iTEDS: the intelligent Turbine Engine Diagnostic System

摘要

Intelligent Automation Corporation (IAC) is developingfor the Air Force a system to detect the onset of turbineengine augmentor instabilities known as “rumble” and“screech” for test cells. These combustion instabilities canbe potentially harmful to the engine and are known tocause premature failures in gas turbine components. Theapproach developed by IAC involves using a uniquecombination of signal processing algorithms to extract theaugmentor fault signature from the existing case mountedaccelerometer data. The processing coupled with IAC'svibration data collection hardware forms a cost effectivesolution that enables straightforward integration into theexisting test cell environment, and can be easilyconfigured for all engine types. The approach also lendsitself to on-aircraft applications for continuous in-flighthealth monitoring.The prototype rumble and screech detection system beingdeveloped, is called the intelligent Turbine EngineDiagnostic System (iTEDS). iTEDS builds on bothsoftware and hardware technology funded by the USArmy for monitoring engines and drive trains forhelicopters as well as an intelligent MachineryDiagnostics System (iMDS) Matlab? toolbox beingdeveloped for the Air Force. The system includes a robustlibrary of machinery fault detection algorithms that willbe used as a general purpose diagnostic and prognostictool for gas turbine health monitoring. The hardwaresystem includes a web server so that interfacing with thesystem can be accomplished using a standard browser.Described here is the hardware system, the iMDS toolset,algorithms developed for iTEDS, and data processingexamples.