Composite Propeller Blade Research Articles

Damage identification for UAV composite propeller blades based on transmissibility probabilistic distance and attention bidirectional temporal convolutional network

Damage identification of composite propeller blades is critical to the operational safety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The transmissibility function (TF) was employed to characterize the damage and its probabilistic distance was used to deal with the uncertainty problem. The damage indicator fusing multiple TFs in a specific frequency band was proposed to detect the blade damage. In addition, to localize the damage in the blade, an attentional bidirectional temporal convolutional network (ABiTCN) model was developed, in which the Squeezeand-Excitation (SE) attention module was introduced to enhance the model’s capability to learn critical features. The proposed method was investigated by numerical and experimental cases. The results showed that the proposed damage indicator has more sensitivity to weak damage and better robustness than the common indicator. The established ABiTCN model predicted the positions of the damages with 91.89 % accuracy, which outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy and convergence speed.

Damage-related imbalance identification for UAV composite propeller blades based on bidirectional temporal convolutional network and a flexible sensing system

Abstract Damage to the composite propeller blades could lead to rotational imbalance, which seriously affects the operational safety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), therefore, a novel method combining the Teager energy operator (TEO) and bidirectional temporal convolutional network (BiTCN) is proposed for detecting, localizing, and quantifying the damage-related imbalance in the blades. A flexible sensing system that contains Micro electro mechanical sensor accelerometers, signal conditioning, and wireless transmission is integrated with the composite propeller for in-situ signal acquisition of the propeller blades. TEO is applied to demodulate and enhance the pulse compositions in vibration signals and singular value decomposition (SVD) is employed to suppress random noise, resulting in denoised Teager energy spectrums for model input. Temporal convolutional network (TCN) has been widely used in sequence signal modeling because the causal dilated convolution could learn the context information of sequence signals while maintaining the advantages of parallel computing. To fully extract the signal features, BiTCN models are established to learn both the forward and backward signal features. Experimental verification results show that the proposed method detects the existence of imbalance with 100% accuracy, and the accuracies of localization and quantization are 99.65% and 98.61%, respectively, which are much higher than those of the models with the original signal as input. In addition, compared with the other four different algorithms, BiTCN is superior in terms of convergence speed and prediction accuracy.

Acoustic emission monitoring of composite marine propellers in submerged conditions using embedded piezoelectric sensors

Flexible composite marine propellers can aid the marine industry in reducing carbon emissions and underwater radiated noise pollution. The structural integrity of the blades can be assessed using structural health monitoring. One of these methods is the measurement and analysis of damage-induced acoustic emission signals. This paper experimentally investigates the feasibility of using embedded piezoelectric sensors for the measurement of acoustic emissions throughout a submerged flexible composite marine propeller blade. A full-scale glass-fibre reinforced polymer blade has been manufactured with 24 embedded sensors. While suspended in artificial seawater, acoustic emissions were simulated on the blade. The measurements show that the embedded piezoelectric sensors can measure acoustic emissions while the blade is submerged. Further, the distance from source to sensor over which the acoustic emission is measurable was investigated. For a noise level of 40 dB and a source amplitude of 70 dB between 100 and 250 kHz, an average maximum measurable distance of 124 mm was obtained. For higher frequencies, the distance drops and for lower noise levels the distance increases.

Acoustic emission monitoring of composite marine propeller blades using embedded piezoelectric sensors and hydrophones

The marine industry is increasingly considering the use of flexible composite marine propellers for their potential to reduce carbon emissions and underwater radiated noise. Given the early stage of development of flexible composite propellers, there are unknowns on their structural degradation. Structural health monitoring (SHM) can provide additional insight into the occurrence and propagation of degradation in these structures. A passive and lightweight method of SHM is the measurement and processing of acoustic emissions (AE) that are induced by different degradation mechanisms. The current research investigates the measurement of AE signals in composite marine propeller blades using embedded piezoelectric sensors. A full-scale glass-fibre polymer composite propeller blade is suspended in a tank filled with artificial seawater. The propeller blade contains 24 embedded piezoelectric sensors that were installed between laminas during manufacturing. Additionally, the tank includes an array of hydrophones for validation of the results. AE signals are simulated on the blade using underwater pencil lead breaks. The measured AE signals are assessed for their amplitude and frequency content. The results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring AE signals in composite marine propeller blades using embedded piezoelectric sensors and hydrophones.

Метод чисельного визначення динамічних характеристик лопаті повітряного гвинта з композиційного матеріалу

The subject matter of this article is the dynamic characteristics of a composite propeller blade. Determination of the modes and frequencies of natural vibrations is necessary to predict the dangerous resonance modes of aircraft engines and to identify the most stressed local zones of the blade surface. The goal of this study is to develop a verified method for determining the dynamic characteristics of composite rotor parts of aircraft engines based on the known properties of the structural components of the composite material. A general mathematical statement of the problem of elasticity theory for the analysis of the dynamic characteristics of composite structures is described. A complete system of equations that describes the mechanical state of the body within the framework of the continuum mechanics approach was developed. Geometric modeling of the propeller blades was performed. Modeling and numerical investigation of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the propeller blade were performed using the finite element method using the ANSYS software package. Based on the results of numerical research of the stressed and deformed state of the propeller blade, the first five natural vibration frequencies and the distribution of the local stress field were determined. The most stressed local zones on the blade surface were determined for each form of natural vibration. The propeller blade model was verified using an experimental study of the first five forms and frequencies of natural blade vibrations. The eigenfrequencies of the blade vibration were experimentally determined using the method of free (natural) vibrations. The resonance method was used to experimentally determine the resonant frequencies and vibration modes of the blade. The distribution of the blade deformation field was investigated using the strain gauge method. The highest error in the verification of numerical and experimental research is 4.11% for the fourth vibration frequency. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the results obtained is that the effective elastic properties of the composite material for calculations should be determined using the procedure of numerical homogenisation of composite materials of different reinforcement structures by the properties of the matrix and fibers. The method does not require experimental determination of the effective elastic constants for the layers of blade components of different weave architecture patterns.

Numerical analysis of the performance of a composite marine propeller blade subject to structural blade oscillations

High-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are conducted over the oscillating marine propeller blades to investigate the effects of blade oscillation on the unsteady flow behaviour as well as to analyse the performance of the composite marine propeller blades. The accuracy of the results is first verified against the reference experimental results. A nonlinear frequency-domain solution or harmonic solution method is also applied to this study, based on a high-fidelity LES model, in addition to the traditional time-domain solution method to investigate the capabilities of the frequency-domain method in predicting the unsteady flow parameters, vortex generation, and hydrodynamic damping to determine the stability of the propeller blades. Results obtained reveal that the oscillation of the blade has a great impact on the vortex generation process which could impose implications on the performance and structural integrity of the composite marine propeller blades.

Designing Composite Adaptive Propeller Blades with Passive Bend-Twist Deformation for Periodic-Load Variations Using Multiple Design Concepts.

Four plausible design concepts are applied together to investigate composite bend-twist propeller-blade designs that show high twisting per bending deflection. The design concepts are first explained on a simplified blade structure with limited unique geometric features to determine generalized principles for applying the considered design concepts. Then, the design concepts are applied to another propeller-blade geometry to obtain a bend-twist propeller-blade design that achieves a specific pitch change under an operational loading condition with a significant periodic-load variation. The final composite propeller design shows several times more bend-twist efficiency than other published bend-twist designs and shows a desirable pitch change during the periodic-load variation when loaded with a one-way fluid-structure-interaction-derived load case. The high pitch change suggests that the design would mitigate undesirable blade effects caused by load variations on the propeller during operation.

Experimental evaluation of the use of embedded fiber Bragg gratings to measure steady and unsteady flow-induced marine propeller blade deformation

This paper presents an experimental study that investigates the deformation of a composite propeller blade subjected to a uniform inflow. An array of fiber Bragg grating sensors were embedded inside the blade, allowing for real-time monitoring of strain. Measurements were carried out in the towing tank at Centrale Nantes, France. An original experimental setup was developed to support and fully submerge the blade in the hydrodynamic facility, which reduced the effect of the free surface during testing. The blade, with a root chord of 0.3 m and a span of 0.5 m, was instrumented with embedded fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors on both the pressure and suction sides to measure the deformation field. The FBG measurements were dynamically synchronized with a six degree-of-freedom hydrodynamic balance to measure the loads and moments on the blade. Visualizations of the boundary layer regime were observed to determine the flow detachment regions at the surface. The carriage velocities utilized were between 1 and 4m/s and the angle of attack of the blade, based on the zero-lift angle of attack, ranged between 0 to 12∘. After determining the natural frequencies and modes of the blade using laser doppler vibrometry, the forces and deformations were investigated under hydrodynamic flow for both averaged and unsteady data. For averaged results, a good correlation is observed between the lift force and deformations, which demonstrates the accuracy of the measurement system. The fluid–structure interaction dynamic is analyzed using the frequency spectra of drag, lift, pitching moment, and deformations. The interaction between Strouhal frequencies of vortex shedding resulting from flow detachments at the blade surface is identified with the flow visualization, and the modal response of the blade is demonstrated.

Mechanical Characterization and Static Analysis of Natural Fiber Based Composite Propeller Blade

Mechanical Characterization and Static Analysis of Natural Fiber Based Composite Propeller Blade

A computational iterative design method for bend-twist deformation in composite ship propeller blades for thrusters

Abstract This study investigates the feasibility of utilising common composite material layup techniques in ship propeller blade design to achieve an automatic pitch adjustment through bending-induced twist deformation. A comprehensive design approach, including various reinforcement materials and arrangements, was employed to attain the desired foil pitching, while minimising other undesirable deformation modes. The design process involved iterative computational analysis using finite element analysis and a deformation mode analysis based on foil shape parameters. The research showed that the proposed design approach effectively found options to improve the desired foil parameter pitch, while minimising undesirable deformation modes such as blade deflection and foil shape change. Furthermore, the proposed blade design was tested in thruster steering operational conditions and was found to have a pitch change well matched, potentially countering some changes in fluid flow. When compared to Kumar and Wurm’s design, which only focused on the angular orientation of glass reinforcement, the proposed design was found to outperform the twisting by achieving the same twist for a blade half the length. This study provides valuable insights into the utilisation of composite materials in ship propeller design and highlights the potential for further improvement through a composite engineering design approach.

Automated manufacture of optimised shape-adaptive composite hydrofoils with curvilinear fibre paths for improved bend-twist performance

Composite marine propellers improve hydrodynamic efficiency by inducing bend-twist coupling and allowing for passive pitch changes. One critical limitation, however, is the extent to which a composite propeller blade can deform and cause a pitch change without incurring structural failure. Recent numerical studies showed that curvilinear tows could improve the structural response of a composite blade by lowering its deflection or stress and strain required to induce a pitch change, but no experimental validation has been carried out before. The current study, thus, presents the manufacture of composite sandwich hydrofoils made with steered tows using automated fibre placement and validates the curvilinear tow benefits. Two hydrofoils were optimised with straight and curved fibre path layups, respectively and were manufactured for mechanical testing. The manufacturing complications arising from steering curvilinear tows in a three-dimensional convex mould are also discussed in the paper. The study found that significant tow buckling occurred near the tool cavity edge due to excessive steering radius during manufacture. The follow-up structural cantilevered tests showed that the experimental results were consistent with the FE predictions despite the presence of some manufacturing defects. The experiment agreed that the hydrofoil manufactured with curved tows achieved a similar tip twist but a significant reduction in deflection and critical principal strains compared to the hydrofoil made with straight tows. The use of a foam core reduced the overall weight of the sandwich hydrofoils by about 25% compared to that of a fully-carbon composite hydrofoil, and the numerical analysis showed that the core shear failure induced by transverse shear stresses was unlikely to occur.

Modeling and Optimization of Manufacturing Processes of the Hybrid Composite Propeller Blade

Modeling and Optimization of Manufacturing Processes of the Hybrid Composite Propeller Blade

Feasibility evaluation for development of composite propellers with embedded piezoelectric sensors

Marine propellers made of fibre-reinforced composites have demonstrated the potential to outperform metallic propellers in terms of efficiency and under-water noise radiation. For full realisation of this potential in a tailored design process with realistic constraints, accurate information on the hydrodynamic loads acting on composite marine propellers and the structural integrity is of key importance. It is conceptualised that this information can be acquired without disturbing propeller hydrodynamics using a network of piezoelectric sensors embedded inside the blade. In this paper, feasibility of this concept has been investigated numerically and experimentally. Hydrodynamic loads on a composite propeller obtained from numerical simulations were used to assess the sensitivity of piezoelectric sensors in measuring the dynamic strain field due to the blade deformation. Subsequently, 25 small-scale carbon-epoxy composite samples were manufactured with embedded piezoelectric wafer sensors of different sizes, and subjected to non-destructive and destructive loading scenarios. Feasibility of measuring strains at different frequency ranges and damage-induced acoustic emissions was quantitatively assessed from these experiments. Furthermore, the influence of the embedded sensors on the ultimate strength and toughness of the specimens was investigated. It was found that at least 92% of the studied propeller blade would have dynamic strains measurable up to the first four harmonics by the considered piezoelectric sensors. In a four-point bending setup, it was additionally demonstrated that the embedded piezoelectric sensor captured damage-induced acoustic emissions up to specimen failure with an average signal to noise ratio of 17 dB. The results indicate that embedded piezoelectric sensor networks can have the capability to measure both low-frequency dynamic strains in composite marine propeller blades and damage-related acoustic emissions.

Stochastic finite element analysis of composite cycloidal propeller blade during crash-stop ship maneuver

This article quantifies uncertainty in the dynamic responses of marine cycloidal propeller (MCP) blade by Stochastic Finite Element Method (SFEM) during crash-stop ship maneuver. Stopping a ship in an emergency is known as crash-stop astern maneuver. A MCP contains a horizontal circular metallic disc on which six aerofoil blades are hung vertically. All blades are made up of carbon fiber-reinforced composite laminates. Uncertainty in ship speed and composite material properties are propagated to find out the statistical response of natural frequencies, displacement, and stresses on the blade. SFEM is a combination of Stochastic Response Surface Method (SRSM) and Finite Element Method (FEM). SRSM is a collocation-based non-intrusive polynomial chaos expansion to transform any random distribution into a stochastic response surface equation (surrogate model). During ship maneuvering motion, the whole unit rotates about a vertical axis at the centre. For each rotation of the disc, all blades undergo periodic oscillations. The SRSM for uncertainty propagation is computationally more efficient than the standard Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) technique without compromising the accuracy of the results. It is observed that uncertainty in vibration responses of MCP blade is significant and worth study.

Experimental Verification of the Elastic Response in a Numeric Model of a Composite Propeller Blade with Bend Twist Deformation.

Adaptive composite propeller blades showing bend twist behaviour have received increasing interest from hydrodynamic and structural engineers. When exposed to periodic loading conditions, such propellers can be designed to have higher energy efficiency and emit less noise and vibration than conventional propellers. This work describes a method to produce an adaptive composite propeller blade and how a point load experiment can verify the predicted elastic response in the blade. A 600 mm-long hollow full-size blade was built and statically tested in the laboratory. Finite element modelling predicted a pitch angle change under operational load variable loads of 0.55°, a geometric change that notably compensates for the load cases. In the laboratory experiment, the blade was loaded at two points with increasing magnitude. The elastic response was measured with digital image correlation and strain gauges. Model predictions and experimental measurements showed the same deformation patterns, and the twist angle agreed within 0.01 degrees, demonstrating that such propellers can be successfully built and modelled by finite element analysis.

Hydrodynamic characteristics of marine composite propeller blade using a numerical approach

<p>The aim of the present research work is to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics (pressure distribution, rotational speed, thrust and torque) of the conventional B-series composite propeller blade. The open water efficiency for the scaled model of composite propeller blade is computed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fluent simulation tool. The obtained numerical results show that the propeller will operate at optimum efficiency for the given speed condition and perform with reduced efficiency at other operational speeds. The computed responses are also validated with the standard B-series data which verifies the accuracy and robustness of the present numerical approach in analyzing the performance characteristics of propellers. The deviation in solution ranges from 5 to 15% in the case of thrust, 10-20% in case of torque. Pressure estimation is usually quite accurate with a 5-8% variation. The tabular data of pressure distribution over the propeller blade may be used for further structural analysis</p>

Curved fibre path optimisation for improved shape adaptive composite propeller blade design

The propulsive efficiency of a shape adaptive composite propeller increases with passive pitch (twist) change under a hydrodynamic load. These adaptive marine propellers are usually designed using straight fibre tows to obtain optimised layup with such bend-twist character. This paper aims to present an alternative optimisation approach for such composite propellers using a curved fibre path method where tow paths are allowed to vary spatially within individual plies. In this work, three optimisation studies were performed to highlight that employing curved tows produce better results, including increased twist change for efficiency or, lowered deflection for structural improvements. Laminate plates were first optimised and manufactured using an automated fibre placement robot for experimental validation. Cantilevered loading test results show that optimised curved fibre plates generated >10% more twist compared to their straight fibre counterparts. In the following optimisation on a hydrofoil model, the curved fibre design produced the same tip angle change as the optimised straight fibre layup, yet it reduced the tip deflection by 15%. Finally, the optimisation was performed on a Wageningen B-series marine propeller, in which the optimised blade design with curved fibre layup achieved a 20% reduction in the Tsai-Hill failure index under the same pitch change.

Improving the propulsion performance of composite propellers under off-design conditions

Pre-deformation design can improve the propulsive efficiency of composite ship propellers under off-design conditions, where propulsive efficiency is related to the geometry of the propeller blade. Material attributes affect the deformation of composite propeller blades, suggesting that these also affect the propulsive efficiency of a pre-deformed composite propeller (PDCP) under off-design conditions. In this study, the hydrodynamic performance and structural response of composite propellers were determined and verified using computational fluid dynamics and the finite element method. The effects of elastic and shear moduli on propulsive efficiency and structural deformation were analyzed, and the influences of changing material attributes and propeller advance ratios were compared. Based on existing propeller theories, an objective function was proposed for selecting the most suitable material attribute scheme for the DTNSRDC 4383 propeller, from 18 different materials. Such a selection allows for an optimization of the comprehensive propulsive efficiency of a composite propeller through pre-deformation design. The results show that when the PDCP has an elastic modulus E = 135 GPa and a shear modulus G = 2.07 GPa, it exhibits optimal comprehensive propulsive efficiency. The findings of this study can be used in the design of composite propellers to maximize performance under a broad range of working conditions.

Development of Composite Propeller Blade Model for High Velocity Impacts on Aircraft Fuselage using Finite Element Analysis

An open rotor blade failure and release event can result in a high energy impact on an aircraft fuselage that can reduce the strength of the structure and challenge the safe continuation of the flight and landing. This work highlights the development of a numerical approach and methodology in order to improve the assessment of the damage predictions of a composite propeller blade impact against the fuselage of an aircraft to be able to estimate a minimum thickness of shielding for the full protection of the airframe. A number of dynamic simulations were carried out, from rigid up to deformable and frangible projectiles at different angles of incidence, varying the material and the thicknesses using Abaqus/Explicit. The finite element (FE) models for blade and target were calibrated and validated separately allowing to capture the right behavior and failure modes. Impact tests of partial blade fragments against stiffened composite panels were correlated with simulations and the obtained results show a good agreement regarding deformations and delaminated area. Finally, a full blade FE model was generated and used for the fuselage impact numerical analysis. This was done within the frame of the Open Rotor project funded by Clean Sky European research programme.

Finite element modelling and model updating of small scale composite propellers

The application of composite materials in marine propellers is a relatively recent innovation. Methods have been presented to analyse the hydro-elastic behaviour of these type of propellers and in some studies these methods have been validated as well. Differences between measured and predicted responses are typically explained from inaccuracies in structural or fluid modelling. It is beyond all doubt that for an accurate finite element (FE) model a correct modelling of the fibre orientations and material properties is required. Both subjects are addressed in this work. An approach is presented in order to accurately define the element dependent fibre orientations in doubly curved geometries like (marine) propeller blades. In order to improve the structural response prediction this paper presents an inverse method based on experimental and numerical results which can be used for structural identification and FE model updating. In the developed approach the residual between measurement results obtained with static experiments and results obtained with an FE model is minimized by adapting the stiffness properties in the FE calculation. This method has been successfully applied to two small scale composite propellers. The obtained material properties have been determined with a relatively high confidence level. A verification by means of measured and calculated eigenfrequencies show also that accurate results are obtained with the inverse method. Therefore, this paper gives a positive answer on the research question whether it is possible to determine the stiffness properties of small scale composite marine propeller blades from a static experimental data.