System and method of operating multi-engine system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12410757-B2
Application number	US-202117540570-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 2, 2021
Priority date	Dec 2, 2021
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

There is described a method of operating a multi-engine system of an helicopter. The multi-engine system has a first turboshaft engine having a first shaft, a second turboshaft engine having a second shaft, a gearbox having a clutch system, and a range of rotation speeds defined as a placarded zone. The method generally has: rotating the first and second shafts at a first idle rotation speed below the placarded zone when clutched to a load; increasing a rotation speed of the first shaft from the first idle rotation speed to a flight rotation speed above the placarded zone; unclutching the second shaft from the load during the increasing; and increasing a rotation speed of the second shaft to a second idle rotation speed when the second shaft is unclutched from the load, the second idle rotation speed above the placarded zone and below the flight rotation speed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of operating a multi-engine system of a helicopter, the multi-engine system having a first turboshaft engine having a first shaft, a second turboshaft engine having a second shaft, and a gearbox having a clutch system clutching at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft to a load of the helicopter, the first and second shafts having a range of rotation speeds defined as a placarded zone, the method comprising:
rotating the first and second shafts at a first idle rotation speed below the placarded zone when the first and second shafts are clutched to the load;
increasing a rotation speed of the first shaft from the first idle rotation speed to a flight rotation speed, the flight rotation speed above the placarded zone;
unclutching the second shaft from the load during the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft;
increasing a rotation speed of the second shaft to a second idle rotation speed when the second shaft is unclutched from the load, the second idle rotation speed above the placarded zone and below the flight rotation speed; and
maintaining the second shaft unclutched and maintaining the rotation speed of the second shaft to the second idle rotation speed until receiving a command to change an engine regime of the second turboshaft engine.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft includes increasing a first fuel flow to a first combustor section of the first turboshaft engine, and the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft includes increasing a second fuel flow to a second combustor section of the second turboshaft engine.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is simultaneous to the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft is performed progressively and in accordance with a first linear increase rate.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is performed progressively and in accordance with a second linear increase rate, the first linear increase rate being steeper than the second linear increase rate.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first linear increase rate is twice the second linear increase rate.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein a difference between the first linear increase rate and the second linear increase rate causes the unclutching.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing the method upon receiving a command to operate the first turboshaft engine in a flight regime and maintain the second turboshaft engine in an idle regime.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is performed upon detecting that the second shaft has unclutched from the load.

10. A system for operating a multi-engine system of a helicopter, the multi-engine system having a first turboshaft engine having a first shaft, a second turboshaft engine having a second shaft, and a gearbox having a clutch system clutching at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft to a common load of the helicopter, the first and second shafts having a range of rotation speeds defined as a placarded zone, the system comprising:
a processing unit; and
a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by the processing unit for:
rotating the first and second shafts at a first idle rotation speed below the placarded zone when the first and second shafts are clutched to the load;
increasing a rotation speed of the first shaft from the first idle rotation speed to a flight rotation speed above the placarded zone;
unclutching the second shaft from the load during the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft;
increasing a rotation speed of the second shaft to a second idle rotation speed when the second shaft is unclutched from the load, the second idle rotation speed above the placarded zone and below the flight rotation speed; and
maintaining the second shaft unclutched and maintaining the rotation speed of the second shaft to the second idle rotation speed until receiving a command to change an engine regime of the second turboshaft engine.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft includes increasing a first fuel flow to a first combustor section of the first turboshaft engine, and the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft includes increasing a second fuel flow to a second combustor section of the second turboshaft engine.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is simultaneous to the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft is performed progressively and in accordance with a first linear increase rate.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is performed progressively and in accordance with a second linear increase rate, the first linear increase rate being steeper than the second linear increase rate.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the first linear increase rate is twice the second linear increase rate.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein a difference between the first linear increase rate and the second linear increase rate causes the unclutching.

17. The system of claim 10 further comprising performing said rotating the first and second shafts, said increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft, said unclutching the second shaft from the load and said increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft upon receiving a command to operate the first turboshaft engine in a flight regime and maintain the second turboshaft engine in an idle regime.

18. The system of claim 10 wherein the increasing the rotation speed of the second shaft is performed upon detecting that the second shaft has unclutched from the load.

19. A method of operating a multi-engine system, the multi-engine system having a first engine having a first shaft, a second engine having a second shaft, and a gearbox having a clutch system clutching at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft to a load, the first and second shafts having a range of rotation speeds defined as a placarded zone, the method comprising:
rotating the first and second shafts at a first idle rotation speed below the placarded zone when the first and second shafts are clutched to the load;
increasing a rotation speed of the first shaft from the first idle rotation speed to a flight rotation speed above the placarded zone;
unclutching the second shaft from the load during said increasing the rotation speed of the first shaft;
increasing a rotation speed of the second shaft to a second idle rotation speed when the second shaft is unclutched from the load, the second idle rotation speed above the placarded zone and below the flight rotation speed; and
maintaining the second shaft unclutched and maintaining the rotation speed of the second shaft to the second idle rotation speed until receiving a command to change an engine regime of the second turboshaft engine.

Assignees

• Pratt & Whitney Canada

Inventors

• Beauchesne-Martel Philippe
• De Lussy Gaetan
• Hebert Jeremie
• Coutu Daniel

Classifications

• B64D31/00

  Power plant control systems; Arrangement of power plant control systems in aircraft · CPC title

• F02C6/20 Primary

  Adaptations of gas-turbine plants for driving vehicles · CPC title

• F02C6/02

  Plural gas-turbine plants having a common power output · CPC title

• B64D27/10

  of gas-turbine type  (jet aircraft B64D27/16) · CPC title

• B64C27/12

  Rotor drives · CPC title