Development of Engine Control Unit for Gas Turbine Starter of Fighter Aircraft

The progress in the gas turbine field and advanced measuring techniques have been dramatically accelerated with the advent of modern control during the last two decades. In this scenario, this project is aimed at study and design of an Engine Control Unit (ECU) for a Turbo Shaft Gas Turbine Starter. The starter is used to start the main engine of a fighter aircraft. The ECU is a dual lane controller which controls the fuel flow to the Gas Turbine Starter engine to maintain its speed, temperatures and pressures in safe limits for proper starting of the main aero engine. It is a Microcontroller based Digital Electronic Control. It changes a 3-phase stepper motor position either in forward (clockwise) or backward (anticlockwise) direction which in turn modulates the fuel to the combustion chamber of the starter engine to maintain its structural parameters (rotor speed) and thermodynamic parameters (pressures and temperatures) within the specified limits for safe operation.