Jet Engine Model for Control and Real-Time Simulations

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is development of a simple real-time transient performance model for jet engine control. A jet engine arrives to its most dangerous condition during transient operation that may be triggered by fast changes of the input fuel command signal. Thus, the control system specifications are formulated to specify the maximal variance of the fuel flow command (from idle to maximum power level) during transient maneuver. Linear and piecewise-linear techniques are not always convenient and appropriate for turbine engine controller design. An alternative quasilinear simple/fast engine model is discussed in this paper. This model has maximum accuracy for maximal variance of the fuel flow input command in accordance to the jet engine control system specifications. The fast model is obtained using the Novel Generalized Describing Function, proposed for investigation of nonlinear control systems. The paper presents the Novel Generalized Describing Function definition and then discusses the application of this technique for the development a fast turbine engine simulation suitable for control and real-time applications. Simulation results are compared between the conventional and fast models and found to provide good agreement.