Patents by Inventor Bruce Norman

Bruce Norman 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).

  • Publication number: 20070149392
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a multifunctional catalyst system comprising a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound. Disclosed herein is a method comprising reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in a first reaction catalyzed by a first catalyst; and reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in a second reaction catalyzed by second catalyst; wherein the first catalyst and the second catalyst are disposed upon a single substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Inventors: Anthony Ku, James Ruud, Mohan Manoharan, Lawrence Kool, Sergio Martins-Loureiro, Margaret Blohm, Bruce Norman
  • Publication number: 20070089423
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine system includes an intercooler coupled between a low-pressure compressor and a high-pressure compressor and configured to cool the compressed air exiting the low-pressure compressor. Liquid natural gas or a cooled intermediate working fluid is used in the intercooler to cool the compressed air exiting the low-pressure compressor. A mixture of fuel and compressed air from the high-pressure are combusted in a combustion chamber of an engine. A turbine is coupled to the engine and configured to expand combustion exhaust gas ejected from the engine to generate power. A heat exchanger is coupled to the turbine and the intercooler and configured to re-gasify the liquid natural gas. The exhaust air exiting the turbine or a heated intermediate working fluid is used to gasify the liquid natural gas in the heat exchanger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2006
    Publication date: April 26, 2007
    Inventors: Bruce Norman, Mohamed Ali, Narendra Joshi, Sherif Mohamed
  • Publication number: 20060254279
    Abstract: A method, system and software for reducing combustion chamber to chamber variation in a multiple-combustion chamber turbine system comprising sensing dynamic combustion pressure tones emitted from combustion chambers in a multiple combustion chamber turbine and determining a combustion chamber stratification index for the combustion chambers from the dynamic combustion pressure tones emitted for the combustion chambers to record and/or tune combustion chamber performance variations in the multiple-chamber combustion turbine system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2005
    Publication date: November 16, 2006
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Avinash Taware, Vasanth Kothnur, Ajai Singh, Bruce Norman, Jian Zhou
  • Publication number: 20060201158
    Abstract: A method for monitoring performance of a gas turbine system comprises providing a plurality of combustor cans; placing a plurality of temperature sensors circumferentially around an exhaust plane of the plurality of combustor cans; operating the plurality of combustor cans while varying a plurality of gas turbine operating parameters, where exhaust gas issues from each combustor can of the plurality of combustor cans during operation; measuring temperature of the exhaust gas in the exhaust plane using the plurality of temperature sensors to obtain a plurality of individual temperature measurements; determining a correlation of the individual temperature measurements of exhaust gas temperature with corresponding individual combustor cans of the plurality of combustor cans issuing the exhaust gas; and developing a swirl model, where the model uses the correlation to predict swirl values in the exhaust plane as a function of the operating parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2005
    Publication date: September 14, 2006
    Inventors: Narayanan Venkateswaran, Minesh Shah, Bruce Norman
  • Publication number: 20050278108
    Abstract: A method for predicting lean blow-outs (LBOs) in a gas turbine engine includes extracting a plurality of tones in pressure signals representative of pressure within monitored combustor cans, tracking a frequency of a hot tone in each monitored can, and utilizing the extracted tones and the tracked frequency to determine a probability of an LBO.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Publication date: December 15, 2005
    Inventors: Bruce Norman, Avinash Taware, Minesh Shah, Ajai Singh, Willy Ziminsky, Pingchuan Wu
  • Patent number: 6973396
    Abstract: A computer implemented process is provided for assessing and characterizing the degree of success or failure of an operational event of a machine system such as a fluid compressor machine or turbine machine or the like on a continuous numerical scale. The computer implemented process develops and tracks machine unit signatures, machine site signatures and machine fleet signatures to evaluate various operational events and provide fault detection. At least some sensor data acquired from the machine system during an operational event is transformed to correct or at least reduce variabilities in the data caused by ambient conditions and fuel quality. The transformed data is then analyzed using statistical methods to determine how closely the operational event conforms to an expected normal behavior and the information is used to develop a single comprehensive quality assessment of the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Minesh Shah, Kotesh K. Rao, Bruce Norman, Robert J. Iasillo, Ajai Singh
  • Publication number: 20050267702
    Abstract: A computer implemented process is provided for assessing and characterizing the degree of success or failure of an operational event of a machine system such as a fluid compressor machine or turbine machine or the like on a continuous numerical scale. The computer implemented process develops and tracks machine unit signatures, machine site signatures and machine fleet signatures to evaluate various operational events and provide fault detection. At least some sensor data acquired from the machine system during an operational event is transformed to correct or at least reduce variabilities in the data caused by ambient conditions and fuel quality. The transformed data is then analyzed using statistical methods to determine how closely the operational event conforms to an expected normal behavior and the information is used to develop a single comprehensive quality assessment of the event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2004
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Minesh Shah, Kotesh Rao, Bruce Norman, Robert Iasillo, Ajai Singh
  • Publication number: 20050178759
    Abstract: A method for controlling the level of a drum in a drum-type boiler includes adjusting a gain of a drum level PID (such as a Proportional Integral Derivative control) in accordance with a signal representative of a set of tuning constants, a signal representative of drum level, and a signal representative of a drum level setpoint. The method also includes utilizing a flow control PID to adjust a drum level control valve, wherein the flow control PID adjusts the drum level control valve in accordance with an output of the drum level PID, a signal representative of steam flow, and a signal representative of drum feedwater flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Publication date: August 18, 2005
    Inventors: Manu Arora, Leroy Tomlinson, Raub Smith, Bruce Norman, Matthew Lennon