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The objective of this program is to develop sensors that allow condition based monitoring of critical combustion parts of gas turbines. Siemens teamed with innovative, small companies that were developing sensor concepts that could monitor wearing and cracking of hot turbine parts. A magnetic crack monitoring sensor concept developed by JENTEK Sensors, Inc. was evaluated in laboratory tests. Designs for engine application were evaluated. The inability to develop a robust lead wire to transmit the signal long distances resulted in a discontinuation of this concept. An optical wear sensor concept proposed by K Sciences GP, LLC was tested in proof-of concept testing. The sensor concept depended, however, on optical fiber tips wearing with the loaded part. The fiber tip wear resulted in too much optical input variability; the sensor could not provide adequate stability for measurement. Siemens developed an alternative optical wear sensor approach that used a commercial PHILTEC, Inc. optical gap sensor with an optical spacer to remove fibers from the wearing surface. The gap sensor measured the length of the wearing spacer to follow loaded part wear. This optical wear sensor was developed to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5. It was validated in lab tests andmore » installed on a floating transition seal in an F-Class gas turbine. Laboratory tests indicate that the concept can measure wear on loaded parts at temperatures up to 800{degrees}C with uncertainty of < 0.3 mm. Testing in an F-Class engine installation showed that the optical spacer wore with the wearing part. The electro-optics box located outside the engine enclosure survived the engine enclosure environment. The fiber optic cable and the optical spacer, however, both degraded after about 100 operating hours, impacting the signal analysis.« less |
