Patent ID: 8087870

Claim:
A method of controlling the operation of a compressor to avoid stall, surge or flutter, the compressor having an inlet provided with inlet guide vanes, the method comprising predetermining: a nominal limiting value of a control parameter of the compressor; a variable stall, surge or flutter safety margin as a function of inlet guide vane angle (IGV), non-dimensional speed of the compressor (N/R√T), vehicle Mach number (Mn) and inlet geometry (IG); and a margin-adjusted limiting value of the control parameter of the compressor as a function of the nominal limiting value and variable stall, surge or flutter safety margin; and during operation of the compressor: continuously retrieving the margin-adjusted limiting value of the control parameter of the compressor as a function of inlet guide vane angle (IGV), non-dimensional speed of the compressor (N/R√T), vehicle Mach number (Mn) and inlet geometry (IG); determining in real time an actual value of the control parameter; comparing the actual value with the margin-adjusted limiting value; and providing an output signal indicating stall, surge or flutter risk if the actual value falls within the stall, surge or flutter safety margin.