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Methods and systems for operating a gas turbine engine system are provided. The system includes a gas turbine engine that includes at least one combustor configured to receive a flow of fuel from a flow control device and a fuel control system. The fuel control system includes a piping system config

Methods and systems for operating a gas turbine engine system are provided. The system includes a gas turbine engine that includes at least one combustor configured to receive a flow of fuel from a flow control device and a fuel control system. The fuel control system includes a piping system configured to channel the flow of fuel from a fuel source to the flow control device, a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a property of the flow of fuel wherein the property of the flow of fuel is variable over time, and a controller including a processor. The processor is programmed to receive the generated signal, using a flow model of the piping system and the received signal, iteratively track the progress of a plurality of discrete volumes flowing through the piping system, and control the flow of fuel using the flow control devices.

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1. A gas turbine engine system comprising: a gas turbine engine comprising at least one combustor configured to receive a flow of fuel from a flow control device; anda fuel control system comprising: a piping system configured to channel the flow of fuel from a fuel source to the flow control device

1. A gas turbine engine system comprising: a gas turbine engine comprising at least one combustor configured to receive a flow of fuel from a flow control device; anda fuel control system comprising: a piping system configured to channel the flow of fuel from a fuel source to the flow control device;a sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a property of the flow of fuel wherein the property of the flow of fuel is variable over time; anda controller comprising a processor programmed to: receive the generated signal;using a flow model of the piping system and the received signal, iteratively track the progress of a plurality of discrete volumes flowing through the piping system, said flow model comprising a one-dimensional linear control volume divided into a plurality of control volume elements, wherein the number of control volume elements define the flow model mesh; andcontrol the flow of fuel using the flow control devices. 2. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the number of control volume elements in the one-dimensional linear control volume is determined using: # Elements=(Vtot/Qmin*Δt), whereQmin=Min possible volumetric flow rate of the fluid, [ft3/sec]Vtot=Total control system volume, [ft3]Δt=Model time step, [sec]. 3. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said control volume elements each correspond to a respective element in a one dimensional array. 4. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is further programmed to determine a linear distance traveled by the control volume elements during a time step of the flow model using a volumetric flow rate of the flow of fuel at the time step, the cross-sectional area of the piping system, and the flow model time step. 5. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flow model comprises a one-dimensional matrix wherein each matrix element includes a property of the corresponding control volume element. 6. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said processor is further programmed to update a single element of the one dimensional array during each scan of the controller. 7. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processor is further programmed to determine a physical property of the flow of fuel automatically at each model time step. 8. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the physical property of the flow of fuel comprises a moisture content of the fuel. 9. A gas turbine engine system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the processor is further programmed to maintain a boundary of each control volume element using a linear distance traveled of the element through the flow model. 10. A computer-implemented method of operating a gas turbine engine having a fuel control system including a piping system and a fuel flow control device, said method comprising: receiving a signal indicative of a property of a flow of fuel at an inlet to the piping system;modeling at least a portion of the piping system using a one-dimensional matrix divided into a plurality of control volume elements, wherein the number of control volume elements define the flow model mesh;determining a property of the flow of fuel at the flow control device using the received signal and the model; andautomatically controlling at least one of a flow of fuel and a fuel split using the determined property. 11. A method in accordance with claim 10 wherein modeling at least a portion of the piping system comprises dividing the piping system into a plurality of control volume elements. 12. A method in accordance with claim 11 wherein modeling at least a portion of the piping system comprises: determining a linear distance traveled by the control volume elements during a time step of the flow model using a volumetric flow rate of the flow of fuel at the time step, the cross-sectional area of the piping system, and the flow model time step;updating a one-dimensional boundary matrix wherein each boundary value is incremented by the determined linear distance traveled;shifting each element of the boundary matrix by one place in the matrix, the shifting simulating the corresponding control volume element moving though the piping system;updating a fluid property matrix such that a determined property of the flow of fluid is tracked through the piping system in real-time, wherein a single element of each matrix is updated in a single scan of the computer;controlling the flow of fuel using the updated matrices. 13. A method in accordance with claim 10 modeling at least a portion of the piping system comprises tracking the progress of a discrete volume of fuel through the piping system using one or more matrices that are iteratively updated during each scan of the computer. 14. A fuel control system comprising: a fuel inlet configured to admit a flow of fuel into the fuel control system;a fuel piping system coupled in flow communication with said fuel inlet;at least one flow control device configured to modulate flow to one or more injection points in a fuel control system load, said at least one flow control device coupled in flow communication with said fuel inlet through said fuel piping system;an input device configured to transmit a signal indicative of a property of a flow of fuel entering said fuel inlet; anda controller programmed to: scan a plurality of logic circuits at a predetermined scan rate;receive a signal from the input device indicative of a property of the flow of fuel;using a flow model comprising a plurality of one-dimensional matrices and the transmitted signal, track the progress of the flow of fuel through the fuel piping system in real-time, said flow model comprising a one-dimensional linear control volume divided into a plurality of control volume elements, wherein the number of control volume elements define the flow model mesh; andautomatically control at least one of the low of fuel and a fuel split using the tracked flow of fuel to facilitate permitting a relatively large variation in the fuel property. 15. A fuel control system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said plurality of one-dimensional matrices comprises a distance matrix, boundary matrix, and a property matrix. 16. A fuel control system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said controller is further configured to update said boundary matrix after a predetermined time step, the time step representing a linear distance the flow of fuel has traveled in the piping system, each element of the boundary matrix is shifted to a next sequential element and a boundary value in the shifted element is incremented by the linear traveled distance. 17. A fuel control system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said controller is further configured to update said property matrix after a predetermined time step, the time step representing a linear distance the flow of fuel has traveled in the piping system, each element of the property matrix is shifted to a next sequential element and a current fuel property at the fuel inlet is inserted into the first element in the property matrix. 18. A fuel control system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said controller is further programmed to update the value of a single element in each matrix during each scan of the controller. 19. A fuel control system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said controller is further programmed to initialize each matrix containing n elements, the controller updating each matrix starting at the n−1 element and iteratively progressing to the first element.