Patents by Inventor Eric Richard Westervelt
Eric Richard Westervelt 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).
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Publication number: 20240051673Abstract: An aircraft engine includes a low pressure spool, a high pressure spool, and an alternative power source. The alternative power source is configured to add power to the high pressure spool. A controller is configured to determine a noise sensitive condition; and control, in response to determining the noise sensitive condition, the alternative power source to add power to the high pressure spool.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2022Publication date: February 15, 2024Inventors: Kishore Ramakrishnan, Trevor Howard Wood, Harry Kirk Mathews, JR., Eric Richard Westervelt, Honggang Wang, Timothy Richard DePuy
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Publication number: 20240044290Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system can be controlled to adjust one or more parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 18, 2023Publication date: February 8, 2024Applicant: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Patent number: 11821366Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system adjusts parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: GrantFiled: June 17, 2021Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Patent number: 11788426Abstract: Clearance control schemes for controlling a clearance defined between a first component and a second component of a gas turbine engine are provided. In one aspect, an engine controller of the gas turbine engine implements a clearance control scheme, which includes receiving data indicating a clearance between the first component and the second component, the clearance being at least one of a measured clearance captured by a sensor and a predicted clearance specific to the gas turbine engine at that point in time; comparing the clearance to an allowable clearance; determining a clearance setpoint for a clearance adjustment system based on a clearance difference determined by comparing the clearance to the allowable clearance; and causing the clearance adjustment system to adjust the clearance to the allowable clearance based on the clearance setpoint.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2022Date of Patent: October 17, 2023Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Harry Kirk Mathews, Jr., Eric Richard Westervelt
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Publication number: 20230279782Abstract: Clearance control schemes for controlling a clearance defined between a first component and a second component of a gas turbine engine are provided. In one aspect, an engine controller of the gas turbine engine implements a clearance control scheme, which includes receiving data indicating a clearance between the first component and the second component, the clearance being at least one of a measured clearance captured by a sensor and a predicted clearance specific to the gas turbine engine at that point in time; comparing the clearance to an allowable clearance; determining a clearance setpoint for a clearance adjustment system based on a clearance difference determined by comparing the clearance to the allowable clearance; and causing the clearance adjustment system to adjust the clearance to the allowable clearance based on the clearance setpoint.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 4, 2022Publication date: September 7, 2023Inventors: Harry Kirk Mathews, JR., Eric Richard Westervelt
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Publication number: 20230265796Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system adjusts parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2023Publication date: August 24, 2023Applicant: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Patent number: 11668241Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system adjusts parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: GrantFiled: June 17, 2021Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Publication number: 20230150681Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling an unducted turbofan engine to limit noise. The unducted turbofan engine may include an unducted fan drivingly coupled with a low-pressure turbine and a plurality of unducted outlet guide vanes. The unducted fan may include a plurality of fan blades and a pitch angle of the fan blades may be variable. A pitch angle of the unducted outlet guide vanes may be variable. A controller is configured to control the engine to limit noise based on a noise sensitive condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 15, 2021Publication date: May 18, 2023Inventors: Kishore Ramakrishnan, Trevor Howard Wood, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Robert Jon McQuiston, David Marion Ostdiek, Timothy Richard DePuy, Trevor Goerig, Eric Richard Westervelt
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Publication number: 20220403783Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system adjusts parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 17, 2021Publication date: December 22, 2022Applicant: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Publication number: 20220403784Abstract: A gas turbine engine fuel supply system can include a fuel delivery system, a thermal management system, a fuel manifold, and one or more sensors that identify one or more fuel parameters. A fuel control system adjusts parameters of the fuel based on data received from the sensors.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 17, 2021Publication date: December 22, 2022Applicant: General Electric CompanyInventors: Brandon W. Miller, Robert Jon McQuiston, Stefan Joseph Cafaro, Eric Richard Westervelt, Michael A. Benjamin, Joel M. Haynes, Hejie Li
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Patent number: 11061414Abstract: A fleet mission control system for a network of aerial vehicles including power thermal management systems is provided. According to examples of the disclosed technology a control system receives one or more mission objectives for a network of aircraft including two or more aerial vehicles. Each aerial vehicle includes a power-thermal management system. The control system receives system state information for the network of aircraft. The system state information includes PTMS state data. The control system determines a set of aircraft commands for the network of aircraft based on the one or more mission objectives and the PTMS state data, and generates an output signal based on the set of aircraft commands.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2017Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: James Ryan Reepmeyer, Eric Richard Westervelt
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Patent number: 10832581Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method including obtaining flight data for a specific aircraft for a prescribed flight; obtaining current sample measurements of at least one state or output of the specific aircraft; performing based on the obtained flight data, the current measurements or outputs, and a mathematical model accurately representing an actual operational performance of the specific aircraft and providing a predictive indication of a future performance of the specific aircraft, a control optimization to determine a cost-optimal control input for the prescribed flight; adjusting, in response to a consideration of actual operational characteristics of the specific aircraft, the optimized control input; and transmitting the adjusted optimized control input to the specific aircraft to operate the specific aircraft to minimize the direct operating cost for the prescribed flight.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2017Date of Patent: November 10, 2020Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Eric Richard Westervelt, Mark Lawrence Darnell, Reza Ghaemi, David Lax
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Patent number: 10794705Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method to operate a vehicle in a manner that minimizes a cost to travel from an origin to a destination that includes finding the input to a flight control system that minimizes direct operating cost. The approach described herein employs an energy state approximation (ESA).Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2019Date of Patent: October 6, 2020Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Reza Ghaemi, Eric Richard Westervelt, Mark Lawrence Darnell, David Lax
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Patent number: 10460610Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method including obtaining flight data for a prescribed flight from at least one of an airborne system of a particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight and a system other than the airborne system of the particular aircraft having a source of data related to the prescribed flight, the flight data including specific details relating to at least one of the particular aircraft and parameters of the prescribed flight; performing, by a processor of an external computational asset and based on the obtained flight data, a control optimization to generate optimized path specific controls for the prescribed flight; transmitting the optimized path specific controls via a communication uplink from the external computational asset to the particular aircraft; and guiding, in response to receiving the optimized path specific controls by the particular aircraft, the particular aircraft in accordance with the optimized path specific controls to execute the prescribed flight.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 2016Date of Patent: October 29, 2019Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Eric Richard Westervelt, MacKenzie Cumings, Mark Lawrence Darnell, David Lax, Liling Ren, Nicholas Visser
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Publication number: 20190277637Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method to operate a vehicle in a manner that minimizes a cost to travel from an origin to a destination that includes finding the input to a flight control system that minimizes direct operating cost. The approach described herein employs an energy state approximation (ESA).Type: ApplicationFiled: March 14, 2019Publication date: September 12, 2019Inventors: Reza GHAEMI, Eric Richard WESTERVELT, Mark Lawrence DARNELL, David LAX
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Publication number: 20190187727Abstract: A fleet mission control system for a network of aerial vehicles including power thermal management systems is provided. According to examples of the disclosed technology a control system receives one or more mission objectives for a network of aircraft including two or more aerial vehicles. Each aerial vehicle includes a power-thermal management system. The control system receives system state information for the network of aircraft. The system state information includes PTMS state data. The control system determines a set of aircraft commands for the network of aircraft based on the one or more mission objectives and the PTMS state data, and generates an output signal based on the set of aircraft commands.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 20, 2017Publication date: June 20, 2019Inventors: James Ryan Reepmeyer, Eric Richard Westervelt
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Patent number: 10260883Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method to operate a vehicle in a manner that minimizes a cost to travel from an origin to a destination that includes finding the input to a flight control system that minimizes direct operating cost. The approach described herein employs an energy state approximation (ESA).Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2016Date of Patent: April 16, 2019Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Reza Ghaemi, Eric Richard Westervelt, Mark Lawrence Darnell
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Publication number: 20180351635Abstract: According to some embodiments, system and methods are provided, comprising receiving one or more mission objectives for an aircraft mission, and condition data at a mission advisor module; generating, via the mission advisor module, a first plurality of mission plans to execute the mission, wherein each mission plan addresses at least one of the one or more mission objectives via manipulation of a power-thermal management system (PTMS); selecting one of the plurality of mission plans; and executing the selected mission plan to operate an aircraft. Numerous other aspects are provided.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 31, 2017Publication date: December 6, 2018Inventors: Eric Richard WESTERVELT, James REEPMEYER, Mitchell SMITH, John TURCO
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Publication number: 20180286253Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method including obtaining flight data for a specific aircraft including a mathematical model that accurately represents an performance of the specific aircraft and provides a predictive indication of a future performance of the specific aircraft in response to a current state or input to the specific aircraft; obtaining current sample measurements of at least one state or output of the specific aircraft; performing, based on the obtained flight data and current measurements and outputs, a control optimization to generate optimized control commands to minimize the direct operating cost of the prescribed flight; transmitting the optimized control commands to the particular aircraft for use thereby to operate the particular aircraft to execute the prescribed flight; and iteratively repeating operations of the method for successive sequential instances in time for a duration of at least a portion of the prescribed flight.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2017Publication date: October 4, 2018Inventors: Mark Lawrence DARNELL, Reza GHAEMI, David LAX, Eric Richard WESTERVELT
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Publication number: 20180286254Abstract: A system, computer-readable medium, and a method including obtaining flight data for a specific aircraft for a prescribed flight; obtaining current sample measurements of at least one state or output of the specific aircraft; performing based on the obtained flight data, the current measurements or outputs, and a mathematical model accurately representing an actual operational performance of the specific aircraft and providing a predictive indication of a future performance of the specific aircraft, a control optimization to determine a cost-optimal control input for the prescribed flight; adjusting, in response to a consideration of actual operational characteristics of the specific aircraft, the optimized control input; and transmitting the adjusted optimized control input to the specific aircraft to operate the specific aircraft to minimize the direct operating cost for the prescribed flight.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2017Publication date: October 4, 2018Inventors: Eric Richard WESTERVELT, Mark Lawrence DARNELL, Reza GHAEMI, David LAX