Patents by Inventor Kurt Plotts

Kurt Plotts 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: 20060116847
    Abstract: The claimed invention is a method for determining a relationship between a metal temperature of a turbine component and an operating condition of a turbine housing the component. The claimed invention is also a method for determining consumed operating life for a turbine component. The invention further comprises a system for determining an amount of remaining useful life in a turbine component. The invention further comprises a method for determining a relationship between a stress state of a turbine component and an operating condition of a turbine housing the component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2004
    Publication date: June 1, 2006
    Inventors: Kurt Plotts, Fredrick Davis, Christina Peronto
  • Publication number: 20060025936
    Abstract: The claimed invention relates to a method for determining the extent of an oxidation reaction of a coated metallic turbine component within a turbine, comprising determining a plurality of reference oxidation rates for a plurality of locations on the turbine component for a plurality of different turbine operating conditions. The invention also relates to selecting an appropriate oxidation rate from a family of reference oxidation rate data and estimating the oxidation of the coated turbine blade or vane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2004
    Publication date: February 2, 2006
    Inventors: Kurt Plotts, Malberto Gonzalez, Andrew Burns
  • Patent number: 6449565
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the fatigue life of a structure calculate, in real time, the values for the magnitudes of the stress forces imposed at a particular location on the structure, from one or more sensed structural parameters. Also, the associated temperature values of the structure may be calculated or measured. The calculated stress data are continuously examined, in real time, to determine if the direction of their magnitude is increasing or decreasing. If a change in direction is indicated, the previously stored peak data point in the increasing direction is paired with the previously determined peak data point in the decreasing direction to form a cycle pair. The structural fatigue life is then determined, in real time, from this cycle pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Steven E. Budrow, Jeffrey R. Davis, Kurt A. Plotts