Interface Reduction in Craig-Bampton Component Mode Synthesis by Orthogonal Polynomial Series

The component mode synthesis based on the Craig-Bampton method has two strong limitations that appear when the number of the interface degrees of freedom is large. First, the reduced-order model obtained is overweighed by many unnecessary degrees of freedom. Second, the reduction step may become extremely time consuming. Several interface reduction techniques addressed successfully the former problem, while the latter remains open. In this paper we tackle this latter problem through a simple interface-reduction technique based on an a-priory choice of the interface modes. An efficient representation of the interface displacement field is achieved adopting a set of orthogonal basis functions determined by the interface geometry. The proposed method is compared with other existing interface reduction methods on a case study regarding a rotor blade of an axial compressor.

On the Importance of Engine-Representative Models for Fan Flutter Predictions

This paper examines the factors which can result in discrepancies between rig tests and numerical predictions of the flutter boundary for fan blades. Differences are usually attributed to the deficiency of CFD models for resolving the flow at off-design conditions. This work was initiated as a result of inconsistencies between the flutter prediction of two rig fan blades, called here Fan F1 and Fan F2. The numerical results agreed well with the test data in terms of flutter speed and nodal diameter for both fans. However, they predicted a significantly higher flutter margin for F2 than for Fan F1, while rig tests showed that the two blades had similar flutter margins. A new set of flutter computations for both blades using the whole LP domain (intake, fan, OGV and ESS) was therefore performed. The new set of computations considered the effects of the acoustic liner and mistuning for both blades. The results of this work indicate that the previous discrepancies between CFD and tests were due to: 1. Differences in the effectiveness of the acoustic liner in attenuating the pressure wave created by the blade vibration as a result of differences in flutter frequencies between the two fan blades. 2. Differences in the level of unintentional mistuning of the two fan blades due to manufacturing tolerances. In the second part of this research, the effects of blade misstaggering and inlet temperature on aerodynamic damping were investigated. The data presented in this paper clearly show that manufacturing and environmental uncertainties can play an important role in the flutter stability of a fan blade. They demonstrate that aeroelastic similarity is not necessarily achieved if only aerodynamic properties and the traditional aeroelastic parameters, reduced frequency and mass ratio, are maintained. This emphasises the importance of engine-representative models, in addition to an accurate and validated CFD code, for the reliable prediction of the flutter boundary.

Analysis of the Effect of Multi-Row and Multi-Passage Aerodynamic Interaction on the Forced Response Variation in a Compressor Configuration: Part 2 — Effects of Additional Structural Mistuning

The prediction of aerodynamic blade forcing is a very important topic in turbomachinery design. Usually, the wake from the upstream blade row and the potential field from the downstream blade row are considered as the main causes for excitation, which in conjunction with relative rotation of neighboring blade rows, give rise to dynamic forcing of the blades. In addition to those two mechanisms so-called Tyler-Sofrin (or scattered or spinning) modes, which refer to the acoustic interaction with blade rows further up- or downstream, may have a significant impact on blade forcing. In particular, they lead to considerable blade-to-blade variations of the aerodynamic loading. In part 1 of the paper a study of these effects is performed on the basis of a quasi 3D multi-row and multi-passage compressor configuration. Part 2 of the paper proposes a method to analyze the interaction of the aerodynamic forcing asymmetries with the already well-studied effects of random mistuning stemming from blade-to-blade variations of structural properties. Based on a finite element model of a sector, the equations governing the dynamic behavior of the entire bladed disk can be efficiently derived using substructuring techniques. The disk substructure is assumed as cyclically symmetric, while the blades exhibit structural mistuning and linear aeroelastic coupling. In order to avoid the costly multi-stage analysis, the variation of the aerodynamic loading is treated as an epistemic uncertainty, leading to a stochastic description of the annular force pattern. The effects of structural mistuning and stochastic aerodynamic forcing are first studied separately and then in a combined manner for a blisk of a research compressor without and with aeroelastic coupling.

Unsteady Pressure Measurement on Oscillating Blade in Transonic Flow Using Fast-Response Pressure-Sensitive Paint

A fast-response pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique was applied to the measurement of unsteady surface pressure of an oscillating cascade blade in a transonic flow. A linear cascade was used, and its central blade was oscillated in a translational manner. The unsteady pressure distributions of the oscillating blade and two stationary neighbors were measured using the fast-response PSP technique, and the unsteady aerodynamic force on the blade was obtained by integrating the data obtained on the pressures. The measurements made with the PSP technique were compared with those obtained by conventional methods for the purpose of validation. From the results, the PSP technique was revealed to be capable of measuring the unsteady surface pressure, which is used for flutter analysis in transonic conditions.

An Explicit-Implicit Time Integration Approach for Finite Element Evaluation of Engine Load Following an FBO Event

Engine fan blade-off (FBO) is an extreme event that could well place the flight safety at risk. When it happens, the engine will experience high-velocity impact at first, and then enter into a “high-power” stage due to huge unbalance before coming to a steady state called “windmilling”. The analytical process for FBO can be split into two phases, one for impact simulation and the other for obtaining the FBO load to pylon. Typically, explicit method with fine mesh finite elements is used in the first phase, and implicit method with coarse meshes is adopted in the second one. In most cases, the only connection between these two analyses may be the unbalance level caused by FBO. More structural responses other than the unbalance level due to fan blade impact are actually ignored in the succeeding implicit analysis. Attempts have been made by Boeing, GE and MSC to integrate these two processes by adding some features in MD Nastran. Yet the intermediate binary files created and the restricted input entries make the integration process quite inflexible. This paper introduces an explicit-implicit time integration approach for finite element analysis of engine load following an FBO event. The proposed method attempts to connect the two stages more closely, yet in a more flexible manner. In this approach, the engine structural response under FBO obtained from explicit analysis is transferred to the implicit analysis, together with the unbalance level caused by blade loss. The necessity of the approach is discussed, and sensitivity analysis is conducted to understand the factors that play significant roles in the approach. As the models for explicit and implicit analyses are different in mesh sizes and scales, the authors also develop a tool that can interpolate the load information and further, smooth it to fit calculation. Finally, the approach is tested on a full engine model to show its applicability and advantages over the traditional method for load evaluation of FBO event.

Subsynchronous Vibration Patterns Under Reduced Oil Supply Flow Rates

Many high-speed, rotating machines across a wide range of industrial applications depend on fluid film bearings to provide both static support of the rotor and to introduce stabilizing damping forces into the system through a developed hydrodynamic film wedge. Reduced oil supply flow rate to the bearings can cause cavitation, or a lack of a fully developed film layer, at the leading edge of the bearing pads. Reducing oil flow has the well-documented effects of higher bearing operating temperatures and decreased power losses due to shear forces. While machine efficiency may be improved with reduced lubricant flow, little experimental data on its effects on system stability and performance can be found in the literature. This study looks at overall system performance of a test rig operating under reduced oil supply flow rates by observing steady-state bearing performance indicators and baseline vibrational response of the shaft. The test rig used in this study was designed to be dynamically similar to a high-speed industrial compressor. It consists of a 1.55 m long, flexible rotor supported by two tilting pad bearings with a nominal diameter of 70 mm and a span of 1.2 m. The first bending mode is located at approximately 5,000 rpm. The tiling-pad bearings consist of five pads in a vintage, flooded bearing housing with a length to diameter ratio of 0.75, preload of 0.3, and a load-between-pad configuration. Tests were conducted over a number of operating speeds, ranging from 8,000 to 12,000 rpm, and bearing loads, while systematically reducing the oil supply flow rates provided to the bearings under each condition. For nearly all operating conditions, a low amplitude, broadband subsynchronous vibration pattern was observed in the frequency domain from approximately 0–75 Hz. When the test rig was operated at running speeds above its first bending mode, a distinctive subsynchronous peak emerged from the broadband pattern at approximately half of the running speed and at the first bending mode of the shaft. This vibration signature is often considered a classic sign of rotordynamic instability attributed to oil whip and shaft whirl phenomena. For low and moderate load conditions, the amplitude of this 0.5x subsynchronous peak increased with decreasing oil supply flow rate at all operating speeds. Under the high load condition, the subsynchronous peak was largely attenuated. A discussion on the possible sources of this subsynchronous vibration including self-excited instability and pad flutter forced vibration is provided with supporting evidence from thermoelastohydrodynamic (TEHD) bearing modeling results. Implications of reduced oil supply flow rate on system stability and operational limits are also discussed.

Design and Analysis of an Intentional Mistuning Experiment Reducing Flutter Susceptibility and Minimizing Forced Response of a Jet Engine Fan

Recent demands for a reduction of specific fuel consumption of jet engines have been opposed by increasing propulsive efficiency with higher bypass ratios and increased engine sizes. At the same time the challenge for the engine development is to design safe and efficient fan blades of high aspect ratios. Since the fan is the very first rotor stage, it experiences significant distortions in the incoming flow depending on the operating conditions. Flow distortions do not only lead to a performance and stall margin loss but also to remarkable low engine order (LEO) excitation responsible for forced vibrations of fundamental modes. Additionally, fans of jet engines typically suffer from stall flutter, which can be additionally amplified by reflections of acoustic pressure waves at the intake. Stall flutter appears before approaching the stall line on the fan’s characteristic and limits its stable operating range. Despite the fact that this “flutter bite” usually affects only a very narrow speed range, it reduces the overall margin of safe operation significantly. With increasing aspect ratios of ultra-high bypass ratio jet engines the flutter susceptibility will probably increase further and emphasizes the importance of considering aeromechanical analyses early in the design phase of future fans. This paper aims at proving that intentional mistuning is able to remove the flutter bite of modern jet engine fans without raising issues due to heavily increased forced vibrations induced by LEO excitation. Whereas intentional mistuning is an established technology in mitigating flutter, it is also known to amplify the forced response. However, recent investigations considering aeroelastic coupling revealed that under specific circumstances mistuning can also reduce the forced response due to engine order excitation. In order to allow a direct comparison and to limit costs as well as effort at the same time, the intentional mistuning is introduced in a non-destructive way by applying heavy paint to the blades. Its impact on the blade’s natural frequencies is estimated via finite element models with an additional paint layer. In parallel, this procedure is experimentally verified with painted fan blades in the laboratory. A validated SNM (subset of nominal system modes) representation of the fan is used as a computational model to characterize its mistuned vibration behavior. Its validation is done by comparing mistuned mode shape envelopes and frequencies of an experimental modal analysis at rest with those obtained by the updated computational model. In order to find a mistuning pattern minimizing the forced response of mode 1 and 2 at the same time and satisfying stability and imbalance constraints, a multi-objective optimization has been carried out. Finally, the beneficial properties of the optimized mistuning pattern are verified in a rig test of the painted rotor.

New Step to Improve the Accuracy of Blade Synchronous Vibration Parameters Identification Based on Combination of GARIV and LM Algorithm

Generally, turbine blade vibration can be divided into asynchronous vibration and synchronous vibration. Comparing to parameters identification of asynchronous vibration, that of the synchronous vibration is more difficult and needs more sensors. The applicability of the synchronous identification method is more stringent than that of asynchronous identification method. A new method is presented to identify the blade synchronous vibration parameters based on the blade tip-timing (BTT) method and previous achievements in this region. Here, the parameters, such as the frequency of harmonic resonance center, blade vibration amplitude and the initial phase, are obtained by the nonlinear least square fitting algorithm based on relationships between the rotation speed and the blade tip displacement. We call this way as sweep frequency fitting (SFF) method. As the blade is operated at a constant speed that is near the frequency of resonance center, the blade vibration displacement can be obtained by the sensors at different positions, so the blade synchronous vibration Engine Order (EO) can be obtained by the global autoregressive with instrumental variables (GARIV) method. Furthermore the Campbell diagram of blade synchronous vibration can be plotted by the parameters obtained by GARIV method and SFF method. In the experimental study, the parameter identification of blade synchronous vibration is completed and the Campbell diagram of blade vibration is accurately plotted under the excitation of six magnets. Meanwhile, the experimental study and analysis on the harmonic vibration of blade with different numbers of excitation are carried out. The relative deviation of the dynamic frequency of blade between the experimental result and simulation result is less than 1%.

Vibration Response Analysis of Mistuned Bladed Disk With Under-Platform Damper: Effect of Variation of Contact Condition on Vibration Characteristics

Blades with a friction damper have been used in a steam turbine and a gas turbine to improve the blade reliability. In particular, for a gas turbine blade of the upstream stage, under-platform dampers have been widely used, where the damper pieces with various geometries are inserted into the platforms of the adjacent blades. The damper piece is designed so that its surface contacts the platform surface uniformly. However, the contact conditions of the damper piece (in other words, the equivalent stiffness and the damping caused by the damper piece) may change appreciably blade by blade because of the likes of manufacturing tolerance, blade deformation in operation, and wear of the damper piece. Therefore, it is essential to consider the mistuning effect caused by the variation of the contact condition of the damper piece in evaluating the vibration response of the bladed disk with the under-platform damper. In this study, a mistuned bladed disk with under-platform dampers is represented by the equivalent spring-mass model. Frequency response analysis and random response analysis are carried out using the direct method and Monte Carlo simulation. Carrying out an extensive parametric study, the effect of the variation of the contact condition caused by the damper piece on the vibration response of the bladed disk is clarified.

Lateral Equilibrium Position Analysis Program With Applications to Electric Submersible Pumps

The long length of sub-sea Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) requires a large amount of annular seals. Loading caused by gravity and housing curvature changes the Static Equilibrium Position (SEP) of the rotor in these seals. This analysis predicts the SEP due to gravity and/or well curvature loading. The analysis also interfaces displays the rotordynamics around the SEP. A static and rotordynamic analysis is presented for a previously studied ESP model. This study differs by first finding the SEP and then performing a rotordynamic analysis about the SEP. Predictions are shown in a horizontal and a vertical orientation. In these two configurations, viscosities and clearances are varied through 4 cases: 1X 1cP, 3X 1cP, 1X 30cP, and 3X 30cP. In a horizontal, straight-housing position, the model includes gravity and buoyancy on the shaft. At 1cP-1X and 1cP-3X, the horizontal statics show a moderate eccentricity ratio for the shaft with respect to the housing. With 30cP-1X, the predicted static eccentricity ratio is low at 0.08. With 30cP-3X, the predicted eccentricity ratio increases to 0.33. Predictions for a vertical case of the same model are also presented. The curvature of the housing is varied in the Y-Z plane until rub or close-to-wall rub is expected. The curvature needed for a rub with a 1X 1cP fluid is 7.5 degrees of curvature. Curvature has little impact on stability. With both 1X 30cP and 3X 30cP, the maximum curvature for a static rub are over 25 degrees of curvature. Both 1X 30cP and 3X 30cP remain unstable with increasing curvature.