Patent ID: 8282336

Claim:
An instability mitigation system for a rotor, the system comprising: a detection system comprising a sensor located on a static component spaced radially outwardly and apart from tips of a row of blades arranged circumferentially on the rotor wherein the sensor is capable of generating an input signal corresponding to a flow parameter at a location near the tip of a blade; a mitigation system that facilitates the improvement of the stability of the rotor when an onset of instability is detected by the detection system; a control system for controlling the detection system and the mitigation system; and a correlation processor that receives the input signal and a rotor speed signal and generates a stability correlation signal; wherein the control system comprises a controller that controls an AC potential applied to a first electrode and a second electrode of a plasma generator located on the static component; wherein the controller controls the AC potential by pulsing the AC potential at a selected frequency; and wherein the controller controls the AC potential by pulsing the AC potential at a frequency that is a multiple of the number blades in the row of blades.