as in  claim 19 , further comprising tripping the gas turbine based on at least one of the output signal or the alarm signal.