Turbine Inlet Gas Temperature Measurement System

Gas turbine engine development requires sensors to measure gas path properties in engines during ground testing.  The data collected with these sensors are critical to the development of advanced engines with high performance, high efficiency, and low emissions.  While instrumentation is available to measure most of the important gas path properties, the drive toward higher turbine inlet temperatures has left a gap in measurement capabilities.  In advanced engines, as turbine inlet temperatures exceed the material limits of thermocouples and their sheathing, these important temperatures can only be inferred from downstream data.  Resulting uncertainties may lead engine designers to reduce overall thermal efficiency as they reduce these temperatures to ensure that turbine blades are not damaged.  Here we propose an innovative non-contact technique for measuring the turbine inlet temperature.  The temperature will be determined from measurements of the thermal radiation emitted by gases in the turbine inlet region.  The proposed technique is entirely passive, and will provide a temperature measurement in the turbine inlet region without intrusion into the gas path. BENEFITS: Phase I and II development will result in the delivery of an innovative turbine-inlet gas-temperature-measurement system to the Air Force.  This system will be capable of measuring turbine inlet temperatures at the conditions found in advanced turbine engines without sensors protruding into the gas path.  The system will further the development of advanced engines, resulting in higher specific power, higher efficiency, longer life, and lower pollutant emissions.  These benefits can be extended to non-military engines, enhancing the development of modern aircraft and power generation engines by increasing their efficiency, increasing their service life, and lowering their pollutant emissions.