Modern turbomachinery design is characterized by a tendency towards thinner, lighter and highly loaded blades, which in turn gives rise to increased sensitivity to flow induced vibration such as flutter. Flutter is a self-excited and self-sustained instability phenomenon that may lead to structural failure due to High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) or material overload. In order to be able to predict potential flutter situations, it is necessary to accurately assess the unsteady aerodynamics during flutter and to understand the physics behind its driving mechanisms. Current numerical tools used for predicting unsteady aerodynamics of vibrating turbomachinery components are capable of modeling the flow field at high level of detail, but may fail in predicting the correct unsteady aerodynamics under certain conditions. Continuous validation of numerical models against experimental data therefore plays significant role in improving the prediction accuracy and reliability of the models.   In flutter investigations, it is common to consider aerodynamically symmetric (tuned) setups. Due to manufacturing tolerances, assembly inaccuracies as well as in-service wear, the aerodynamic properties in a blade row may become asymmetric. Such asymmetries can be observed both in terms of steady as well as unsteady aerodynamic properties, and it is of great interest to understand the effects this may have on the aeroelastic stability of the system.   Under certain conditions vibratory modes of realistic blade profiles tend to be coupled i.e. the contents of a given mode of vibration include displacements perpendicular and parallel to the chord as well as torsion of the profile. Current design trends for compressor blades that are resulting in low aspect ratio blades potentially reduce the frequency spacing between certain modes (i.e. 2F &amp; 1T). Combined modes are also likely to occur in case of the vibration of a bladed disk with a comparatively soft disk and rigid blades or due to tying blades together in sectors (e.g. in turbines).   The present investigation focuses on two areas that are of importance for improving the understanding of aeroelastic behavior of oscillating blade rows. Firstly, aeroelastic properties of combined mode shapes in an oscillating Low Pressure Turbine (LPT) cascade were studied and validity of the mode superposition principle was assessed. Secondly, the effects of aerodynamic mistuning on the aeroelastic properties of the cascade were addressed. The aerodynamic mistuning considered here is caused by blade-to-blade stagger angle variations   The work has been carried out as compound experimental and numerical investigation, where numerical results are validated against test data. On the experimental side a test facility comprising an annular sector of seven free-standing LPT blades is used. The aeroelastic response phenomena were studied in the influence coefficient domain where one of the blades is made to oscillate in three-dimensional pure or combined modes, while the unsteady blade surface pressure is acquired on the oscillating blade itself and on the non-oscillating neighbor blades. On the numerical side, a series of numerical simulations were carried out using a commercial CFD code on a full-scale time-marching 3D viscous model. In accordance with the experimental part the simulations are performed using the influence coefficient approach, with only one blade oscillating.   The results of combined modes studies suggest the validity of combining the aeroelastic properties of two modes over the investigated range of operating parameters. Quality parameters, indicating differences in mean absolute and imaginary values of the unsteady response between combined mode data and superposed data, feature values that are well below measurement accuracy of the setup.   The findings of aerodynamic mistuning investigations indicate that the effect of de-staggering a single blade on steady aerodynamics in the cascade seem to be predominantly an effect of the change in passage throat. The changes in steady aerodynamics are thereby observed on the unsteady aerodynamics where distinctive effects on flow velocity lead to changes in the local unsteady pressure coefficients. In order to assess the overall aeroelastic stability of a randomly mistuned blade row, a Reduced Order Model (ROM) model is introduced, allowing for probabilistic analyses. From the analyses, an effect of destabilization due to aero-asymmetries was observed. However the observed effect was of moderate magnitude. / <p>QC 20130610</p> / Turbokraft

Modern turbomachines are designed towards thinner, lighter and highly loaded blades. This gives rise to increased sensitivity to flow induced vibrations such as flutter, which leads to structure failure in a short period of time if not sufficiently damped. Although numerical tools are more and more reliable, flutter prediction still depends on a large degree on simplified models. In addition, the critical nature of flutter, resulting in poor well-documented real cases in the open literature, and the lack of experimental database typical of engine flows make its apprehension even more challenging.  In that context, the present thesis is dedicated to study flutter in recent turbines through aerodynamic analysis of subsonic or supersonic flows in response to a prescribed vibratory mode of the structure. The objective is to highlight some mechanisms potentially responsible for flutter in order to be in better position when designing blades. The strategy consists in leading both experimental and numerical investigations.  The experimental part is based on a worldwide unique annular turbine sector cascade employed for measuring the aeroelastic response by means of the aerodynamic influence coefficient technique. The cascade comprises seven low pressure gas turbine blades one of which can oscillate in a controlled way as a rigid body. Aeroelastic responses are measured at various mechanical and aerodynamic parameters: pure and combined modeshapes, reduced frequency, Mach number, incidence angle. In addition to turbulence level measurements, the database aims at assessing the influence of these parameters on the aerodynamic damping, at validating the linear combination principle and at providing input for numerical tools. The numerical part is based on unsteady computations linearized in the frequency domain and performed in the traveling wave mode. The focus is put on two industrial space turbines: 2D computations are performed on an integrally bladed disk, also called blisk; its very low viscous material damping results in complex motions with combined modes and extremely high reduced frequency. The blisk operates at low subsonic conditions without strong non-linearities. Although the blades have been predicted aeroelastically stable, an original methodology based on elementary decompositions of the blade motion is presented to identify the destabilizing movements. The results suggest that the so-called classical flutter is surprisingly prone to occur. Moreover, the aerodynamic damping has been found extremely sensitive to the interblade phase angle and cut-on/cut-off conditions. 3D computations are then performed on a supersonic turbine, which features shock waves and boundary layer separation. In contrast, the blade motion is of elementary nature, i.e. purely axial. The blades have been predicted aeroelastically unstable for backward traveling waves and stable for forward traveling waves. The low reduced frequencies allow quasi-steady analysis, which still account for flutter mechanisms: the shock wave motion establishes the boundary between stable and unstable configurations. / <p>QC 20111209</p>

Modern turbomachines are designed towards thinner, lighter and highly loaded blades. This gives rise to increased sensitivity to flow induced vibrations such as flutter, which leads to structure failure in a short period of time if not sufficiently damped. Although numerical tools are more and more reliable, flutter prediction still depends on a large degree on simplified models. In addition, the critical nature of flutter, resulting in poor welldocumented real cases in the open literature, and the lack of experimental database typical of engine flows make its apprehension even more challenging. In that context, the present thesis is dedicated to study flutter in recent turbines through aerodynamic analysis of subsonic or supersonic flows in response to a prescribed vibratory mode of the structure. The objective is to highlight some mechanisms potentially responsible for flutter in order to be in better position when designing blades. The strategy consists in leading both experimental and numerical investigations. The experimental part is based on a worldwide unique annular turbine sector cascade employed for measuring the aeroelastic response by means of the aerodynamic influence coefficient technique. The cascade comprises seven low pressure gas turbine blades one of which can oscillate in a controlled way as a rigid body. Aeroelastic responses are measured at various mechanical and aerodynamic parameters: pure and combined modeshapes, reduced frequency, Mach number, incidence angle. In addition to turbulence level measurements, the database aims at assessing the influence of these parameters on the aerodynamic damping, at validating the linear combination principle and at providing input for numerical tools. The numerical part is based on unsteady computations linearized in the frequency domain and performed in the traveling wave mode. The focus is put on two industrial space turbines: 2D computations are performed on an integrally bladed disk, also called blisk; its very low viscous material damping results in complex motions with combined modes and extremely high reduced frequency. The blisk operates at low subsonic conditions without strong non-linearities. Although the blades have been predicted aeroelastically stable, an original methodology based on elementary decompositions of the blade motion is presented to identify the destabilizing movements. The results suggest that the so-called classical flutter is surprisingly prone to occur. Moreover, the aerodynamic damping has been found extremely sensitive to the interblade phase angle and cut-on/cut-off conditions.* 3D computations are then performed on a supersonic turbine, which features shockwaves and boundary layer separation. In contrast, the blade motion is of elementary nature, i.e. purely axial. The blades have been predicted aeroelastically unstable for backward traveling waves and stable for forward traveling waves. The low reduced frequencies allow quasi-steady analysis, which still account for flutter mechanisms: the shock wave motion establishes the boundary between stable and unstable configurations.

Les aubes des turbomachines modernes sont de plus en plus fines, légères et chargées aérodynamiquement. Cette tendance accroît l'apparition de phénomènes aéroélastiques tel que le flottement qui conduit à la rupture si l'amortissement est insuffisant. Bien que les outils numériques soient de plus en plus robustes, la fiabilité de sa prédiction demeure insuffisante. La nature critique du phénomène et le manque de données expérimentales pour des écoulements typiques de l'industrie encouragent des travaux de recherche. Dans ce contexte, la présente thèse est dédiée à l'étude du flottement dans des configurations récentes de turbine à travers l'analyse aérodynamique des écoulements subsoniques ou supersoniques soumis à un mode de structure vibratoire imposé. L'objectif est de fournir des éléments de compréhension des mécanismes potentiellement générateurs de flottement pour une meilleure intégration lors de la conception des aubes. L’approche consiste à mener des travaux expérimentaux et numériques. La partie expérimentale s'appuie sur un secteur de grille annulaire constitué de sept aubes dont une peut osciller de manière contrôlée. Les fluctuations de pressions instationnaires générées sont mesurées avec la technique dite des coefficients d'influence pour différents paramètres mécaniques et aérodynamiques : déformées modales pures et combinées, fréquence réduite, nombre de Mach, angle d'incidence. Complétée par des mesures de niveau de turbulence, la base de données vise à évaluer l'influence de ces paramètres sur la réponse aéroélastique, à valider le principe de superposition linéaire et à soutenir les codes numériques. La partie numérique se base sur des calculs instationnaires linéarisés dans le domaine fréquentiel en utilisant la technique dite des "ondes propagatives" (traveling wave mode).Deux cas de turbines spatiales industrielles sont étudiés.• Des calculs 2D sont réalisés sur une turbine monobloc ou blisk. L'amortissement mécanique quasi-nul entraîne des déformées complexes avec couplage de modes et des fréquences réduites très élevées. Bien que les aubes soient prédites stables, une méthodologie basée sur des décompositions géométriques élémentaires est présentée afin d'identifier les contributions déstabilisantes. Les résultats aboutissent étonnamment aux conclusions de la théorie du flottement classique : la torsion est une source potentielle d'instabilité. De plus, le coefficient d'amortissement aérodynamique a été trouvé extrêmement sensible au déphasage interaube et aux fréquences de coupure (modes cut-on/cut-off).• Des calculs 3D sont ensuite réalisés sur une turbine supersonique. L'écoulement présente des ondes de chocs avec décollement de la couche limite et le mouvement de l'aube est de nature élémentaire, i.e. purement axial. Les aubes ont été prédites instables pour les modes rétrogrades et stables pour les modes propagatifs. En dépit des fortes hypothèses, des analyses quasi-stationnaires rendent compte des mécanismes de flottement : la phase entre le mouvement du choc et l'excitation établit la frontière entre configurations stable et instable. / Modern turbomachines are designed towards thinner, lighter and highly loaded blades. This gives rise to increased sensitivity to flow induced vibrations such as flutter, which leads to structure failure in a short period of time if not sufficiently damped. Although numerical tools are more and more reliable, flutter prediction still depends on a large degree on simplified models. In addition, the critical nature of flutter, resulting in poor welldocumented real cases in the open literature, and the lack of experimental database typical of engine flows make its apprehension even more challenging. In that context, the present thesis is dedicated to study flutter in recent turbines through aerodynamic analysis of subsonic or supersonic flows in response to a prescribed vibratory mode of the structure. The objective is to highlight some mechanisms potentially responsible for flutter in order to be in better position when designing blades. The strategy consists in leading both experimental and numerical investigations. The experimental part is based on a worldwide unique annular turbine sector cascade employed for measuring the aeroelastic response by means of the aerodynamic influence coefficient technique. The cascade comprises seven low pressure gas turbine blades one of which can oscillate in a controlled way as a rigid body. Aeroelastic responses are measured at various mechanical and aerodynamic parameters: pure and combined modeshapes, reduced frequency, Mach number, incidence angle. In addition to turbulence level measurements, the database aims at assessing the influence of these parameters on the aerodynamic damping, at validating the linear combination principle and at providing input for numerical tools. The numerical part is based on unsteady computations linearized in the frequency domain and performed in the traveling wave mode. The focus is put on two industrial space turbines: 2D computations are performed on an integrally bladed disk, also called blisk; its very low viscous material damping results in complex motions with combined modes and extremely high reduced frequency. The blisk operates at low subsonic conditions without strong non-linearities. Although the blades have been predicted aeroelastically stable, an original methodology based on elementary decompositions of the blade motion is presented to identify the destabilizing movements. The results suggest that the so-called classical flutter is surprisingly prone to occur. Moreover, the aerodynamic damping has been found extremely sensitive to the interblade phase angle and cut-on/cut-off conditions.• 3D computations are then performed on a supersonic turbine, which features shockwaves and boundary layer separation. In contrast, the blade motion is of elementary nature, i.e. purely axial. The blades have been predicted aeroelastically unstable for backward traveling waves and stable for forward traveling waves. The low reduced frequencies allow quasi-steady analysis, which still account for flutter mechanisms: the shock wave motion establishes the boundary between stable and unstable configurations.