Characterization of Contact Kinematics and Application to the Design of Wedge Dampers in Turbomachinery Blading: Part 2—Prediction of Forced Response and Experimental Verification

Abstract

In the second part of this paper, the application of the proposed dual-interface model to the prediction of the forced response of a blade constrained by wedge dampers will be presented. When considering cyclic loading, the induced friction forces and contact normal loads are combined so as to determine the effective stiffness and damping of the friction interfaces over a cycle of motion. The harmonic balance method is then used to impose the approximate stiffness and damping of the friction interfaces to a linear structure model of the blade. This approach results in a set of nonlinear algebraic equations that can be solved to yield the forced response of the blade excited by harmonic external forces. The predicted forced response can then be used to optimize a given damper design, namely to determine the dynamic weight at which the maximum reduction of resonant response is obtained. In order to illustrate the capacity of the proposed method and to examine its accuracy, the forced response of a test beam is examined. The prediction is also compared with the results of lab tests to validate the proposed dual-interface friction force model.