Vibration generated from main rotor unbalance has a major impact on the aerospace gas turbine industry. A combination of logistical and technological drivers differentiate aerospace gas turbines and their derivatives from other types of gas turbines with respect to the approach for managing vibration, leading to a bespoke approach for the design, build, and balancing. The key drivers are: limited accessibility to rotors within the engine, the requirement for exchangeable modules (sub-assemblies) of major parts of the rotor without rebalancing, the use of only low-speed balancing on pseudo-rigid rotors with bladed assemblies, very low vibration limits leading to very tight balancing limits, extreme weight limits for design solutions, and the need for highly accurate, repeatable, and stable rotor joints. This study proposes and demonstrates a novel and rapid robust design system that has been created to deal with these unique challenges. The system comprises an overarching process and a set of novel tools and methods that have been created to support the process. These tools comprise an Unbalance Response Function (URF) design method that effectively delivers a preliminary design assessment and a fast Monte-Carlo simulation and comparison method with supporting software for comparing and improving build and balance design solutions. The aim of the overall process is to generate a system that identifies and controls critical parameters, and alleviates time wasted controlling non-critical parameters. The target outcome is therefore the most cost effective, predictable and repeatable solution with respect to rotor generated vibration (i.e. robust). Two novel methods of informing and improving the outcome of the low-speed balancing process using extra information available about the rotor are also introduced.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:713889 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Rix, Andrew Iain James |
| Publisher | University of Nottingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38502/ |
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