Hi,

Can I ask what the difference is between fuel control in gas turbines and gas engines?

I am researching fuel control systems for industrial gas turbines for an assignment and have come across this article by Continental Controls Corp:

http://www.continentalcontrols.com/articles/Continental Controls Reprint.pdf

The article is written in such a way that it may be useful for my research but it about gas engines and not about gas turbines. Could I use the information provided in an assignment im writing about gas turbines or is the difference between the way fuel is controlled in gas turbines and gas engines too big?

Any help would be much appreciated.

N.B. - When I preview my message a space between second % and 20 appears in the above link. Therefore, when copying and pasting the link into your address bar please delete this space. Thank you.

 

Both have rotating mass.

Both need to control speed and or load for their application (generator drive or mechanical drive, such as a compressor or large pump).

Both need to control fuel to limit power output to protect the turbine/engine.

Both have to be started, accelerated and shut down.

Both have to monitor parameters like oil pressure and vibration and temperature.

Both of the governors (an original term for devices that are used to control speed and/or load) can be digital or mechanical or hydraulic or mechanical/hydraulic or electro-mechanical or electro-hydraulic. There are all manner of governors.

Turbines usually run at very high RPM, sometimes 10,000 RPM or more (though many industrial heavy duty gas turbines operate at synchronous speeds (3000 or 3600 RPM, usually, though some are higher and some are even variable speed depending
on the application). Many reciprocating engines, especially the larger ones, usually operate at much lower speeds, even down to hundreds of RPM or even lower.

Turbines have very high internal temperatures which must be limited to protect the hot gas path parts while optimizing parts life and power output. The control systems have to be capable of doing this, and different manufacturers have different means for accomplishing this. Most reciprocating engines don't have the same considerations.

But, the fundamentals are basically the same of governors used for controlling engines (reciprocating) and turbines are pretty similar.