Analysis of engine blade chipping fault based on vibration and stress testing fusion

Abstract

The blades of aero-engines are one of the most vulnerable parts. They typically operate in harsh working environments, which may lead to blade failure. To extend the lifespan of the blades and ensure the proper operation of the aero-engine, monitoring the response levels of the blades during operation can be highly beneficial. For the two chipping events of the splitter blade in a centrifugal impeller of an aero-engine, vibration characteristics of blade chipping were obtained by analyzing the total vibration, time-domain waveforms, shaft orbit, and frequency spectrum of the vibration signal at the moment of blade chipping. Then, the failure mechanism of the blades was systematically analysed through vibration characteristic analysis, failure analysis, and stress distributing analysis. The results indicate that the root cause of the blade chipping was high-cycle fatigue failure induced by resonance.