Gas turbine temperature sensor validation apparatus and method

Claim 1

A gas turbine system having a compressor, a combustion system for receiving fuel and pressurized air from said compressor and for generating an annular hot gas stream, a turbine driven by the hot gas stream and operative to drive said compressor, an exhaust duct for exhausting said hot gas stream, means for controlling the operation of the gas turbine in response to various parameters of gas turbine operation including the temperature of the hot gas stream as sensed by a plurality of temperature sensors, said temperature sensors disposed in an annular array in said exhaust duct with the spacing between adjacent temperature sensors being generally equal and selected such that a temperature streak caused by a combustion system malfunction would affect at least two adjacent temperature sensors, and means for determining the validity of each temperature sensor reading prior to use by said controlling means, said validity determining means being operative to examine the temperature readings of temperature sensors that are adjacent to a particular temperature sensor having a reading which is outside of first predetermined bounds and for rejecting the reading from said particular temperature sensor when each said adjacent temperature sensor is within second predetermined bounds.