Patents Represented by Attorney Ann M. Agosti

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  • System for closed-loop control of combustion in engines
    Patent number: 7996142
    Abstract: A combustion control system includes a magnetic torque sensor disposed between an engine and a load. The magnetic torque sensor is configured to directly measure engine torque and output a torque signal indicative of the engine torque. A control unit is communicatively coupled to the magnetic torque sensor. The control unit is configured to receive the torque signal and determine one or more combustion parameters based on the torque signal. The control unit is also configured to control one or more manipulating parameters of the engine based on the one or more combustion parameters so as to control combustion in the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Christof Martin Sihler, Georgios Bikas, Herbert Kopecek
  • Hybrid robust predictive optimization method of power system dispatch
    Patent number: 7991512
    Abstract: A method of power system dispatch control solves power system dispatch problems by integrating a larger variety of generation, load and storage assets, including without limitation, combined heat and power (CHP) units, renewable generation with forecasting, controllable loads, electric, thermal and water energy storage. The method employs a predictive algorithm to dynamically schedule different assets in order to achieve global optimization and maintain the system normal operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ramu Sharat Chandra, Yan Liu, Sumit Bose, Juan Manuel de Bedout
  • Nonlinear polymer composites and methods of making the same
    Patent number: 7989530
    Abstract: A nonlinear composition comprises a polymeric material and at least one ferroelectric, antiferroelectric, or paraelectric particle, wherein the composition has a permittivity greater than or equal to about 5. A method of making a nonlinear composition comprises combining a polymeric material, and at least one ferroelectric, antiferroelectric, or paraelectric particle. The composition has a permittivity greater than or equal to about 5.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Qi Tan, Patricia Chapman Irwin, Yang Cao, Venkat Subramaniam Venkataramani
  • Two-phase expansion system and method for energy recovery
    Patent number: 7987676
    Abstract: A closed loop expansion system for energy recovery includes a heat exchanger for using heat from a heat source to heat a working fluid of the closed loop expansion system to a temperature below the vaporization point of the working fluid; a radial inflow expander for receiving the working fluid from the heat exchanger and for expanding and partially vaporizing the working fluid; a screw expander for receiving the working fluid from the radial inflow turbine and for further expanding and vaporizing the working fluid; and a condenser for receiving the working fluid from the screw expander and for liquefying the working fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Gabor Ast, Thomas Johannes Frey, Herbert Kopecek, Michael Adam Bartlett, Pierre Sebastien Huck
  • System and method for controlling torque ripples in synchronous machines
    Patent number: 7982326
    Abstract: A system for controlling torque ripple in a permanent magnet synchronous machine includes a power converter configured to be coupled to the permanent magnet synchronous machine and to receive converter control signals and a system controller coupled to the power converter. The system controller includes a fundamental current controller configured for providing fundamental voltage commands, a harmonic current controller configured for using harmonic current commands, current feedback signals from the permanent magnet machine, and fundamental current commands in combination with positive and negative sequence regulators to obtain harmonic voltage commands, and summation elements configured for adding the fundamental voltage commands and the harmonic voltage commands to obtain the converter control signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zhuohui Tan, Xiaoming Yuan, Changyong Wang, Ronghai Qu, Robert William Delmerico, Patrick Lee Jansen
  • System and method for controlling microgrid
    Patent number: 7983799
    Abstract: A system for controlling a microgrid includes microgrid assets and a tieline for coupling the microgrid to a bulk grid; and a tieline controller coupled to the tieline. At least one of the microgrid assets comprises a different type of asset than another one of the microgrid assets. The tieline controller is configured for providing tieline control signals to adjust active and reactive power in respective microgrid assets in response to commands from the bulk grid operating entity, microgrid system conditions, bulk grid conditions, or combinations thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sumit Bose, Alfredo Sebastian Achilles, Yan Liu, Emad Ezzat Ahmed, Luis Jose Garces
  • System and method for controlling operation of a solar power generation system
    Patent number: 7979167
    Abstract: A system, a method, and an article of manufacture for controlling operation of an electrical power generation system are provided. The electrical power generation system has a plurality of electrical generators electrically coupled to an electrical grid. The method includes obtaining a first output parameter value associated with the electrical power generation system. The method further includes determining an error value indicative of a difference between the first output parameter value and a desired output parameter value. The method further includes determining a first gain value based on at least one of the first output parameter value and a time-varying operational parameter of the electrical power generation system. The method further includes determining a first power value based on the error value and the first gain value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert William Delmerico, Mark Edward Cardinal, Nicholas Wright Miller, Dapeng Liu, Zhihong Ye
  • Stator-rotor assembly having surface feature for enhanced containment of gas flow and related processes
    Patent number: 7967559
    Abstract: A stator-rotor assembly which includes at least one interface region between the stator and rotor is described. At least one stator or rotor surface in the interface region includes a pattern of inverted turbulators. The inverted turbulators restrict gas flow through a gap between the stator and the rotor. Various turbomachines which can contain such a stator-rotor assembly are also described. The disclosure also discusses methods to restrict gas flow through gaps in a stator-rotor assembly utilizing the inverted turbulators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Ronald Scott Bunker
  • System and method for providing power control of an energy storage system
    Patent number: 7960855
    Abstract: A control circuit comprises a circuit adapted to determine a state of charge of a high side power source using a sensed output current to provide a variable gain signal based on the state of charge. The control circuit may also contain a circuit configured to provide a fixed gain signal based on the current of the high side power source and a circuit configured to combine the variable gain signal and the fixed gain signal to create a power command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Dean King, Dongwoo Song, Lembit Salasoo
  • System and method for loads reduction in a horizontal-axis wind turbine using upwind information
    Patent number: 7950901
    Abstract: A system and method provide a proactive mechanism to control pitching of the blades of a wind turbine to compensate for rotor imbalance during normal operation by pitching the blades individually or asymmetrically, based on turbulent wind gust measurements in front of the rotor, determined before it reaches the rotor blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Corneliu Barbu, Parag Vyas
  • Wind turbine energy storage and frequency control
    Patent number: 7952232
    Abstract: Commands are generated for controlling a state of charge of an energy storage device coupled between an energy source and an auxiliary load. Commands are also generated for providing from the energy storage device to the auxiliary load and for using power from the energy storage device for controlling a DC link voltage, energy source torque, grid side power flow, or combinations thereof. Commands may also be generated to provide frequency compatible power to auxiliary loads of the energy source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Rajni Kant Burra, Robert William Delmerico, Ralph Teichmann, Abhitap Jain, Mark Shu
  • Systems and methods involving wind turbine towers for power applications
    Patent number: 7942629
    Abstract: A system for determining wind turbine tower base torque loads including a controller configured to determine a torque load of a base of a tower of a wind turbine according to a computation of an effective height of the wind turbine multiplied by a wind force upon a rotor of the wind turbine, and generate a control signal representing the torque load. A method for determining wind turbine tower base torque loads including determining a torque load of a base of a tower of a wind turbine according to the foregoing computation, and generating a control signal representing the torque load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ruijie Shi, Leonardo Cesar Kammer, Charudatta Subhash Mehendale
  • System and method for reducing rotor loads in a wind turbine upon detection of blade-pitch failure and loss of counter-torque
    Patent number: 7944067
    Abstract: A system and method for reducing rotor loads in a wind turbine that includes a brake and one or more rotor blades coupled to a rotor. Upon detection of a loss of counter torque and a blade-pitch failure in at least one rotor blade, a processor reduces a generator overspeed threshold value by a predetermined amount and determines a brake-release threshold value. The brake is applied to slow the rotor if the generator/rotor speed exceeds the reduced generator/rotor overspeed threshold value. In addition, the brake is applied to slow the rotor until the generator/rotor speed is below the brake-release threshold value. The rate of change of the pitch angle of the rotor blade may be varied as the blade moves toward feather in response to the detected blade-pitch failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Leonardo Cesar Kammer, Axel Braicks, Hubert Oing
  • System and method for rotor blade health monitoring
    Patent number: 7941281
    Abstract: A system for rotor blade health monitoring include time of arrival (TOA) sensors and a controller comprising a processor configured for obtaining TOA signals indicative of times of arrival of rotating rotor blades from the respective TOA sensors and for determining initial features from the TOA signals; and a feature level fuser configured for fusing the initial features received from the processor for use in evaluating health of the rotating rotor blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sudhanshu Rai, Vinay Bhaskar Jammu, Vivek Venugopal Badami, Achalesh Kumar Pandey, Rahul Srinivas Prabhu, Ajay Kumar Behera, Aninda Bhattacharya, Venkatesh Rajagopalan, Nidhi Naithani
  • System and method for controlling liquid level in a vessel
    Patent number: 7931041
    Abstract: A system includes sensors configured to measure vessel parameters. A signal processing unit receives sensor output signals and generates a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth filtered output signals representative of liquid level, gas flow rate, feed-liquid flow rate, vessel pressure, and vessel temperature, respectively. A flow demand control unit receives the first filtered output signal and generates an output signal representative of feed-liquid flow demand. A shaping unit receives the second, fourth, and fifth filtered output signals and generates an output signal representative of shaped gas flow rate. A liquid level control unit controls the liquid level within predetermined limits by controlling one or more components based on the output signals from the flow demand control unit, the shaping unit, and the third filtered output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Charudatta Subhash Mehendale, Bruce Gordon Norman, Erhan Karaca, Rajeeva Kumar
  • Systems and apparatus involving toothed armatures in superconducting machines
    Patent number: 7928616
    Abstract: A system for generating power comprising, a superconducting generator including, an armature assembly comprising, a body portion, a tooth portion having a front surface and a rear surface, a slot partially defined by the body portion and the tooth portion, an armature bar engaging the slot, and a cooling cavity partially defined by the tooth portion, communicative with the front surface and the rear surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kiruba Haran Sivasubramaniam, James William Bray, Patrick Lee Jansen, Evangelos Trifon Laskaris
  • High efficiency, multi-source photovoltaic inverter
    Patent number: 7929325
    Abstract: A photovoltaic (PV) inverter system operates continuously in a buck converter mode to generate a sum of full wave rectified sine wave currents at a current node common to a plurality of buck converters in response to a plurality of full wave rectified sine wave currents generated via the plurality of buck converters. The PV inverter system increases the level of the voltage sourcing each buck converter when a corresponding DC power source voltage is lower than the instantaneous voltage of a utility grid connected to the PV inverter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Michael Andrew de Rooij, John Stanley Glaser
  • Phase-locked-loop circuit
    Patent number: 7928780
    Abstract: A phase-locked loop circuit comprises a phase error detector for receiving a multi-phase reference signal and a synchronized phase signal of the phase-locked-loop circuit, and for performing a rotational transformation to convert the multi-phase reference signal into two-phase quantities at a synchronous rotation d-q reference frame. A monotonic transfer module receives the two-phase quantities, and generates a monotonic phase error signal which is monotonic when a phase difference between the multi-phase reference signal and the synchronized phase signal ranges from ?180 degrees to 180 degrees. A regulator receives the monotonic phase error signal, and generates a synchronized rotation frequency. An integrator receives the synchronized rotation frequency, and generates the synchronized phase signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Xiaoming Yuan, Zhuohui Tan, Robert William Delmerico, Haiqing Weng, Robert Allen Seymour
  • Antiferroelectric polymer composites, methods of manufacture thereof, and articles comprising the same
    Patent number: 7923497
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a composition comprising a composition comprising a polymeric material; and a ceramic antiferroelectric particle. Disclosed herein too is a method of tuning a dielectric constant of a composition comprising subjecting a composition comprising a polymeric material and a ceramic antiferroelectric particle to a biasing electric field; and changing the dielectric constant of the composition. Disclosed herein too is a method comprising blending a polymeric material with ceramic antiferroelectric particles to form a composition. Disclosed herein too is a method comprising blending a polymeric material with ceramic antiferroelectric particles to form a composition; applying an electrical field to the composition; and reorienting the ceramic antiferroelectric particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Qi Tan, Yang Cao, Patricia Chapman Irwin, Venkat S. Venkataramani
  • System and a method for controlling flow of solder
    Patent number: 7919714
    Abstract: An assembly including a solder wettable surface is provided. The assembly also includes a metal mask configured to restrict solder from flowing outside the solder wettable surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Arun Virupaksha Gowda, Kevin Matthew Durocher, James Wilson Rose, Paul Jeffrey Gillespie, Richard Alfred Beaupre, David Richard Esler