SBIR 95-1 SOLICITATION

PROJECT SUMMARY

Contract Id:

NAS 3 27685

Proposal Number:

01.03-7909A

Project Title:

ACTIVE STABILITY CONTROL OF TURBINE ENGINE COMBUSTER AND COMPRESSOR

Technical Abstract:

The firm proposes to design, develop, and test an innovative combustion control actuator, which can control pattern factor and combustion instability. The firm also proposes to investigate the coupling between active compressor stall/surge control and active combustor stability/pattern factor control. The motivation for the proposed work is three-fold: 1) a need to control the combustor pattern factor to improve efficiency and prolong life; 2) an interest to control compressor surge and rotating stall (surge/stall) to enhance operability and performance; and 3) a general lack of attention to the coupling between compressor and combustor with regard to active stabilization of either component. The innovations of the proposed program are: 1) a wide-band fuel actuator for combustion control, 2) a methodology for pattern factor and stability controls, and 3) an integrated model of compressor and combustor for analyzing their coupling and for designing active control systems.

Potential Commercial Applications:

The benefits will be to: 1) reduce development time and cost for active control systems, 2) prolong turbine stator life through pattern factor control, 3) reduce operational costs of turbine engines through increased fuel economy by active surge/stall control, and 4) enhance operability through surge and combustor control (light-off limit). The proposed technologies has great potential for future commercial turbine engines as illustrated in a market analysis.

Name and Address of Offeror:

Scientific Monitoring, Inc.
4801 S. Lakeshore Drive, Suite 202
Tempe, AZ 85282