AI-Inspired Project Advances Condition-Based Maintenance and Prediction for Turbines

An NETL-sponsored project is leveraging artificial intelligence in a manner that will lead to more efficient, long-lasting and reliable gas turbines to meet America's growing energy needs. As advanced energy systems move toward higher temperatures to boost efficiency and reduce emissions, monitoring their performance under such harsh conditions becomes a challenge. Existing monitoring tools for gas turbines are costly, time-consuming and complicated, involving wires and risks for damage. With funding and guidance from NETL, North Carolina-based Siemens Corp. and its partners are developing smart sensor systems that provide real-time monitoring of gas turbine components, thereby enabling condition-based maintenance and prediction of each component's remaining useful life. Siemens is achieving this by incorporating advanced sensors directly onto gas turbine blades that feature an ultra-high-temperature wireless monitoring and data transfer capability that provides accurate, real-time information up to 1,400 degrees Celsius.