Nonlinear dynamics of turbine bladed disk with friction dampers: Experiment and simulation

Accurately predicting the nonlinear dynamic response of aero-engine components is critical, as excessive vibration amplitudes can considerably reduce the operational lifespan. This paper compares experimental and numerical nonlinear dynamic responses of an industrial aero-engine, specifically focusing on the first stage turbine bladed disk with under-platform dampers (UPDs). The friction forces between UPDs and blades result in a strongly nonlinear dynamic response, influenced by stick, slip and separation contact states at the interfaces. These contact states, and the resulting global dynamic responses, are predicted with an advanced industrial modelling approach for nonlinear dynamics. The predictions are compared, updated and validated against measurement data from an operational engine test. Results highlight the importance to validate models against industrial data and show that realistic contact pressure distributions are required for increased prediction reliability. The novelty of this work includes (1) the use of unique industrial experimental data from a fully operational aero-engine, (2) the observation, at the end of engine testing, of real contact conditions in blade/UPD interfaces, (3) detailed modelling of these contact conditions with high-fidelity finite element representations in nonlinear dynamic solvers. Based on this unique industrial validation work, guidelines are proposed to improve the state-of-the-art modelling of nonlinear dynamics in structures with friction contacts

Effects of the seal wire on the nonlinear dynamics of the aircraft engine turbine blades

Complicated systems made of multiple components are known to be difficult to model, considering their solutions can change dramatically even with the slightest variations in conditions. Aircraft engines contain such complicated systems, and some components in aircraft engines' turbines can cause significant changes in the system's overall response. Hence, this study is focused on investigating the behavior of a turbine blade of an aircraft engine and the effects of the contact between the blade and the seal wire on the dynamics of the blade-disk system. The investigation is performed via various numerical simulations in time and frequency domains. One sector of the bladed disk is modeled using the finite element method with the lock plate and the seal wire imposing cyclic symmetry boundary conditions in the static, modal, and frequency domain forced response analyses. In time domain analyses, the cyclic symmetry is replaced with simplified displacement restricting boundary conditions. The time domain analysis contains steady-state forced responses of the system. The results show that contact with the seal wire is not a major source of nonlinearity and damping. The contacts with the lock plate contribute more to the vibration damping than the seal wire. However, compared to the contacts at the root of the blade, both components remain less significant with regard to frictional damping and nonlinearity

Effect of skin color on optical properties and the implications for medical optical technologies: a review

Significance: Skin color affects light penetration leading to differences in its absorption and scattering properties. COVID-19 highlighted the importance of understanding of the interaction of light with different skin types, e.g., pulse oximetry (PO) unreliably determined oxygen saturation levels in people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Furthermore, with increased use of other medical wearables using light to provide disease information and photodynamic therapies to treat skin cancers, a thorough understanding of the effect skin color has on light is important for reducing healthcare disparities.Aim: The aim of this work is to perform a thorough review on the effect of skin color on optical properties and the implication of variation on optical medical technologies.Approach: Published in vivo optical coefficients associated with different skin colors were collated and their effects on optical penetration depth and transport mean free path (TMFP) assessed.Results: Variation among reported values is significant. We show that absorption coefficients for dark skin are ∼6% to 74% greater than for light skin in the 400 to 1000 nm spectrum. Beyond 600 nm, the TMFP for light skin is greater than for dark skin. Maximum transmission for all skin types was beyond 940 nm in this spectrum. There are significant losses of light with increasing skin depth; in this spectrum, depending upon Fitzpatrick skin type (FST), on average 14% to 18% of light is lost by a depth of 0.1 mm compared with 90% to 97% of the remaining light being lost by a depth of 1.93 mm.Conclusions: Current published data suggest that at wavelengths beyond 940 nm light transmission is greatest for all FSTs. Data beyond 1000 nm are minimal and further study is required. It is possible that the amount of light transmitted through skin for all skin colors will converge with increasing wavelength enabling optical medical technologies to become independent of skin color

Relevance and utility of the in-vivo and ex-vivo optical properties of the skin reported in the literature: a review [Invited]

Imaging non-invasively into the human body is currently limited by cost (MRI and CT scan), image resolution (ultrasound), exposure to ionising radiation (CT scan and X-ray), and the requirement for exogenous contrast agents (CT scan and PET scan). Optical imaging has the potential to overcome all these issues but is currently limited by imaging depth due to the scattering and absorption properties of human tissue. Skin is the first barrier encountered by light when imaging non-invasively, and therefore a clear understanding of the way that light interacts with skin is required for progress on optical medical imaging to be made. Here we present a thorough review of the optical properties of human skin measured in-vivo and compare these to the previously collated ex-vivo measurements. Both in-vivo and ex-vivo published data show high inter- and intra-publication variability making definitive answers regarding optical properties at given wavelengths challenging. Overall, variability is highest for ex-vivo absorption measurements with differences of up to 77-fold compared with 9.6-fold for the in-vivo absorption case. The impact of this variation on optical penetration depth and transport mean free path is presented and potential causes of these inconsistencies are discussed. We propose a set of experimental controls and reporting requirements for future measurements. We conclude that a robust in-vivo dataset, measured across a broad spectrum of wavelengths, is required for the development of future technologies that significantly increase the depth of optical imaging

Whole Exome Sequencing Reveals the Major Genetic Contributors to Nonsyndromic Tetralogy of Fallot

Rationale: Familial recurrence studies provide strong evidence for a genetic component to the predisposition to sporadic, nonsyndromic Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease phenotype. Rare genetic variants have been identified as important contributors to the risk of congenital heart disease, but relatively small numbers of TOF cases have been studied to date. Objective: We used whole exome sequencing to assess the prevalence of unique, deleterious variants in the largest cohort of nonsyndromic TOF patients reported to date. Methods and Results: Eight hundred twenty-nine TOF patients underwent whole exome sequencing. The presence of unique, deleterious variants was determined; defined by their absence in the Genome Aggregation Database and a scaled combined annotation-dependent depletion score of ≥20. The clustering of variants in 2 genes, NOTCH1 and FLT4, surpassed thresholds for genome-wide significance (assigned as P<5×10−8) after correction for multiple comparisons. NOTCH1 was most frequently found to harbor unique, deleterious variants. Thirty-one changes were observed in 37 probands (4.5%; 95% CI, 3.2%–6.1%) and included 7 loss-of-function variants 22 missense variants and 2 in-frame indels. Sanger sequencing of the unaffected parents of 7 cases identified 5 de novo variants. Three NOTCH1 variants (p.G200R, p.C607Y, and p.N1875S) were subjected to functional evaluation, and 2 showed a reduction in Jagged1-induced NOTCH signaling. FLT4 variants were found in 2.4% (95% CI, 1.6%–3.8%) of TOF patients, with 21 patients harboring 22 unique, deleterious variants. The variants identified were distinct to those that cause the congenital lymphoedema syndrome Milroy disease. In addition to NOTCH1, FLT4 and the well-established TOF gene, TBX1, we identified potential association with variants in several other candidates, including RYR1, ZFPM1, CAMTA2, DLX6, and PCM1. Conclusions: The NOTCH1 locus is the most frequent site of genetic variants predisposing to nonsyndromic TOF, followed by FLT4. Together, variants in these genes are found in almost 7% of TOF patients

Rare variants in NR2F2 cause congenital heart defects in humans

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common birth defect worldwide and are a leading cause of neonatal mortality. Nonsyndromic atrioventricular septal defects (AVSDs) are an important subtype of CHDs for which the genetic architecture is poorly understood. We performed exome sequencing in 13 parent-offspring trios and 112 unrelated individuals with nonsyndromic AVSDs and identified five rare missense variants (two of which arose de novo) in the highly conserved gene NR2F2, a very significant enrichment (p = 7.7 × 10?7) compared to 5,194 control subjects. We identified three additional CHD-affected families with other variants in NR2F2 including a de novo balanced chromosomal translocation, a de novo substitution disrupting a splice donor site, and a 3 bp duplication that cosegregated in a multiplex family. NR2F2 encodes a pleiotropic developmental transcription factor, and decreased dosage of NR2F2 in mice has been shown to result in abnormal development of atrioventricular septa. Via luciferase assays, we showed that all six coding sequence variants observed in individuals significantly alter the activity of NR2F2 on target promoters

Distinct genetic architectures for syndromic and nonsyndromic congenital heart defects identified by exome sequencing.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) have a neonatal incidence of 0.8-1% (refs. 1,2). Despite abundant examples of monogenic CHD in humans and mice, CHD has a low absolute sibling recurrence risk (∼2.7%), suggesting a considerable role for de novo mutations (DNMs) and/or incomplete penetrance. De novo protein-truncating variants (PTVs) have been shown to be enriched among the 10% of 'syndromic' patients with extra-cardiac manifestations. We exome sequenced 1,891 probands, including both syndromic CHD (S-CHD, n = 610) and nonsyndromic CHD (NS-CHD, n = 1,281). In S-CHD, we confirmed a significant enrichment of de novo PTVs but not inherited PTVs in known CHD-associated genes, consistent with recent findings. Conversely, in NS-CHD we observed significant enrichment of PTVs inherited from unaffected parents in CHD-associated genes. We identified three genome-wide significant S-CHD disorders caused by DNMs in CHD4, CDK13 and PRKD1. Our study finds evidence for distinct genetic architectures underlying the low sibling recurrence risk in S-CHD and NS-CHD

Robust design optimisation of underplatform dampers for turbine applications using a surrogate model

Underplatform dampers (UPD) represent an effective way to limit blade vibration in turbomachinery via frictional energy dissipation, leading to a wide range of applications. The design of an effective and reliable UPD is highly challenging, due to the inherently nonlinear nature of the contact forces, the associated computational cost for high fidelity simulation, and the manufacturing uncertainties in damper geometry. This paper presents a novel UPD optimisation approach that combines high-order, detailed nonlinear modelling of the damper interfaces with a surrogate model optimisation technique. The nonlinear dynamic behaviour of the UPD is predicted using the existing explicit damper model in combination with an ‘in-house’ multi-harmonic balance solvers, which enables capture of the damper kinematics and local contact conditions. A radial basis function based surrogate model will be used to address the computational requirement of the high fidelity simulations for alternative designs. The objective function takes into account the damping performance, resonance frequency stability and robustness due to possible uncertain variations of design parameters with manufacture tolerance. The feasibility of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a cottage roof UPD by comparing the proposed optimisation method with conventional parametric simulation method. A significantly improved solution with considerable reduction in computational effort is achieved by the current method