Patent ID: 6474935
Filing Date: 2002-11-05
Classification: F01D,F04D,F05D,Y10S

Abstract:
A method for detecting a stall onset in an axial flow compressor system comprising,(a) providing at least one optical sensor to measure the deflection of an airfoil, said deflection caused by a rotating stall cell; (b) comparing the deflection as measured in step (a) with a predetermined value indicative of a stall; (c) identifying onset of a stall if said measured deflection is greater than said predetermined value; (d) upon identifying a stall onset as in step (c), feeding the measured deflection to a control system to initiate corrective actions to prevent a compressor surge event; and (e) iterating step (d) until said measured deflection is less than said predetermined value to allow the compressor to operate at higher efficiency.