Systems and methods for active clearance control based on selected operating mode

1. An objective-driven system of blade tip clearance control for a gas turbine engine, comprising:

a blade;

a blade outer air seal disposed radially outward of the blade;

a controller in operable communication with the blade outer air seal; and

a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the controller, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the controller, an operating objective definition, the operating objection definition comprising at least one of a high-performance mode, a fuel-efficiency mode; a life-cycle cost-minimization mode, or a noise reduction mode, and

modulating, by the controller, a distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal based on the operating objective definition and an input vector variable, the input vector variable comprising at least one of a fuel price, an aircraft load, a wind speed, an air quality condition, or a maintenance cost.

2. The objective-driven system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise modulating, by the controller, an engine climb thrust rating based on the operating objective definition and the input vector variable.

3. The objective-driven system of claim 2 , wherein:

in the high-performance mode the blade is located a first distance from the blade outer air seal during take-off and the engine climb thrust rating is set at a first engine climb thrust rating during take-off;

in the fuel-efficiency mode the blade is located a second distance from the blade outer air seal during take-off and the engine climb thrust rating is set at a second engine climb thrust rating during take-off, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance, and wherein the second engine climb thrust rating is less than the first engine climb thrust rating; or

in the life-cycle cost-minimization mode the blade is located a third distance from the blade outer air seal during take-off and the engine climb thrust rating is set at a third engine climb thrust rating during take-off, wherein the third distance is less than the second distance, and wherein the third engine climb thrust rating is less than the second engine climb thrust rating.

4. The objective-driven system of claim 3 , wherein

in the noise reduction mode the blade is located a fourth distance from the blade outer air seal during take-off and the engine climb thrust rating is set at a fourth engine climb thrust rating during take-off, wherein the fourth distance is less than the second distance, and wherein the fourth engine climb thrust rating is less than the second engine climb thrust rating.

5. The objective-driven system of claim 2 , wherein the operations further comprise determining, by the controller, a desired distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal and a desired engine climb thrust rating using an optimization loop comprising the operating objective definition, the input vector variables, and an output vector variable, the output vector variable comprising at least one of a fuel consumption target, a partial cycle count, a target exhaust gas temperature, or a de-rated engine climb thrust.

6. The objective-driven system of claim 5 , wherein the input vector variable is updated in real-time.

7. The objective-driven system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to recognize an override signal output from a cockpit of an aircraft, and wherein upon receiving, by the controller, the override signal, the controller adjusts at least one of the distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal or the engine climb thrust rating based on the override signal.

8. The objective-driven system of claim 2 , wherein the operations further comprise modulating, by the controller, an aircraft parameter based on the operating objective definition.

9. The objective-driven system of claim 1 , wherein modulating, by the controller, the distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal comprises:

receiving, by the controller, a position signal from a blade outer air seal position sensor;

receiving, by the controller, a temperature signal from an exhaust gas temperature sensor; and

outputting, by the controller, a command signal to an actuator in operable communication with the blade outer air seal.

10. A method of objective-driven blade tip clearance control for a gas turbine engine, comprising:

inputting, into a controller, an operating objective definition, the operating objective definition comprising at least one of a high-performance mode, a fuel-efficiency mode, a life-cycle cost-minimization mode, or a noise reduction mode;

determining, by the controller, a desired distance between a blade of the gas turbine engine and a blade outer air seal disposed radially outward of the blade using the operating objective definition and at least one of a fuel price, an aircraft load, a wind speed, an air quality condition, or a maintenance cost;

determining, by the controller, a desired engine climb thrust rating using the operating objective definition and the at least one of the fuel price, the aircraft load, the wind speed, the air quality condition, or the maintenance cost;

modulating, by the controller, a distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal based on the desired distance; and

modulating, by the controller, an engine climb thrust rating based on the engine climb thrust rating.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

determining, by the controller, a desired aircraft parameter using the operating objective definition and the at least one of the fuel price, the aircraft load, the wind speed, the air quality condition, or the maintenance cost; and

modulating, by the controller, an aircraft parameter based on the desired aircraft parameter.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the operating objective definition is at least one of:

a high-performance mode comprising a first distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal and a first engine climb thrust rating;

a fuel-efficiency mode comprising a second distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal and a second engine climb thrust rating, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance, and wherein the second engine climb thrust rating is less than the first engine climb thrust rating; and

a life-cycle cost-minimization mode comprising a third distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal and a third engine climb thrust rating, wherein the third distance is less than the second distance, and wherein the third engine climb thrust rating is less than the second engine climb thrust rating.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising configuring the operating objective definition to increase an exhaust gas temperature margin.

14. The method of claim 10 , further including configuring the controller to recognize an override of the operating objective definition.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein modulating, by the controller, the distance between the blade and the blade outer air seal based on the desired distance comprises:

receiving, by the controller, a position signal from a blade outer air seal position sensor;

comparing, by the controller, the position signal to the desired distance; and

outputting, by the controller, a command signal to an actuator in operable communication with the blade outer air seal.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one of the fuel price, the aircraft load, the wind speed, the air quality condition, or the maintenance cost is updated in real-time.

17. An objective-driven system for blade tip clearance control, comprising:

a blade outer air seal;

a controller in operable communication with the blade outer air seal; and

a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the controller, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the controller, an operating objective definition, the operating objection definition comprising at least one of a high-performance mode, a fuel-efficiency mode, a life-cycle cost-minimization mode, or a noise reduction mode, and

modulating, by the controller, a location of the blade outer air seal using the operating objective definition, a plurality of input vector variables, and a plurality of output vector variables driven by the plurality of input vector variables.

18. The objective-driven system of claim 17 , wherein modulating, by the controller, the location of the blade outer air seal comprises:

determining, by the controller, a desired distance between the blade outer air seal and a blade radially inward of the blade outer air seal using the optimization loop;

receiving, by the controller, a position signal from a blade outer air seal position sensor;

comparing, by the controller, the position signal to the desired distance; and

outputting, by the controller, a command signal to an actuator in operable communication with the blade outer air seal.

19. The objective-driven system of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise modulating, by the controller, an engine climb thrust rating using the optimization loop.

20. The objective-driven system of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise modulating, by the controller, an aircraft parameter using the optimization loop.