Design of Optimum Controllers for Gas Turbine Engines

This paper presents controllers based on linear and nonlinear models of an aircraft gas turbine engine. These models along with the performance indexes, ITAE, IAE and IES are used to estimate the parameters of a PID controller. The parameters and hence the quality of the controllers are very much dependent on the accuracy of the models. It is shown that the Nonlinear AutoRegressive Moving Average with eXogenous (NARMAX) representation provides a comprehensive benchmark for controller design, since it models the global dynamics of the engine. However, the linear models provide an accurate representation for small signal inputs and give a reliable method for estimating the controller parameters for a limited operating range. A comparison between controllers using linear and NARMAX models is made.