Calculation System for Gas Turbine
Gruppo SIGLA has made for one of its Customers a system for calculating the equivalent operating hours (EOH) spent for the load variations of one or more Gas Turbines.
The need arises from the fact that TurboGas is often subjected to random thermomechanical stresses, depending on load variations. The EOH is a measurable parameter that allows the various stresses involved in components to be taken into account, and sets a limit on their lifecycle.
The software realizes the calculation of the equivalent operating hours using a "Rain Flow" algorithm. This particular algorithm translates the historical trend of stress into a sequence of cycles packets at certain load values, each of which can be assigned a lifetime of consumption or "equivalent hours". The EOH value, which informs you of the residual time before the next programmed maintenance intervention, is then given by the sum of the contributions of all the most significant causes that affect the life of a component. The Rain Flow algorithm, used for the above-described conversion, derives its name from the hydraulic analogy on which it is based, highlighted by two Japanese researchers in their original study, in which the stress diagram was interpreted as the flow rainwater that falling on the roof of a pagoda continues to the ground, following the roof profile.
For the implementation of the system, different software modules (written in C # .Net) have been used to acquire, to store coming data via OPC on SQL Server database, to set up the calculation algorithm and return processed data to the source system (always via OPC).