Dynamics of piezoceramics-based mass and force actuators for rotating machines

In the past decade, it has become more and more common to install active vibration control devices on rotating systems like grinding machines, tooling centers, industrial fans and drive shafts. In the present research, two innovative actuation concepts for such devices are evaluated. The first device is a force actuator based on piezoceramic fibers, which has a low power consumption and high dynamic range. The second device is a mass redistribution actuator based on two piezoelectric ultrasonic motors, which is smaller and faster than conventional electromagnetic devices. At the basis of the analysis are rotor dynamic finite element models including actuators, sensors and feedback controllers. In simulations and experiments with device one, feedback control and scheduled feedforward control are considered. It is shown experimentally that the unbalance response at a critical speed can be reduced by some 97%. In experiments with device two, the positioning speed is determined

Sensitivity of combustion driven damage mechanisms to instability

A multi-disciplinary framework is developed to evaluate the damage on gas turbine engine liners including interrelated sub-domains such as combustion dynamics, stress, modal, fracture mechanics analyses and life assessment. Comparative operation conditions for the combustion dynamics have been investigated. Excessive vibrations induced by the limit cycle operation resulted in mechanical stresses and strains on the structure. The structural integrity of both the intact and damaged test specimens have been monitored by vibration-based and thermal-based techniques during the combustion operation. The progressive damage on the damaged specimen configuration has been analyzed and linked to the combustion driven mechanisms. Damage evaluation, life assessment and physical experimental approaches have been integrated and utilized to evaluate the fatigue dominant damage in combustion liner material. This study addresses a reference in ensuring the safety and reliability of gas turbine engine combustors. The outcome provides a better understanding and a quantification of the material damage progress and the component behavior in terms of life consumption and combustion dynamics

Damage evolution by using the near-tip fields of a crack in gas turbine liners

A residual lifetime prediction study has been performed on a combustion liner metallic material exposed to elevated temperatures by simulating the evolution of plastic work fields at a crack tip under monotonically loading. The strain and stress distribution has been computed by finite element analysis. The method gives a measure of the metal degradation and enables to evaluate the failure limit of a progressive damage under the operating conditions of gas turbine components. The study allows making a correlation between the progress of damage of a combustion liner and the loading conditions, the material type and the geometry of a specimen by the parametric design construction

Experimental validation of the interaction between combustion and structural vibration

To decrease NOx emissions from combustion systems, lean premixed combustion is used. A disadvantage is the increase in sound pressure levels in the combustor, resulting in an increased excitation of the surrounding structure: the liner. This causes fatigue, which limits the life time of the combustor. To study this problem experimentally, a test setup has been built consisting of a single burner, 500kW, 5 bar combustion system. The thin structure (liner) is contained in a thick pressure vessel with optical access for a traversing laser vibrometer system to measure the vibration levels and mode shapes of the liner. The acoustic excitation of the liner is measured using pressure sensors measuring the acoustic pressures inside the combustion chamber and in the cooling passage between the liner and the pressure vessel. To validate models, measurements were performed in steps of increasing complexity. Firstly, the structural properties, obtained by modal analysis of the liner outside the pressure vessel, have been compared with a finite element model. Subsequently, results of an acoustic finite element model of the setup have been compared to acoustic measurements on the test rig to validate the acoustic properties of the model, which are made by mounting a well defined acoustic source to the rig. Finally, measured pressures and vibration levels in the presence of combustion are shown

Succesful teaching of experimental vibration research

For more than 20 years, master students have been offered a practical training on experimental vibration research by the Structural Dynamics & Acoustics Section of the University of Twente. The basic theoretical knowledge, necessary to attend this practical training, is provided for the Master part of their study and it consists of a series of lectures on advanced dynamics, measurement techniques and the concept of modal analysis. The practical training consists of performing vibration experiments on a well defined simple structure. Use is made of a digital signal processing (DSP) Siglab system, together with ME'scope as analysis tool. In order to guarantee maximal transfer of knowledge toward the participants, small groups consisting of two students are formed. These groups are supervised by an experienced tutor, who intensively monitors the progress of the practical training. It lasts one day and the students have to write down their findings in a report. In order to attend the practical training in an efficient way, students have to study the theoretical basics of experimental vibration research in advance. In order to achieve an optimal preparation to the practical, a ‘virtual’ vibration measurement based on Labview is developed for the next academic year. Students will thus be able to run this experiment remotely from behind their PC by activating a real-life test case placed in the laboratory. In this paper the content and execution of the practical training is described. The experience of the authors is that the vast amount of interesting educational ingredients contributes to a profound understanding of both theoretical and experimental vibration research for Mechanical Engineering students

Power harvesting in a helicopter lag damper

In this paper a new power harvesting application is developed and simulated. Power harvesting is chosen within the European Clean Sky project as a solution to powering in-blade health monitoring systems as opposed to installing an elaborate electrical infrastructure to draw power from and transmit signals to the helicopter body. Local generation of power will allow for a ‘plug and play’ rotor blade and signals may be logged or transmitted wirelessly.\ud The lag damper is chosen to be modified as it provides a well defined loading due to the re-gressive damping characteristic. A piezo electric stack is installed inside the damper rod, effec-tively coupled in series with the damper. Due to the well defined peak force generated in the damper the stack geometry requires a very limited margin of safety. Typically the stack geometry must be chosen to prevent excessive voltage build-up as opposed to mechanical overload.\ud Development and simulation of the model is described starting with a simplified blade and piezo element model. Presuming specific flight conditions transient simulations are conducted using various power harvesting circuits and their performance is evaluated. The best performing circuit is further optimized to increase the specific power output. Optimization of the electrical and mechanical domains must be done simultaneously due to the high electro-mechanical cou-pling of the piezo stack. The non-linear electrical properties of the piezo material, most notably the capacitance which may have a large influence, are not yet considered in this study.\ud The power harvesting lag damper provides sufficient power for extensive health monitoring systems within the blade while retaining the functionality and safety of the standard component. For the 8.15m blade radius and 130 knots flight speed under consideration simulations show 7.5 watts of power is generated from a single damper

Design optimization applied in structural dynamics

This paper introduces the design optimization strategies, especially for structures which have dynamic constraints. Design optimization involves first the modeling and then the optimization of the problem. Utilizing the Finite Element (FE) model of a structure directly in an optimization process requires a long computation time. Therefore the Backpropagation Neural Networks (NNs) are introduced as a so called surrogate model for the FE model. Optimization techniques mentioned in this study cover the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) methods. For the applications of the introduced techniques, a multisegment cantilever beam problem under the constraints of its first and second natural frequency has been selected and solved using four different approaches