Gas Turbine Machinery Diagnostics: A Brief Review and a Sample Application

The intersection of machine learning methods and gas turbine sensor data has expanded rapidly in the last decade to include numerous applications of regression, clustering, and even neural network algorithms. Learning algorithms have pushed traditional engine health management into the realm of prognostic health management. This paper starts with a review of several common computational methods used to monitor the condition of gas turbines currently employed by both industry and academia. Sources of application of machine learning algorithms from outside the gas turbine industry are also brought in. Focus is generally placed on industrial gas turbines with an industry standard monitoring system. The authors explore beyond gas path analysis with a novel use of machine learning algorithms to engine component classification. The paper concludes with a case study of applying learning algorithms to machine data to identify different fuel valves.