From "Mechanical Hydraulic" to "Digital Brain": A Review of Gas Turbine Electronic Control System Architecture and Protection Mechanisms

The electronic control system of a gas turbine is the core component that determines the unit's safety, economy, and reliability. From the perspective of electronic and electrical engineering, this paper systematically reviews the four-layer engineering framework of modern heavy-duty gas turbine control systems: sensing and instrumentation, embedded control, power electronics and actuation, and protection and communication. It focuses on the analysis of signal chain design (4–20 mA current loop, 2-out-of-3 voting, TMR redundancy), DPU architecture, PID and cascade control strategies, hardwired protection mechanisms (separation of TPS and control layer), and synchronization and grid connection logic. On this basis, this paper reviews the autonomous development path of China's heavy-duty gas turbine control systems. The research shows that advancements in control technology, from mechanical hydraulics to fully digital control and the industrial adoption of FADEC concepts, continuously expand the performance boundaries of gas turbines, meanwhile, signal integrity, protection independence, and system redundancy are critical issues that cannot be ignored in engineering implementation.