Experimental Validation of Forced Response Methods in a Multi-Stage Axial Turbine

Abstract

Depending on the in service condition of jet engines, turbine blades may have to be replaced, refurbished, or repaired in the course of an engine overhaul. Thus, significant changes of the turbine blade geometry can be introduced due to regeneration and overhaul processes. Such geometric variances can affect the aerodynamic and aeroelastic behavior of turbine blades. One goal in the development of the regeneration process is to estimate the aerodynamic excitation of turbine blades depending on these geometric variances caused during the regeneration. Therefore, this study presents an experimentally validated comparison of two methods for the prediction of forced response in a multistage axial turbine. Two unidirectional fluid structure interaction (FSI) methods, a time-linearized and a time-accurate with a subsequent linear harmonic analysis, are employed and the results validated against experimental data. The results show that the vibration amplitude of the time-linearized method is in good agreement with the experimental data and, also requires lower computational time than the time-accurate FSI. Based on this result, the time-linearized method is used to perform a sensitivity study of the tip clearance size of the last rotor blade row of the five stage axial turbine. The results show that an increasing tip clearances size causes an up to 1.35 higher vibration amplitude compared to the reference case, due to increased forcing and decreased damping work.