Experimental Study of Blade Vibration in Centrifugal Compressors

Abstract

Blade vibration in turbomachinery is a common problem that can lead to blade failure by high cycle fatigue. Although much research has been performed on axial flow turbomachinery, little has been published for radial flow machines such as centrifugal compressors and radial inflow turbines. This work develops a test rig that measures the resonant vibration of centrifugal compressor blades. The blade vibrations are caused by the wakes coming from the inlet guide vanes. These vibrations are measured using blade mounted strain gauges during a rotating test. The total damping of the blade response from the rotating test is compared to the damping from the modal testing performed on the impeller. The mode shapes of the response and possible effects of mistuning are also discussed. The results show that mistuning can affect the phase cancellation which one would expect to see on a system with perfect cyclic symmetry.