Non-intrusive Stress Measurement System Research Articles

Relationship between Casing Pressure and Non-Synchronous Vibration in an Axial Compressor

The relationship between aerodynamic forcing and non-synchronous vibration (NSV) in axial compressors remains difficult to ascertain from experimental measurements. In this work, the relationship between casing pressure and blade vibration was investigated using experimental observations from a 1.5-stage axial compressor under off-design conditions. The wavenumber-dependent auto-spectral density (ASD) of casing pressure was introduced to aid in understanding the characteristics of pressure fluctuations that lead to the aeromechanical response. Specifically, the rotor blade’s natural frequencies and nodal diameters could be directly compared with the pressure spectra. This analysis indicated that the rotating disturbances coincided with the first bending (1B) and second bending (2B) vibration modes at certain frequencies and wavenumbers. The non-intrusive stress measurement system (NSMS) data showed elevated vibration amplitudes for the coincident nodal diameters. The amplitude of the wavenumber-dependent pressure spectra was projected onto the single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) transfer function and was compared with the measured vibration amplitude. The results showed a near-linear relationship between the pressure and vibration data.

Identification of Compressor Vibration Aerodynamic Forcing Mechanisms by Spectral Characteristics

Abstract Nonsynchronous vibration (NSV) in axial compressors can be caused either by (1) unsteady aerodynamic forces that are not related to motion of the blades or (2) motion-dependent aerodynamic forcing (e.g., flutter). Aerodynamic forcing mechanisms can be challenging to identify in experimental observations of NSV because the temporal vibration characteristics for both forcing mechanisms can appear similar. This work proposes a method for distinguishing between the two mechanisms using spectral characteristics. The method provides an interpretation of experimental data explicitly consistent with the analytical models used to differentiate between forced response and flutter. Two cases of NSV were observed in a 1.5-stage axial compressor at near-stall conditions. The circumferential wavenumber-dependent unsteady pressure spectra and nonintrusive stress measurement system (NSMS) spectra were observed to have distinct characteristics for the two NSV cases. Based on these distinct spectral characteristics, the first case was identified as blade-row aerodynamic forcing, while the second was identified as motion-dependent (flutter). Numerical simulations confirmed low aerodynamic damping at the conditions where flutter was observed.

Advanced Simulation Technologies and Testing Methodologies Applied in the Design and Development of Aero Gas Turbine Engines

An overview of Gas Turbine Engine Development, KAVERI, the power plant for the Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) and a description of the validated numerical tools, aerothermodynamic and mechanical test facilities of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) are presented. The KAVERI engine compressor, combustion system, turbine, analytical tools, blade heat transfer, exhaust system, Integrated Nozzle Actuation System (INAS), Non-intrusive Stress Measurement System (NSMS) and thermal paint tests are described in detail.

Mistuned Higher-Order Mode Forced Response of an Embedded Compressor Rotor—Part II: Mistuned Forced Response Prediction

This paper is the second part of a two-part paper that presents a comprehensive study of the higher-order mode (HOM) mistuned forced response of an embedded rotor blisk in a multistage axial research compressor. The resonant response of the second-stage rotor (R2) in its first chordwise bending (1CWB) mode due to the second harmonic of the periodic passing of its neighboring stators (S1 and S2) is investigated computationally and experimentally at three steady loading conditions in the Purdue three-stage compressor research facility. A nonintrusive stress measurement system (NSMS, or blade tip-timing) is used to measure the blade vibration. Two reduced-order mistuning models of different levels of fidelity are used, namely, the fundamental mistuning model (FMM) and the component mode mistuning (CMM), to predict the response. Although several modes in the 1CWB modal family appear in frequency veering and high modal density regions, they do not heavily participate in the response such that very similar results are produced by the FMM and the CMM models of different sizes. A significant response amplification factor of 1.5–2.0 is both measured and predicted, which is on the same order of magnitude of what was commonly reported for low-frequency modes. In this study, a good agreement between predictions and measurements is achieved for the deterministic analysis. This is complemented by a sensitivity analysis which shows that the mistuned system is highly sensitive to the discrepancies in the experimentally determined blade frequency mistuning.

Vibration based damage detection of rotor blades in a gas turbine engine

This paper describes the problems concerning turbine rotor blade vibration that seriously impact the structural integrity of a developmental aero gas turbine. Experimental determination of vibration characteristics of rotor blades in an engine is very important from fatigue failure considerations. The blades under investigation are fabricated from nickel base super alloy through directionally solidified investment casting process. The blade surfaces are coated with platinum aluminide for oxidation protection. A three dimensional finite element modal analysis on a bladed disk was performed to know the likely blade resonances for a particular design in the speed range of operation. Experiments were conducted to assess vibration characteristics of bladed disk rotor during engine tests. Rotor blade vibrations were measured using non-intrusive stress measurement system, an indirect method of blade vibration measurement utilizing blade tip timing technique. Abnormalities observed in the vibration characteristics of the blade tip timing data measured during engine tests were used to detect the blade damage. Upon disassembly of the engine and subsequent fluorescent penetrant inspection, it was observed that three blades of the rotor assembly were identified to have damaged. These are the blades that exhibited vibration abnormalities as a result of large resonant vibration response while engine tests. Further, fractographic analysis performed on the blades revealed the mechanism of blade failures as fatigue related. The root cause of blade failure is established to be high cycle fatigue from the engine run data history although the blades were put into service for just 6 h of engine operation.

Investigation of Flow Physics of Vane Clocking Effects on Rotor Resonant Response

Vane clocking is the circumferential indexing of adjacent vane rows with identical vane counts. Vane clocking affects tone noise propagation, performance, and forced response characteristics in compressors. Recent vane clocking experiments performed in the embedded stage of the Purdue 3-Stage Research Compressor showed significant differences in the rotor 2 resonant response depending on the clocking configuration of stator 1 and stator 2, as measured by a nonintrusive stress measurement system. This research is focused on computing the fluidstructure interaction observed in this experiment to gain further insight into the flow physics associated with vane clocking. AU3D, an implicit, unsteady, unstructured, compressible flow solver is used to compute the vane clocking effects on rotor 2 resonant response, and the results are compared with experimental data. While many have investigated vane clocking effects on unsteady blade loading, this is one of the few investigations focused on rotor resonance.