A gas turbine engine, includes: an engine core including a turbine, compressor, and shaft system connecting the turbine to the compressor, and forming a torque path therebetween. The shaft system is axially located by a thrust bearing located forward of the turbine, and the engine is configured, in the event of a shaft break which divides the shaft system into a front portion located by the thrust bearing and a rear portion unlocated by the thrust bearing, the rear portion is free to move axially rearwardly under a gas load. The engine further includes a shaft break detector having a forward speed sensor configured to measure a rotational speed of the front portion of the shaft system, and a rear microwave sensor configured to measure a rotational speed of the rear portion of the shaft system, wherein a shaft break can be detected based on differences in the measured speeds.

A system includes a first AC bus configured to supply power from a first AC power source. A second AC bus is configured to supply power from a second AC power source. A first transformer rectifier unit (TRU) connects a first DC bus to the first AC bus through a first TRU contactor (TRUC). A second TRU connects a second DC bus to the second AC bus through a second TRUC. A first voltage sensor is connected to sense voltage of the first DC bus. A second voltage sensor is connected to sense voltage of the second DC bus. A ram air turbine (RAT) automatic deployment controller is operatively connected to the first voltage sensor and to the second voltage sensor to automatically deploy a RAT based on the combined status of the first voltage sensor and the second voltage sensor.

A system includes a first AC bus configured to supply power from a first AC power source. A second AC bus is configured to supply power from a second AC power source. A first transformer rectifier unit (TRU) connects a first DC bus to the first AC bus through a first TRU contactor (TRUC). A second TRU connects a second DC bus to the second AC bus through a second TRUC. A ram air turbine (RAT) automatic deployment controller is operatively connected to the first TRUC and to the second TRUC to automatically deploy a RAT based on the combined status of the first TRUC and the second TRUC.

In a gas turbine system which includes a compressor for sucking and compressing air and an air supplying means for supplying the compressed air from the compressor to a combustor and a turbine and which drives a power generator through rotation of the turbine, a control apparatus includes a sensing unit and a compressed air control unit. The sensing unit measures a turbine inlet temperature indicating a temperature of combustion gas introduced into the turbine and measures an exhaust gas temperature indicating a temperature of exhaust gas discharged from the turbine. The compressed air control unit control the air supplying means to adjust the amount of compressed air supplied to the turbine, based on the measured turbine inlet temperature and the measured exhaust gas temperature. The control apparatus allows the combustor to completely combust fuel even in a low load state, thereby reducing the amount of harmful exhaust gas discharged to the atmosphere.

Methods and systems for detecting a structural failure of a fan blade of a fan rotor of an engine are described herein. A fan rotor speed and an engine vibration parameter are obtained. A rate of change of the fan rotor speed is compared to a deceleration threshold and the engine vibration measurement is compared to a vibration threshold. Structural failure of the fan blade is detected when the engine vibration measurement exceeds the vibration threshold for a period of time and the rate of change of the fan rotor speed is below the deceleration threshold. In response to detecting the structural failure, an alert indicative of the structural failure is triggered.

Methods for automatically initiating stopping of an engine of an aircraft at a desired engine-stop speed are disclosed. An embodiment of the method includes receiving data indicative of a current speed and a current acceleration of the aircraft, the current speed being different from the engine-stop speed of the aircraft. Using the received data, an initiation time at which to initiate stopping of the engine to cause the engine to stop substantially at the engine-stop speed of the aircraft is determined. Stopping of the engine is automatically initiated at the initiation time.

The method can include, in sequence: varying the flow rate of fuel from the first flow rate to a second flow rate, thereby varying the rotor speed from a first speed to a second speed, varying the flow rate of fuel back to the first flow rate, and rotating the rotor at the first speed for a given period of time.

[Object] To observe the sign or occurrence of an unstable operation of a turbo-machine. [Solving Means] An observation apparatus 1 includes: a detection unit 10 including one or two or more sensors 11, 12 that are disposed in a turbo-machine 2, are highly time responsive, and observe unsteady fluctuations of the turbo-machine 2; a computation unit 20 that output signals from the one or two or more sensors 11, 12 every moment, stores time series data for a predetermined period, and calculates in real time a parameter for detecting an unstable operation of the turbo-machine; and a determination unit 30 that compares the parameter for detecting the unstable operation with a predetermined threshold and outputs in real time a determination result of a sign or occurrence of the unstable operation.

Control systems and methods for controlling an engine. The control system includes a computation module and an input/output (I/O) module attached to the engine. The computation module is located in an area of the engine, or off-engine, that provides a more benign environment than the environment that the I/O module is subject to during operation of the engine. The I/O module includes a first processor and a first network interface device. The computation module includes a second processor with higher processing power than the first processor, and a second network interface device. The control system also includes a sensor configured to provide sensor readings to the first processor. The first processor transmits data based on the sensor readings to the second processor. The control system also includes an actuator operably coupled to the I/O module and that is controlled by the first processor based on commands from the second processor.

A system and method for detecting a shaft break in a turbofan gas turbine engine includes sensing fan rotational speed and sensing turbine engine rotational speed. A rate of change of rotational speed difference between the sensed fan rotational speed and the sensed turbine engine rotational speed is determined in a processor, and a determination that a shaft break has occurred is made in the processor based at least in part on the rate of change of the rotational speed difference.