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EP-4485108-B1 - APPARATUS FOR MONITORING PROPULSION SYSTEMS

EP4485108B1EP 4485108 B1EP4485108 B1EP 4485108B1EP-4485108-B1

Inventors

  • Sekaran, Paulas
  • Naylor, Philip

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240529

Claims (12)

  1. Apparatus comprising: a gas turbine engine (121) including a control system (46) configured to control the operation of the gas turbine engine (121); a first equipment health monitoring system (14) including a processor (48), a memory (50) storing a computer program (54) comprising computer readable instructions, and a sensor array (52) positioned at various locations of the gas turbine engine (121) to enable monitoring of a plurality of parameters of the gas turbine engine (121) and being configured to generate data for the plurality of parameters of the gas turbine engine (121), the processor (48) being configured to receive the data generated by the sensor array (52); a second equipment health monitoring system (16) including a processor (58), a memory (60) storing a computer program (72) comprising computer readable instructions, and a sensor array (62) positioned at one or more locations of the gas turbine engine (121) to enable monitoring of at least one parameter of the gas turbine engine (121) and configured to generate data for the one or more parameters of the gas turbine engine (121), at least one of the one or more parameters to be monitored by the second equipment health monitoring system (16) being different to the plurality of parameters to be monitored by the first equipment health monitoring system (14), the apparatus being characterized in that the first equipment health monitoring system (14) is electrically connected to the control system (46), and the second equipment health monitoring system (16) is electrically isolated from the control system (46).
  2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory (60) of the second equipment health monitoring system (16) is configured to store the data for the one or more parameters of the gas turbine engine (121).
  3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the memory (60) of the second equipment health monitoring system (16) is hand removable.
  4. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second equipment health monitoring system (16) includes a transmitter (64) configured to transmit the data for the one or more parameters generated by the sensor array (62) via a wired or wireless link.
  5. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second equipment health monitoring system (16) includes a clock (66) configured to output a time, the second equipment health monitoring system (16) being configured to associate the data of the one or more parameters of the gas turbine engine (121) with the time output by the clock (66).
  6. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second equipment health monitoring system (16) comprises an electrical energy storage device (68) configured to supply electrical power to the second equipment health monitoring system (16).
  7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the electrical energy storage device (68) is configured to supply electrical power to one or more sensors of the second equipment health monitoring system (16).
  8. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the second equipment health monitoring system (16) comprises an electrical energy generating device (70) configured to supply electrical power to the second equipment health monitoring system (16).
  9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the electrical energy generating device (70) comprises a thermoelectric generator.
  10. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the gas turbine engine (121) comprises a low-pressure compressor casing (40) and a core casing (38), the processor (48) of the first equipment health monitoring system (14) being mounted on the low-pressure compressor casing (40), and the processor (58) of the second equipment health monitoring system (16) being mounted on the core casing (38).
  11. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprising a third equipment health monitoring system (76) configured to generate data for one or more parameters of the gas turbine engine (121), at least one of the one or more parameters to be monitored by the third equipment health monitoring system (76) being different to the plurality of parameters to be monitored by the first equipment health monitoring system (14), and different to the one or more parameters to be monitored by the second equipment health monitoring system (16).
  12. A vehicle (78) comprising the apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD The present disclosure concerns apparatus for monitoring propulsion systems. BACKGROUND Vehicles, such as aircraft, usually include one or more propulsion systems (for example, a heat engine such as a gas turbine engine or a reciprocating engine) for providing thrust and/or electrical power to the propulsion system and vehicle. An equipment health monitoring system may be integrated within the propulsion system and/or the vehicle to enable various parameters (such as pressures, temperatures, and vibrations) of the propulsion system to be monitored. However, such equipment health monitoring systems may add weight to the vehicle, and may increase the fuel consumption of the vehicle when in operation (when flying between airports for example). US2017/038277 relates to a system for monitoring a plurality of turbomachinery systems. In embodiments, the system includes a monitoring system data provider, a plurality of monitoring system servers, and a monitoring device. The monitoring system data provider periodically receives sensor data over a network from the plurality of turbomachinery systems and stores the sensor data in a monitoring system data store. The plurality of monitoring system servers connect to the monitoring system data provider and provide the sensor data for one of the turbomachinery systems to the monitoring device connected to a first monitoring system server of the plurality of monitoring system servers. US2020/047903 relates to 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. US2023/184166 relates to methods and systems for operating an aircraft engine. A health parameter for the aircraft engine is monitored by a health evaluation device, the health parameter received from a first instrument. The health parameter is compared, by the health evaluation device, to a predetermined threshold. When the health parameter reaches the predetermined threshold, the health evaluation device wirelessly transmits a fault signal to a controller associated with the aircraft engine to elicit a health response from the controller, the fault signal containing at least two mutually-exclusive fault codes associated with an operating condition of the aircraft engine monitored by a second instrument. BRIEF SUMMARY According to a first aspect there is provided apparatus as claimed in claim 1. The memory of the second equipment health monitoring system may be configured to store the data for the one or more parameters of the gas turbine engine. The memory of the second equipment health monitoring system may be hand removable. The second equipment health monitoring system may include a transmitter configured to transmit the data generated by the sensor array of the second equipment health monitoring system for the one or more parameters via a wired or wireless link. The second equipment health monitoring system may include a clock configured to output a time, the second equipment health monitoring system may be configured to associate the data of the one or more parameters of the propulsion system with the time output by the clock. The second equipment health monitoring system may comprise an electrical energy storage device configured to supply electrical power to the second equipment health monitoring system. The electrical energy storage device may be configured to supply electrical power to one or more sensors of the second equipment health monitoring system. The second equipment health monitoring system may comprise an electrical energy generating device configured to supply electrical power to the second equipment health monitoring system. The electrical energy generating device may comprise a thermoelectric generator. The propulsion system may comprise a gas turbine engine including a low-pressure compressor casing and a core casing, a processor of the first equipment health monitoring system may be mounted on the low-pressure compressor casing, and a processor of the second equipment health monitoring system may be mounted on the core casing. The apparatus may further comprise a third equipment health mon