Non-linear model calibration for off-design performance prediction of gas turbines with experimental data

One of the key challenges of the gas turbine community is to empower the condition based maintenance with simulation, diagnostic and prognostic tools which improve the reliability and availability of the engines. Within this context, the inverse adaptive modelling methods have generated much attention for their capability to tune engine models for matching experimental test data and/or simulation data. In this study, an integrated performance adaptation system for estimating the steady-state off-design performance of gas turbines is presented. In the system, a novel method for compressor map generation and a genetic algorithm-based method for engine off-design performance adaptation are introduced. The methods are integrated into PYTHIA gas turbine simulation software, developed at Cranfield University and tested with experimental data of an aero derivative gas turbine. The results demonstrate the promising capabilities of the proposed system for accurate prediction of the gas turbine performance. This is achieved by matching simultaneously a set of multiple off-design operating points. It is proven that the proposed methods and the system have the capability to progressively update and refine gas turbine performance models with improved accuracy, which is crucial for model-based gas path diagnostics and prognostics.