Multi-Row Aerodynamic Interactions and Mistuned Forced Response of an Embedded Compressor Rotor

<p>This research investigates the forced response of mistuned rotor blades that can lead to excessive vibration, noise, and high cycle fatigue failure in a turbomachine. In particular, an embedded rotor in the Purdue Three-Stage Axial Compressor Research Facility is considered. The prediction of the rotor forced response contains three key elements: the prediction of forcing function, damping, and the effect of frequency mistuning. These computational results are compared with experimental aerodynamic and vibratory response measurements to understand the accuracy of each prediction.</p><p>A state-of-the-art time-marching computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code is used to predict the rotor forcing function. A highly-efficient nonlinear frequency-domain Harmonic Balance CFD code is employed for the prediction of aerodynamic damping. These allow the compressor aerodynamics to be depicted and the tuned rotor response amplitude to be predicted. Frequency mistuning is considered by using two reduced-order models of different levels of fidelity, namely the Fundamental Mistuning Model (FMM) and the Component Mode Mistuning (CMM) methods. This allows a cost-effective method to be identified for mistuning analysis, especially for probabilistic mistuning analysis.</p><p>The first topic of this work concerns the prediction of the forcing function of the embedded rotor due to the periodic passing of the neighboring stators that have the same vane counts. Superposition and decomposition methods are introduced under a linearity assumption, which states that the rotor forcing function comprises of two components that are induced by each neighboring stator, and that these components stay unchanged with only a phase shift with respect to a change in the stator-stator clocking position. It is found that this assumption captures the first-order linear relation, but neglects the secondary nonlinear effect which alters each stator-induced forcing functions with respect to a change in the clocking position.</p><p>The second part of this work presents a comprehensive mistuned forced response prediction of the embedded rotor at a high-frequency (higher-order) mode. Three steady loading conditions are considered. The predicted aerodynamics are in good agreement with experimental measurements in terms of the compressor performance, rotor tip leakage flow, and circumferential distributions of the stator wake and potential fields. Mistuning analyses using FMM and CMM models show that the extremely low-cost FMM model produces very similar predictions to those of CMM. The predicted response is in good agreement with the measured response, especially after taking the uncertainty in the experimentally-determined frequency mistuning into consideration. Experimentally, the characteristics of the mistuned response change considerably with respect to loading. This is not very well predicted, and is attributed to un-identified and un-modeled effects. A significant amplification factor over 1.5 is observed both experimentally and computationally for this higher-order mode.</p>Dissertatio