Forced response of rotating bladed disks: Blade Tip-Timing measurements

The Blade Tip-Timing is a well-known non-contact measurement technique currently employed for the identification of the dynamic behaviours of rotating bladed disks. Although the measurement system has become a typical industry equipment for bladed disks vibration surveys, the type of sensors, the positioning of the sensors around the bladed disk and the used algorithm for data post-processing are still not standard techniques, and their reliability has to be proved for different operation conditions by the comparison with other well-established measurement techniques used as reference like strain gauges. This paper aims at evaluating the accuracy of a latest generation Tip-Timing system on two dummy blisks characterized by different geometrical, structural and dynamical properties. Both disks are tested into a spin-rig where a fixed number of permanent magnets excite synchronous vibrations with respect to the rotor speed. A new positioning for the Blade Tip-Timing optical sensors is tested in the case of a shrouded bladed disk. Due to the presence of shrouds, the sensors cannot be positioned at the outer radius of the disk pointing radially toward the rotation axis as in the most common applications, since the displacements at the tips are very small and cannot be detected. For this reason a particular placement of optical laser sensors is studied in order to point at the leading and trailing edges' locations where the blades experience the largest vibration amplitudes with the aim of not interfering with the flow path. Besides the typical Blade Tip-Timing application aimed at identifying the dynamical properties of each blade, an original method is here proposed to identify the operative deflection shape of a bladed disk through the experimental determination of the nodal diameters. The method is applicable when a small mistuning pattern perturbs the ideal cyclic symmetry of the bladed disk

Synchronous vibration parameters identification by tip timing measurements

The Blade Tip Timing (BTT) measurement system is a technique to measure vibration parameters of a rotating bladed disk. In particular for synchronous vibrations the BTT provides signals versus the rotation speed of the disk starting from the measurement of the time of arrival (TOA) of each blade under the tip timing probes. The signals must be post processed in order to obtain the interesting parameters of each blade vibration. The paper presents a method to extract the main parameters (amplitude and frequency) in resonance condition from the tip timing measurements. The proposed method is a revision of the already existing well known Two-Parameter Plot (2PP) method which requires a minimum of two probes. Improvements to the existing 2PP method are here suggested mainly in the part of engine order identification. The proposed method is then applied to the BTT measured signals coming from a rotating bladed disk excited at different engine orders. At the same time on the disk the vibration of one blade was detected by strain gauges. The strain gauges were calibrated and they provide the reference values of the vibration parameters. The vibration parameters derived by the proposed method are in agreement with those obtained by the strain gages methodolog

Forced response of rotating bladed disks: Blade Tip-Timing measurements

The Blade Tip-Timing is a well-known non-contact measurement technique currently employed for the identification of the dynamic behaviours of rotating bladed disks. Although the measurement system has become a typical industry equipment for bladed disks vibration surveys, the type of sensors, the positioning of the sensors around the bladed disk and the used algorithm for data post-processing are still not standard techniques, and their reliability has to be proved for different operation conditions by the comparison with other well-established measurement techniques used as reference like strain gauges. This paper aims at evaluating the accuracy of a latest generation Tip-Timing system on two dummy blisks characterized by different geometrical, structural and dynamical properties. Both disks are tested into a spin-rig where a fixed number of permanent magnets excite synchronous vibrations with respect to the rotor speed. A new positioning for the Blade Tip-Timing optical sensors is tested in the case of a shrouded bladed disk. Due to the presence of shrouds, the sensors cannot be positioned at the outer radius of the disk pointing radially toward the rotation axis as in the most common applications, since the displacements at the tips are very small and cannot be detected. For this reason a particular placement of optical laser sensors is studied in order to point at the leading and trailing edges' locations where the blades experience the largest vibration amplitudes with the aim of not interfering with the flow path. Besides the typical Blade Tip-Timing application aimed at identifying the dynamical properties of each blade, an original method is here proposed to identify the operative deflection shape of a bladed disk through the experimental determination of the nodal diameters. The method is applicable when a small mistuning pattern perturbs the ideal cyclic symmetry of the bladed disk

Synchronous vibration parameters identification by tip timing measurements

The Blade Tip Timing (BTT) measurement system is a technique to measure vibration parameters of a rotating bladed disk. In particular for synchronous vibrations the BTT provides signals versus the rotation speed of the disk starting from the measurement of the time of arrival (TOA) of each blade under the tip timing probes. The signals must be post processed in order to obtain the interesting parameters of each blade vibration. The paper presents a method to extract the main parameters (amplitude and frequency) in resonance condition from the tip timing measurements. The proposed method is a revision of the already existing well known Two-Parameter Plot (2PP) method which requires a minimum of two probes. Improvements to the existing 2PP method are here suggested mainly in the part of engine order identification. The proposed method is then applied to the BTT measured signals coming from a rotating bladed disk excited at different engine orders. At the same time on the disk the vibration of one blade was detected by strain gauges. The strain gauges were calibrated and they provide the reference values of the vibration parameters. The vibration parameters derived by the proposed method are in agreement with those obtained by the strain gages methodolog

Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Pooled Analysis

: Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), sacituzumab govitecan (SG), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) are three ADCs approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Since gastrointestinal toxicities have been commonly observed with these drugs in clinical trials, a pooled analysis evaluating gastrointestinal adverse events (AEs) in patients with MBC treated with ADCs in clinical trials was performed. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception until May 2023 for phase II and III clinical trials reporting frequency and severity of gastrointestinal AEs during treatment with ADCs. Data were retrieved for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain: overall and grade 3-4 toxicity rates according to NCI-CTCAE were collected and expressed as proportions. A pre-specified subgroup analysis according to the agent was also carried out. Fourteen studies, comprising 5608 patients, were included in the analysis. Gastrointestinal AEs were frequently registered with SG and T-DXd. A significantly higher frequency of nausea (65.6% with SG, 75% with T-DXd), vomiting (43.7% with SG, 45% with T-DXd), and diarrhea (59.7% with SG, 29% with T-DXd) was noticed with these ADCs compared to TDM-1. Furthermore, diarrhea was more frequently associated with SG (grade 3 in 7.5% of patients), while constipation and abdominal pain were less common. Gastrointestinal AEs, notably nausea and diarrhea, were frequently reported by MBC patients treated with SG and T-DXd in clinical trials. Since these ADCs are administered continuously until disease progression or occurrence of unbearable AEs, gastrointestinal toxicity may have a negative impact on patient quality of life. Therefore, appropriate management of gastrointestinal AEs is mandatory to ensure treatment efficacy and adherence

Natural History of Malignant Bone Disease in Renal Cancer: Final Results of an Italian Bone Metastasis Survey

Abstract Background: Bone metastasis represents an increasing clinical problem in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as diseaserelated survival improves. There are few data on the natural history of bone disease in RCC

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5-11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12-18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19-25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased from one in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons. In conclusion, we designed an RT-qPCR assay capable to detect the Omicron variant, which can be successfully used for the purpose of wastewater-based epidemiology. We also described the history of the introduction and diffusion of the Omicron variant in the Italian population and territory, confirming the effectiveness of sewage monitoring as a powerful surveillance tool

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested positive for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The first occurrence was detected on 7 December, in Veneto, North Italy. Later on, the variant spread extremely fast in three weeks, with prevalence of positive wastewater samples rising from 1.0% (1/104 samples) in the week 5–11 December, to 17.5% (25/143 samples) in the week 12–18, to 65.9% (89/135 samples) in the week 19–25, in line with the increase in cases of infection with the Omicron variant observed during December in Italy. Similarly, the number of Regions/Autonomous Provinces in which the variant was detected increased fromone in the first week, to 11 in the second, and to 17 in the last one. The presence of the Omicron variant was confirmed by the JRC real-time RT-PCR in 79.1% (91/115) of the positive samples, and by Sanger sequencing in 66% (64/97) of PCR amplicons