Low-Cost Distributed Instrumentation and Control Testbed Development for Turbine Engines

The next-generation engine controls need to move to a distributed architecture. Some important benefits of distributed-control-architecture include sensor modularity, weight reduction, life-cycle cost reduction, ability to modify/upgrade components with minimal impact on overall system, reduction in the amount of hardware that must be re-designed, re-usability across engine-platforms, ability to tailor-make the individual components and place them closer to sensors/actuators, reduced computational burden, no increased burden on existing system by adding functionality, and robustness. We propose a low-cost experimental engine-testbed with a distributed engine control/instrumentation architecture, and a distributed modular hardware setup for sensor, actuator, and control elements. The hardware will be constructed of smart modules based on FPGAs, connected via an appropriate databus such as EADIN. Different modules will be developed for different elements of this distributed architecture, including sensors, actuators, and control/FADEC elements. These modules will be connected to a supervisory computer and communicate through a databus. The architecture will be designed to accommodate high-temperature-electronics and elements. In Phase-I, we will design a low-cost distributed instrumentation/control architecture testbed for gas-turbine-engines in addition to a sample smart node and test it in the turbine test-cell. In Phase-II, the fabrication/commissioning of distributed engine control testbed will be carried out at SwRI.