The blade tip timing (BTT) method uses the differential arrival timings of the blades at case-mounted sensors to effectively characterize the vibrations of all blades in a rotor. This paper studies the use of the BTT method for pre-emptive prediction of rotor blade damage; through a careful monitoring of blade natural frequencies in conjunction with the blade tip position during an engine test. In the current study, the low pressure turbine stage of a developmental aero engine is instrumented with a combination of eddy current and optical sensors located circumferentially on the casing. This instrumentation effectively captures the engine order resonances of interest for the blade bending mode. During one of the normal engine tests, one of the blades in the LPT stage suddenly showed a drop in natural frequency beyond the allowable scatter and an abrupt change in the blade tip position. As the engine test was continued further, this drop in blade natural frequency and change in blade tip position progressively increased towards blade failure limits. Suspecting a propagating crack in the particular blade, the test was aborted and the engine was withdrawn for detailed inspection. Inspection of the rotor blades confirmed the presence of significant aerofoil crack in the suspect blade.
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Defence Research & Development
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e-mail: siddharthaguru@gtre.drdo.in
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July 2014
Research-Article
Pre-emptive Rotor Blade Damage Identification by Blade Tip Timing Method
Siddhartha S. Guru,
Defence Research & Development
Organization (DRDO),
e-mail: siddharthaguru@gtre.drdo.in
Siddhartha S. Guru
Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE)
,Defence Research & Development
Organization (DRDO),
Bengaluru
, India
e-mail: siddharthaguru@gtre.drdo.in
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Ramesh Murthy
Ramesh Murthy
Search for other works by this author on:
Siddhartha S. Guru
Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE)
,Defence Research & Development
Organization (DRDO),
Bengaluru
, India
e-mail: siddharthaguru@gtre.drdo.in
S. Shylaja
Sunil Kumar
Ramesh Murthy
Contributed by the Structures and Dynamics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received January 13, 2014; final manuscript received February 3, 2014; published online February 27, 2014. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jul 2014, 136(7): 072503 (4 pages)
Published Online: February 27, 2014
Article history
Received:
January 13, 2014
Revision Received:
February 3, 2014
Citation
Guru, S. S., Shylaja, S., Kumar, S., and Murthy, R. (February 27, 2014). "Pre-emptive Rotor Blade Damage Identification by Blade Tip Timing Method." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. July 2014; 136(7): 072503. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4026802
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