Patents by Inventor Tobias Spitzmüller

Tobias Spitzmüller 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: 8434311
    Abstract: A system for controlling NOx emissions and combustion pulsation levels of a gas turbine having a gas turbine combustion system, having a single combustion chamber and multiple burners, includes a cascade structure having a first and second control level (1, 2), the first level (1) having a device to control NOx emissions and generate combustion pulsation target levels based on the difference between measured and target NOx emission levels, and the second level (2) having a device to control pulsation levels and generate a ratio (?) of fuel flow to different types of burners or to different stages of each burner. The fuel flow ratio (?) is based on the difference between the measured and generated target pulsation levels. The control system enables the operation of a gas turbine to meet NOx emission requirements, while maintaining combustion pulsation levels within limits that ensure improved lifetime of the combustion system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: ALSTOM Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiao-Yi Zhang, Tobias Spitzmueller, Stefano Bernero
  • Patent number: 7930890
    Abstract: A method for protecting a gas turbine installation from overheating and for detecting flame extinction in the combustion chamber is described, in which air is compressed in a compressor unit and, after being admixed with fuel, is ignited in the form of a fuel/air mixture in a combustion chamber and is burnt, thus giving rise to a hot gas flow which sets a turbine stage in rotation downstream of the combustion chamber so as to perform expansion work. The pressure upstream of the turbine stage, that is the pressure pk of the compressed air in the plenum and/or the pressure within the combustion chamber pcom, is measured, in that a time change of the measured pressure, what is known as the pressure gradient ({dot over (p)}), is determined, in that at least one threshold value is selected, and in that the pressure gradient or a variable derived from the pressure gradient is compared with the at least one threshold value and, if the threshold value is overshot or undershot, a signal is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Mengbin Zhang, Tobias Spitzmueller
  • Publication number: 20090229238
    Abstract: A system (S) for controlling nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and combustion pulsation levels of a gas turbine having a gas turbine combustion system, having a single combustion chamber and multiple burners, includes a cascade structure having a first and second control level (1, 2), the first level (1) having a device to control NOx emissions and generate combustion pulsation target levels based on the difference between measured and target NOx emission levels, and the second level (2) having a device to control pulsation levels and generate a ratio (?) of fuel flow to different types of burners or to different stages of each burner. The fuel flow ratio (?) is based on the difference between the measured and generated target pulsation levels. The control system (S) enables the operation of a gas turbine to meet NOx emission requirements, while maintaining combustion pulsation levels within limits that ensure improved lifetime of the combustion system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Inventors: Xiao-Yi Zhang, Tobias Spitzmueller, Stefano Bernero
  • Publication number: 20080229746
    Abstract: A method for protecting a gas turbine installation from overheating and for detecting flame extinction in the combustion chamber is described, in which air is compressed in a compressor unit and, after being admixed with fuel, is ignited in the form of a fuel/air mixture in a combustion chamber and is burnt, thus giving rise to a hot gas flow which sets a turbine stage in rotation downstream of the combustion chamber so as to perform expansion work. The pressure upstream of the turbine stage, that is to say the pressure pk of the compressed air in the plenum and/or the pressure within the combustion chamber pcom, is measured, in that a time change of the measured pressure, what is known as the pressure gradient ({dot over (p)}), is determined, in that at least one threshold value is selected, and in that the pressure gradient or a variable derived from the pressure gradient is compared with the at least one threshold value and, if the threshold value is overshot or undershot, a signal is generated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Publication date: September 25, 2008
    Applicant: ALSTOM Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Mengbin Zhang, Tobias Spitzmueller
  • Patent number: 7293415
    Abstract: In a method for operating a gas turbine centre in the vicinity of the group nominal full-load conditions, the cooling of the working fluid before and/or during the compression is set in such a way that the respectively attainable full-load power is above the current power. Rapid power demands can therefore be rapidly satisfied by an increase in the turbine inlet temperature or by opening an adjustable inlet guide vane row, whereas the control of the cooling effect, which has a tendency to be more sluggish, is employed to adjust the full-load operating point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2007
    Assignee: ALSTOM Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Jürgen Hoffmann, Tom Alexander Odin McKay, Nikolaus Herbert Kurz, Tobias Spitzmüller