Patents by Inventor Jonathan Carl Thatcher
Jonathan Carl Thatcher 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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Patent number: 11519808Abstract: A fluid monitoring system includes a controller configured to determine that a value of at least one fluid property of a fluid is greater than a threshold value, and to control actuators to identify which fluid source has the fluid with the value of the at least one fluid property greater than the threshold value. Each actuator is configured to drive a respective crossover valve between a first position and a second position to direct the fluid from a respective first fluid source to a first manifold or a second manifold and to direct the fluid from a respective second fluid source to the first manifold or the second manifold. In addition, the first manifold is configured to direct the fluid to a first sensor assembly, and the second manifold is configured to direct the fluid to a second sensor assembly.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2020Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Joshua Adam Bagwell, Alberto José Negroni, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, John Paul Metz
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Patent number: 11333082Abstract: A method of controlling an operating temperature of a first combustion zone of a combustor of a rotary machine includes determining a current operating temperature and a target operating temperature of a first combustion zone using a digital simulation. The method further includes determining a derivative of the current operating temperature with respect to a current fuel split using the digital simulation. The fuel split apportions a total flow of fuel to the combustor between the first combustion zone and a second combustion zone. The method also includes calculating a calculated fuel split that results in a calculated operating temperature approaching the target operating temperature. The method further includes channeling a first flow of fuel to the first combustion zone and a second flow of fuel to the second combustion zone.Type: GrantFiled: June 12, 2020Date of Patent: May 17, 2022Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Robert Joseph Loeven, II, John Rogers Huey
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Publication number: 20220136921Abstract: A fluid monitoring system includes a controller configured to determine that a value of at least one fluid property of a fluid is greater than a threshold value, and to control actuators to identify which fluid source has the fluid with the value of the at least one fluid property greater than the threshold value. Each actuator is configured to drive a respective crossover valve between a first position and a second position to direct the fluid from a respective first fluid source to a first manifold or a second manifold and to direct the fluid from a respective second fluid source to the first manifold or the second manifold. In addition, the first manifold is configured to direct the fluid to a first sensor assembly, and the second manifold is configured to direct the fluid to a second sensor assembly.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 30, 2020Publication date: May 5, 2022Inventors: Joshua Adam Bagwell, Alberto José Negroni, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, John Paul Metz
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Publication number: 20210388775Abstract: A method of controlling an operating temperature of a first combustion zone of a combustor of a rotary machine includes determining a current operating temperature and a target operating temperature of a first combustion zone using a digital simulation. The method further includes determining a derivative of the current operating temperature with respect to a current fuel split using the digital simulation. The fuel split apportions a total flow of fuel to the combustor between the first combustion zone and a second combustion zone. The method also includes calculating a calculated fuel split that results in a calculated operating temperature approaching the target operating temperature. The method further includes channeling a first flow of fuel to the first combustion zone and a second flow of fuel to the second combustion zone.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 12, 2020Publication date: December 16, 2021Inventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Robert Joseph Loeven, II, John Rogers Huey
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Patent number: 10727768Abstract: A system includes a control system configured to control one or more parameters of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system to control a portion of electrical power for export from a generator driven by the turbine to an electrical grid. The control system includes a closed-loop controller configured to control parameters of the EGR gas turbine system and an open-loop controller configured to temporarily control the parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to increase the portion of the electrical power exported to the electrical grid to provide a Primary Frequency Response (PFR) in response to a transient event associated with the electrical power. The open-loop controller is configured to provide control signals to increase a concentration of an oxidant in a combustor to provide the PFR in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in an emissions compliant mode.Type: GrantFiled: September 4, 2018Date of Patent: July 28, 2020Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Patent number: 10208677Abstract: A gas turbine system includes a combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel in the presence of an exhaust gas diluent to produce combustion products, an oxidant supply path fluidly coupled to the combustor and configured to flow the oxidant to the combustor at an oxidant flow rate, and a turbine configured to extract work from the combustion products to produce an exhaust gas used to generate the exhaust gas diluent. The turbine causes a shaft of the gas turbine system to rotate when the work is extracted from the combustion products. The system also includes an electrical generator that generates electrical power in response to rotation by the shaft, and a controller that performs load control in response to a target load by adjusting the oxidant flow rate along the oxidant flow path as a primary load control parameter.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2013Date of Patent: February 19, 2019Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Karl Dean Minto, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Brian Allen Rittenhouse, Aaron Vorel
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Publication number: 20190013756Abstract: A system includes a control system configured to control one or more parameters of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system to control a portion of electrical power for export from a generator driven by the turbine to an electrical grid. The control system includes a closed-loop controller configured to control parameters of the EGR gas turbine system and an open-loop controller configured to temporarily control the parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to increase the portion of the electrical power exported to the electrical grid to provide a Primary Frequency Response (PFR) in response to a transient event associated with the electrical power. The open-loop controller is configured to provide control signals to increase a concentration of an oxidant in a combustor to provide the PFR in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in an emissions compliant mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 4, 2018Publication date: January 10, 2019Inventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Publication number: 20180293600Abstract: An architecture and techniques for determining operation of energy-producing equipment that can increase profitability are presented. Such can be surfaced in easily understood financial market paradigms that reflect relatively complex physical models associated with the equipment. For example, buy data and sell data can be presented that reflect determined buy opportunities and determined sell opportunities. The buy opportunities can represent conditions in which it is advised to operate the equipment according to a cold part load protocol and the sell opportunities can represent conditions in which it is advised to operate the equipment according to a peak fire protocol.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 10, 2017Publication date: October 11, 2018Inventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Marc Gavin Lindenmuth, Frederick Block
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Patent number: 10079564Abstract: A non-transitory, computer readable medium stores instructions executable by a processor of an electronic device. The instructions include instructions to determine that a transient event is occurring in an electrical grid coupled to an EGR gas turbine system, wherein the transient event is an under-frequency or an under-voltage event. The instructions also include instructions to increase a flow rate of fuel to a combustor of the EGR gas turbine system in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a non-stoichiometric combustion mode. The instructions further include instructions to increase a flow rate of oxidant to the combustor before increasing the flow rate of fuel to the combustor, or to decrease a local consumption of the electrical power to increase a portion of the electrical power that is exported to the attached electrical grid, or both, in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a stoichiometric combustion mode.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 2014Date of Patent: September 18, 2018Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Patent number: 10012151Abstract: A method of controlling an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system includes adjusting an angle of a plurality of inlet guide vanes of an exhaust gas compressor of the EGR gas turbine system, wherein the plurality of inlet guide vanes have a first range of motion defined by a minimum angle and a maximum angle, and wherein the angle is adjusted based on one or more monitored or modeled parameters of the EGR gas turbine system. The method further includes adjusting a pitch of a plurality of blower vanes of a recycle blower disposed upstream of the exhaust gas compressor, wherein the plurality of blower vanes have a second range of motion defined by a minimum pitch and a maximum pitch, and the pitch of the plurality of blower vanes is adjusted based at least on the angle of the plurality of inlet guide vanes.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2014Date of Patent: July 3, 2018Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, James A. West, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Patent number: 9998487Abstract: A normal space data source stores, for each of a plurality of threat nodes, a series of normal values that represent normal operation of an industrial asset control system, and a threatened space data source stores a series of threatened values. A model creation computer may generate sets of normal and threatened feature vectors. The computer may also calculate and output at least one decision boundary for a threat detection model based on the normal and threatened feature vectors. The plurality of threat nodes may then generate a series of current values from threat nodes that represent a current operation of the asset control system. A threat detection computer may receive the series of current values from threat nodes, generate a set of current feature vectors, execute the threat detection model, and transmit a threat alert signal based on the current feature vectors and at the least one decision boundary.Type: GrantFiled: April 25, 2016Date of Patent: June 12, 2018Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Lalit Keshav Mestha, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Daniel Francis Holzhauer, Justin Varkey John
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Patent number: 9869247Abstract: A system includes an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system which includes a combustor configured to receive and combust a fuel with an oxidant and a turbine driven by combustion products from the combustor and a turbine driven by combustion products from the combustor. The EGR gas turbine system further includes an exhaust gas recirculation section fluidly coupled to the turbine and to the combustor, wherein the exhaust gas recirculation section is configured to intake an exhaust gas from the turbine and to recirculate at least a portion of the exhaust gas to the combustor as a diluent. The EGR gas turbine system additionally includes a control system, comprising one or more processors configured to receive a first signal representative of an exhaust flow composition of the exhaust gas and to receive a second signal representative of a diluent flow composition of the diluent.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2015Date of Patent: January 16, 2018Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Aaron Lavene Vorel, Jonathan Carl Thatcher
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Patent number: 9819292Abstract: A method includes combusting a fuel and an oxidant in a combustor of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system that produces electrical power and provides a portion of the electrical power to an electrical grid. The method further includes controlling, via one or more processors, one or more parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to decrease the portion of the electrical power provided to the electrical grid in response to an over-frequency event associated with the electrical grid, wherein controlling the one or more parameters comprises decreasing a flow rate of fuel to the combustor in response to the over-frequency event.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2015Date of Patent: November 14, 2017Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyInventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Publication number: 20170310690Abstract: A normal space data source stores, for each of a plurality of threat nodes, a series of normal values that represent normal operation of an industrial asset control system, and a threatened space data source stores a series of threatened values. A model creation computer may generate sets of normal and threatened feature vectors. The computer may also calculate and output at least one decision boundary for a threat detection model based on the normal and threatened feature vectors. The plurality of threat nodes may then generate a series of current values from threat nodes that represent a current operation of the asset control system. A threat detection computer may receive the series of current values from threat nodes, generate a set of current feature vectors, execute the threat detection model, and transmit a threat alert signal based on the current feature vectors and at the least one decision boundary.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 25, 2016Publication date: October 26, 2017Inventors: Lalit Keshav MESTHA, Jonathan Carl THATCHER, Daniel Francis HOLZHAUER, Justin Varkey JOHN
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Publication number: 20160190963Abstract: A method includes combusting a fuel and an oxidant in a combustor of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system that produces electrical power and provides a portion of the electrical power to an electrical grid. The method further includes controlling, via one or more processors, one or more parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to decrease the portion of the electrical power provided to the electrical grid in response to an over-frequency event associated with the electrical grid, wherein controlling the one or more parameters comprises decreasing a flow rate of fuel to the combustor in response to the over-frequency event.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 29, 2015Publication date: June 30, 2016Inventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Publication number: 20160186658Abstract: A system includes an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system which includes a combustor configured to receive and combust a fuel with an oxidant and a turbine driven by combustion products from the combustor and a turbine driven by combustion products from the combustor. The EGR gas turbine system further includes an exhaust gas recirculation section fluidly coupled to the turbine and to the combustor, wherein the exhaust gas recirculation section is configured to intake an exhaust gas from the turbine and to recirculate at least a portion of the exhaust gas to the combustor as a diluent. The EGR gas turbine system additionally includes a control system, comprising one or more processors configured to receive a first signal representative of an exhaust flow composition of the exhaust gas and to receive a second signal representative of a diluent flow composition of the diluent.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 29, 2015Publication date: June 30, 2016Inventors: Aaron Lavene Vorel, Jonathan Carl Thatcher
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Publication number: 20150226133Abstract: A gas turbine system includes a combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel in the presence of an exhaust gas diluent to produce combustion products, an oxidant supply path fluidly coupled to the combustor and configured to flow the oxidant to the combustor at an oxidant flow rate, and a turbine configured to extract work from the combustion products to produce an exhaust gas used to generate the exhaust gas diluent. The turbine causes a shaft of the gas turbine system to rotate when the work is extracted from the combustion products. The system also includes an electrical generator that generates electrical power in response to rotation by the shaft, and a controller that performs load control in response to a target load by adjusting the oxidant flow rate along the oxidant flow path as a primary load control parameter.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 30, 2013Publication date: August 13, 2015Applicants: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, General Electric CompanyInventors: Karl Dean Minto, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Brian Allen Rittenhouse, Aaron Vorel
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Publication number: 20150214879Abstract: A non-transitory, computer readable medium stores instructions executable by a processor of an electronic device. The instructions include instructions to determine that a transient event is occurring in an electrical grid coupled to an EGR gas turbine system, wherein the transient event is an under-frequency or an under-voltage event. The instructions also include instructions to increase a flow rate of fuel to a combustor of the EGR gas turbine system in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a non-stoichiometric combustion mode. The instructions further include instructions to increase a flow rate of oxidant to the combustor before increasing the flow rate of fuel to the combustor, or to decrease a local consumption of the electrical power to increase a portion of the electrical power that is exported to the attached electrical grid, or both, in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a stoichiometric combustion mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 30, 2014Publication date: July 30, 2015Inventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
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Patent number: 9007207Abstract: A dynamic alarm system for operating a power plant is disclosed. The dynamic alarm system includes a sensor configured to generate a signal related to a measurement of an operation of the power plant. An interface displays a generated alarm to an operator and receives a dynamic rating value from the operator related to the generated alarm. A processor generates the alarm using the generated signal, compiles the rating value and alters an operation of the power plant from the compiled rating value.Type: GrantFiled: January 22, 2013Date of Patent: April 14, 2015Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Justin Varkey John, Robert William Grubbs, Jonathan Carl Thatcher
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Publication number: 20150017591Abstract: A system includes an analytics system including a processor configured to receive an indication of a detectable radiation associated with a combustion system. The detectable radiation includes multidimensional granular data associated with an operation of the combustion system. The processor is configured to determine a first value of one or more operational characteristics of the combustion system based at least in part on the indication of the detectable radiation, and to derive an output. The output includes a second value derived based on the first value of the one or more operational characteristics to adjust the first value thereto.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 2, 2013Publication date: January 15, 2015Inventors: Richard Joseph Mitchell, Jonathan Carl Thatcher