Impact Technologies-Marine Systems Propulsion

Propulsion

Impact offers its customers a comprehensive package of advanced diagnostic, prognostic and automated troubleshooting software modules focused on improving propulsion system safety, availability and reducing life cycle costs. Specific diagnostic and prognostic solutions for Marine Propulsion systems include engine sensor fault detection, performance degradation assessment and prediction, vibration analysis and advanced reasoning methods for performing automated fault isolation and maintenance tasking.

Our proven Condition Based Monitoring Suite of applications enables early warning of machinery problems and provides all levels of shipboard and pier-side personnel the information they need to make informed operations and maintenance decisions. Impact’s engineering staff has a successful track record supporting the main propulsion systems powered by Marine gas turbines and Marine Diesel Engines.

If you are interested in diagnostic/prognostic algorithms that can be plugged into your existing marine CBM systems, investigate engine, bearing, and gear applications that will identify pending failures on your propulsion train.

Impact Technologies Gas Turbine Engine Health Management applications are ideal for monitoring shifts in performance features that have been proven in US Navy test cells. See also Active Combustion Pattern Factor Controller.
Our advance diagnostic applications for monitoring the performance degradation of your gas turbine engines due to salt water fouling has been created for both GE LM2500, Allison K501 and Rolls Royce MT30 applications
Our Impact Energy™ diagnostic bearing application is a performance leader for those drive train applications requiring CBM monitoring with a high degree of confidence to impending failure.
Gear boxes and reduction gear applications can all benefit from the superior diagnostic algorithms provided by Impact’s Gear prognostic application known as GPSys™.
Condition Based Maintenance Sensors: Impact has spent nearly four years refining and improving its line of fluid quality sensors. Impact developed a smart oil sensor to directly support Diesel Engines, and lubricating systems.

SignalPro™ Anomaly Detection System

The SignalPro™ Anomaly Detection System is a data driven modeling engine that helps provide early indication of subtle changes in system behavior. These changes could be caused by system degradation or sensor calibration drift. This advanced warning enables operational changes that can help avoid increased damage and optimize scheduling of maintenance. SignalPro is especially useful in systems that have inherent variability in the expected measurements due to operating conditions such as load level, speed, ambient temperature, etc. SignalPro effectively cancels out the normal operational variation to find the ‘unwanted’ or unexpected variation.

impact TEchnologies SignalPro

LM2500 Performance Pack module

The LM2500 Performance Pack module uses sensor measurements (after validation through the sensor validation module) to calculate key GTM performance parameters such as the fuel to air ratio, isentropic horsepower, specific fuel consumption, compressor isentropic efficiency, power turbine mechanical efficiency, overall efficiency, theoretical power turbine inlet temperature, the margin (difference between measured and theoretical) in power turbine inlet temperature, and compressor airflow. Note that “theoretical” can be a gold standard (like a “perfect” engine) or some prior condition of the same engine (when it was installed or after an overhaul, etc.). This enables the user to easily diagnose any performance degradations that may occur over time as the GTM operates.

Impact Technologies - LM2500 Performance Pack module

Compressor Wash Prognostics

Gas turbine generator compressor washes are currently performed on a preventative schedule that does not account for conditional need. This practice can result in unnecessary washing, which leads to increased maintenance expenditures, loss of asset availability, and environmental degradation associated with the disposal of used detergent. However, insufficient washing can lead to compressor fouling and performance loss. Therefore, Impact Technologies has developed an automated health management system to predict compressor performance degradation rates and determine optimum washing times from a cost/benefit standpoint. The system incorporates virtual sensed efficiency, measurement uncertainty propagation, exponential smoothing trending algorithms, statistical fitting and Monte Carlo simulation, user-defined confidence intervals, and a net present value assessment of optimal wash time to create an automated condition-based maintenance software module.

Impact Technologies - Compressor Wash Prognostics
Combustor Nozzle Diagnostics

Clogged fuel nozzles reduce combustion efficiency and can create potentially damaging hot spots in the combustor and turbine sections. Pilot-type nozzles have a tendency to accrue carbon deposits (coking) in the pilot tube and the nozzle orifice causing improper spray patterns that contribute to hot and slow gas turbine starts and combustor liner damage. Impact’s Gas Turbine Component Prognostics Module predicts the occurrence of clogged fuel nozzles by analyzing the gas turbine generator during start-up to determine if the start was normal, hot, slow, or a combination thereof. If the start was determined to be abnormal, a confidence and severity is computed, and an analysis is performed to determine which nozzle is clogged.

Impact Technologies - Combustor Nozzle Diagnostics

BladePro™-AF

For the structural analysis of turbomachinery Impact offers its BladePro™-AF software package. BladePro-AF is for analysis of axial flow blading. This software package works with the ANSYS finite element program to provide the user with a simple way to build complex finite element models of turbomachinery and conduct steady stress, natural frequency/mode shape, dynamic stress and fatigue analyses.

Impact Technologies - BladePro-AF