Patents by Inventor Roger A. Lucheta

Roger A. Lucheta has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4955269
    Abstract: An on-line vibratory fatigue monitor measures displacement of an object such as the blade of a turbine rotor to generate a displacement signal and calculates accumulated fatigue in the object in dependence upon the displacement signal. The displacement of the object may be detected by passive proximity probes which generate signals indicative of changes in magnetic flux or capacitance between the sensor and the turbine blade. An analog/digital converter converts the signals from the probes to digital signals indicating displacement of the turbine blades. The digital signals are processed, preferably by taking a Hilbert transform, to detect the amplitude envelope and instantaneous frequency of the displacement. The amplitude and frequency are combined with steady state stress on the object to determine fatigue usage which is accumulated by constantly monitoring vibratory displacement and changes in the steady state stress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 11, 1990
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
    Inventors: Robert P. Kendig, Roger A. Lucheta, Francis S. McKendree