System and method for condition-based monitoring of filters

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system includes an intake section including a filter and one or more strain gauges. The system also includes a processor configured to receive strain information for the filter from the one or more strain gauges and determine an operating condition of the filter based at least in part on the strain information.

1 . A gas turbine system comprising:
 an intake filter of an intake section of the gas turbine system;   one or more strain gauges disposed on the intake filter; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more strain gauges, wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive strain information for the intake filter from the one or more strain gauges; and 
 determine an operating condition of the intake filter based on the strain information. 
   
     
     
         2 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , wherein the operating condition comprises a sealing condition of the intake filter. 
     
     
         3 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , comprising a mounting surface that forms a seal in conjunction with the intake filter, and wherein the operating condition comprises a sealing condition indicative of a status of the seal. 
     
     
         4 . The gas turbine system of  claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the sealing condition as unhealthy in response to determining that the strain information is changing faster than a threshold rate of change. 
     
     
         5 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the operating condition as unhealthy in response to determining that the strain information comprises a strain value that is outside of a threshold from a previous strain value. 
     
     
         6 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , wherein the operating condition comprises a cleanliness condition of the intake filter. 
     
     
         7 . The gas turbine system of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to instruct a self-cleaning system of the gas turbine system to clean the intake filter based on the cleanliness condition. 
     
     
         8 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit a signal to cause maintenance or replacement of the intake filter based on the operating condition. 
     
     
         9 . The gas turbine system of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a plurality of intake filters that comprises the intake filter; and   a frame, wherein the plurality of intake filters is coupled to the frame.   
     
     
         10 . The gas turbine system of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of intake filters is arranged in an array comprising at least one row of intake filters and at least one column of intake filters. 
     
     
         11 . The gas turbine system of  claim 9 , wherein the operating condition comprises a sealing condition of the intake filter, wherein the gas turbine system comprises additional one or more strain gauges disposed on an additional intake filter of the plurality of intake filters, and wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive second strain information for the additional intake filter from the additional one or more strain gauges; and   determine a cleanliness condition of the additional intake filter based on the second strain information.   
     
     
         12 . A filter monitoring system comprising:
 a strain gauge configured to be disposed on an intake filter of a gas turbine system; and   a controller comprising a memory and a processor that is configured to execute instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving strain information for the intake filter from the strain gauge; 
 determining an operating condition of the intake filter based at least in part on the strain information; and 
 generating an alert indicative of the operating condition. 
   
     
     
         13 . The filter monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the operating condition comprises a sealing condition of the intake filter. 
     
     
         14 . The filter monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the operating condition comprises a cleanliness condition of the intake filter and a sealing condition of the intake filter. 
     
     
         15 . The filter monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the controller comprises a service controller of a cloud-based service analytics system, and wherein the service controller is configured to monitor a plurality of gas turbine systems that comprises the gas turbine system. 
     
     
         16 . The filter monitoring system of  claim 15 , wherein the service controller is configured to determine a predicted degradation rate of respective filters of the plurality of gas turbine systems based on a respective physical location of gas turbine systems of the plurality of gas turbine systems. 
     
     
         17 . The filter monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the operations performed by the processor comprise transmitting the alert indicative of the operating condition to a computing device associated with the gas turbine system. 
     
     
         18 . A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising instructions for filter monitoring that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 receive strain information from a gauge disposed on a frame of a plurality of intake filters of a gas turbine system;   determine an operating condition of the plurality of intake filters based on the strain information, wherein each operating condition of the plurality of operating conditions comprises a sealing condition, a cleanliness condition, or both; and   transmit, to a computing device, an indication of the plurality of operating conditions.   
     
     
         19 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , comprising instructions to cause the one or more processors to determine the plurality of operating conditions based on a filter condition model that enables the one or more processors to monitor the strain information for changes over time. 
     
     
         20 . The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the plurality of intake filters defines a filtration stage of an intake section of the gas turbine system.