US 11,780,600 B2
System and method for combined propeller speed and propeller pitch control for a turbopropeller engine
Pierpaolo Forte, Rivalta di Torino (IT); Stefano Ettorre, Bari (IT); and Giuseppe Donini, Rivalta di Torino (IT)
Assigned to GE Avio S.r.l., Rivalta di Torino (IT)
Appl. No. 16/982,334
Filed by GE Avio S.r.l., Rivalta di Torino (IT)
PCT Filed Mar. 22, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/057329
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 18, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/180250, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 26, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18425017 (EP), filed on Mar. 23, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0009278 A1, Jan. 14, 2021
Int. Cl. B64D 31/06 (2006.01); B64C 11/30 (2006.01); F02C 9/58 (2006.01); B64C 11/44 (2006.01)
CPC B64D 31/06 (2013.01) [B64C 11/301 (2013.01); B64C 11/305 (2013.01); B64C 11/44 (2013.01); F02C 9/58 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electronic control system for a turbopropeller engine having a gas turbine and a propeller assembly coupled to the gas turbine, the control system being configured to control propeller operation based on a pilot input request, via generation of a driving quantity for an actuation assembly designed to adjust a pitch angle of propeller blades of the propeller assembly, the electronic control system comprising:
a propeller speed regulator configured to receive at its input a propeller speed error indicative of a difference between a propeller speed measure and a propeller speed demand, and to generate at its output, based on the propeller speed error, a first control quantity;
a propeller pitch regulator configured to receive at its input a propeller pitch error indicative of a difference between a propeller pitch demand and a pitch position measure, and to generate at its output, based on the propeller pitch error, a second control quantity; and
a priority selection stage coupled to the output of the propeller speed regulator and the output of the propeller pitch regulator to receive the first and the second control quantities, and configured to implement a priority selection between the first and the second control quantities, for providing at an output of the priority selection stage the driving quantity, based on the priority selection between the first and the second control quantities.