i

Vibratory Analysis of Turbomachinery Blades

by
Mohamed Hassan
A Project Submitted to the Graduate
Faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ENGINEERING - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING







Approved:

___________________________________________
Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete, Project Adviser



Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Hartford, Connecticut
December, 2008







ii


















Copyright 2008
by
Mohamed Hassan
All Rights Reserved

iii
CONTENTS
Vibratory Analysis of Turbomachinery Blades ............................................................... i
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................iv
LIST OF SYMBOLS......................................................................................................v
LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................ viii
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................ix
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1
2. Modeling Methodology ............................................................................................6
3. Discussion and Results ...........................................................................................14
4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................23
5. References..............................................................................................................24
6. Appendix: ANSYS Macros.....................................................................................25


iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Results Summary Sequence ............................................................................15
Table 2: Full Model vs. Cyclic Symmetry Frequency Results .......................................15


v
LIST OF SYMBOLS
w = Driver Frequency (HZ)
m
w = Natural Frequency (HZ)
I = Number of Nozzles around the Wheel
N = Speed (RPM)
n
f = Forcing Function of the nth Harmonic
n
F = Amplitude of the nth Harmonic
= Angular Position on the Disk
t = Time
W = Work
m
y = Periodic Distance Function
m
Y = Distance - Constant
m = Nodal Diameter
n = Harmonic Index
M = Mass Matrix
C = Damping Matrix
K = Stiffness matrix
x = displacement
x = velocity
x = acceleration
m
} { = Mode Shape
a = Sector Angle
m
f = Coefficient corresponding to the jth Sector
1 = i Complex Notation
J j ,..... 2 , 1 = , J is the number of substructures, j sector number
P = J/2 for even J and (J-1)/2 for odd J
j
U = Response of the full structure for sector number j
A
U = Basic sector solution
B
U = Duplicate sector solution

vi
A
High
U = Basic sector deflection on the high side
B
High
U = Duplicate sector deflection on the high side
A
Low
U = Basic sector deflection on the low side
B
Low
U = Duplicate sector deflection on the low side
= Phase angle


vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Jet Engine Schematic [7] .................................................................................1
Figure 2: Example of Nodal Diameter m [1] ...................................................................2
Figure 3: Cyclic Symmetry Layout [1] ...........................................................................9
Figure 4: Cyclic Symmetry Process [1].........................................................................10
Figure 5: SOLID45 Element [1] ...................................................................................11
Figure 6: Cyclic Symmetry Sector Edges [1] ................................................................11
Figure 7: Cyclic Symmetry and Full Model ..................................................................12
Figure 8: Sector Model Boundary Conditions ...............................................................13
Figure 9: Full Model Boundary Conditions...................................................................13
Figure 10: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND1 .................................................................16
Figure 11: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND2 .................................................................17
Figure 12: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND3 .................................................................18
Figure 13: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND0 vs. ND12..................................................20
Figure 14: Torsion Mode variation with nodal diameters ..............................................20
Figure 15: Campbell Diagram.......................................................................................22


viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank Professor Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete for his patience,
understanding and guidance. I also like to thank all my family and friends for their
motivation and continuous support to my education.

ix
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the theory and process of vibration analysis for
gas turbine blades. Turbomachinary are critical for aircraft propulsion and energy
production so they must be designed to operate safely for extended periods of time over
various speed ranges. The engineers task is to be able to design blades that can operate
safely in harsh environments and be able to avoid vibratory resonances that can cause
failure. This requires in-depth structural analysis and finite element modeling is a very
powerful tool to address complex designs. In this paper a modal analysis was performed
on a bladed disk turbine wheel to obtain its dynamic characteristics by examining
different modeling techniques. Two methods were employed; the first was to model a
full wheel bladed-disk (24 blades) structure. The other method was to use ANSYS
modal cyclic symmetry capability by only modeling a single sector of the entire
structure. Results showed that both natural frequencies and mode shapes were almost
identical between the employed methods. However, cyclic symmetry was found to be
more superior since it accomplished the task at a fraction of time and computer
resources.

1
1. Introduction
Bladed disks exist in modern jet engines and are very important to its operation. In a
basic jet engine, air enters the front intake and is compressed. The compressor is made
up of many blades that are attached to a disk and a shaft. The blades compress the air
raising its pressure. The compressed air is sprayed with fuel and an electric spark lights
the mixture. The burning gases expand and pass through another fan-like set of blades
(turbine) which rotates the turbine shaft. This shaft, in turn, rotates the compressor,
thereby bringing in a fresh supply of air through the intake. Air rushes through the
nozzle at the back of the engine. As the gas shoots backwards, the engine and the aircraft
are thrust forward. See Figure 1 for a schematic of a jet engine. Jet engines are self
sustaining machines as long as fuel is provided they will keep operating.

Figure 1: Jet Engine Schematic [7]
It is very important that turbomachinery be designed in a way to assure trouble-free
operation. Jet Engine failures or in-flight shutdowns put lives at risk and can be very
costly for both the user and the original equipment manufacturer. Turbomachinary
components, especially blades, are exposed to loads that can cause failure, designing
reliable components requires in-depth vibration and stress analysis.
One of the main causes of turbine blade failure is high cycle fatigue or HCF. Fatigue
failure is caused by repeated cyclic loads on a structural member. The fatigue life of a
part is defined by the number of load cycles it can survive. The fatigue life depends on
the stress cycles magnitude and the parts material properties. In most cases the higher
the stress the shorter the fatigue life.

2
Fatigue failure occurs as follows. A crack initiates after a number of stress cycles.
This happens at a location of relatively high stress concentration. Cooling holes, sharp
fillets or internal core features of a turbine blade are typical high stress concentration
spots. By applying stress cycles the initiated crack grows. Final failure occurs very
rapidly after the crack reaches some critical length. HCF failure corresponds to fracture
due to a relatively large number of stress cycles caused by vibrations. [5]
Natural frequency is the frequency at which an object vibrates when excited by
force. At this frequency, the structure offers the least resistance to a force and if left
uncontrolled, failure can occur. Mode shape is deflection of object at a given natural
frequency. A guitar string is a good example of natural frequency and mode shapes.
When struck, the string vibrates at a certain frequency and attains a deflected shape. The
eigenvalue (natural frequency) and the accompanying eigenvector (mode shape) are
calculated to define the dynamics of a structure. A turbine bladed disk has many natural
frequencies and associated mode shapes. In the case of a bladed disk, the mode shapes
have been described as nodal diameters. The term nodal diameter is derived from the
appearance of a circular geometry, like a disk, vibrating in a certain mode. Mode shapes
contain lines of zero out-of-plane displacement which cross the entire disk as shown in
Figure 2. In other words, a node line is a line of zero displacement and the displacement
is out of phase on the sides of the line represented by white and gray shades in Figure 2.
These are commonly called nodal diameters. Hence the natural frequency and nodal
diameter are required to describe a bladed disk mode.

Figure 2: Example of Nodal Diameter m [1]
After establishing natural frequency and mode shapes, alternating forces must exist
to excite a structure and make it vibrate. These forces have inherent frequencies and
shapes just as bladed disks do. In a gas turbine, the most common sources of excitation
are running speed harmonics and vane passing frequencies [6]. Running speed
harmonics are multiple frequencies of the rotor operating speed. A turbine rotor running

3
at 7200 RPM (120 cycles/sec or HZ) would be having running speed harmonics
occurring at 240 HZ, 360 HZ, 480 HZ, and so on.
Vane passing frequency excitation is caused by air flowing through a nozzle or
vane. Vanes are static structures that are used to direct and control airflow onto the
blades. Because of their design, vanes have flow interruptions at regular or cyclic
intervals that cause a cyclic force on the blades. Other interruptions include struts or
combustor nozzles. For example, forty five symmetrically located vanes will create a
force that occurs forty five times per revolution or a ( ) 45 sin excitation to the blades.
Blades will experience the same force pattern making it a periodic force. Moving a stick
along a picket fence is a similar situation.
Understanding natural frequency and periodic forces helps explain resonance.
Resonance is a condition where response or amplitude of vibration is a maximum and
resistance to an oscillating force is at minimum. At this condition, the shape and
frequency of a force must match the natural frequency and mode shape of the structure.
An example of resonance is the Tacoma-Narrows bridge failure [4]. The bridge, as any
structure, had inherent natural frequencies and associated mode shapes. When the wind
blew at a certain speed, it created a forcing function that matched one of the bridges
natural frequencies and mode shapes, the bridge started to oscillate. Vibration
amplitudes became so large that ultimately lead to bridge failure. In Turbomachinery, it
is very difficult to have resonance free operation throughout the entire speed range.
Resonance is best avoided or at least controlled through the use of dampers.
A mathematical discussion of the condition of resonance is provided. In each
revolution of a turbine wheel, blades pass through a field of pressure fluctuation due to
nozzle or any other interruptions in the flow field. This fluctuation in pressure imposes a
time varying force on the blades. In general such forces can be broken into harmonic
components using Fourier analysis as follows:
.... ) sin( ... ) sin(
1 1 1 0
+ + + + + + =
n n n
t w F t w F F F
The frequency of the harmonics depends on the speed of the turbine and the number
of interruptions in the annulus like the number of nozzles, and is expressed as:
60
NI
w =

4
Where,
w = Driver frequency (HZ)
I = Number of nozzles around the wheel
N = Speed (RPM)
The frequency of any harmonic is an integer multiple of rotational speed and the number
of interruptions. The nth harmonic of the force can be expressed as:
) ( sin ) , ( + = wt n F t f
n n

Where,
n
F = amplitude of the nth harmonic
= angular position on the disk
t = time
Resonance is achieved when the forces imposed on the blade do positive work. The
work is defined as:

=
1
0
Fdx W
Where W is the work done by force F to move the body to a distance 1.
The work done by the nth harmonic of the force on the mth nodal diameter of the bladed
disk in one period can expressed as

dtd
N
t y
t
t f W
m
T
n
2
) , ( ) , (
2
0 0

=


Finally,

= =
=
w w
w w NF
W
n
m
m
and m n for 0
and m n for

Where,
n
F = Amplitude of the nth Harmonic
m
Y = Distance - constant
m
w = Natural frequency
= Angular position on disk
m = Nodal diameter
n = Harmonic index

5
The natural frequency
m
w
of the bladed disk must equal to the frequency of the
driving force
w w =
m
and the number of nodal diameters m must coincide with the
harmonic of the force n i.e. m = n. The second result suggests that the work done will be
zero when neither of the above conditions are satisfied which means no resonance will
occur. This explains why the natural frequencies and driver frequency must match and
also the force harmonic and structure mode shape or nodal diameter must match to
achieve resonance.

6
2. Modeling Methodology
Modal analysis can be a powerful tool to assist in the identification and elimination
of high cycle fatigue problems. Advances in computing power lead to the use of finite
element models or FEM to investigate turbine blade responses under running conditions.
FEM can be used to predict steady stresses and vibratory natural frequencies and mode
shapes. Knowledge of these frequencies is useful in avoiding excessive excitations such
as unbalance and vane passing thereby reducing the risk of fatigue failure. [2]
A continuous structure has an infinite number of degrees of freedom (DOF). The
finite element method approximates the real structures with a finite number of DOFs. Z
mode shapes can be found for a FEM having Z DOFs. Modal analysis is the process of
determining the Z natural frequencies and mode shapes. Based on the initial conditions
the structure will vibrate at one its natural frequencies and mode shapes. The dynamic
equation of a spring mass damper system is [4]
} { } ]{ [ } ' ]{ [ } ' ' ]{ [ F x K x C x M = + +
This is a second order non homogenous ordinary differential equation where the
mass M, damping C and stiffness K matrices are constant with time and the unknown
displacements x vary with time. To perform a modal analysis and obtain natural
frequencies and mode shapes the forcing function must equal to zero so the roots of the
characteristic equation can be obtained. For an undamped system not excited by external
forces the governing dynamic equation reduces to
} 0 { } ]{ [ } ' ' ]{ [ = + x K x M
The system vibrates at some particular frequency and mode shape
) cos( } { } { t w x
m m
=
Where,
m
} { is the mode shape
m
w is the natural frequency
We get the first derivative which is velocity
) sin( } { } ' { t w w x
m m m
=
Then obtain the second derivative which is acceleration

7
) cos( } { } ' ' {
2
t w w x
m m m
=
Replacing the displacement and acceleration into the undamped equation of motion we
get
( ) } 0 { } { ] [ ] [
2
= +
m m
K w M
The equation has two solutions. The first solution is trivial and undesired
} 0 { } { =
m

The other solution is
0 ] [ ] [
2
= + K w M
m

This presents an Eigen Problem
} ]{ [ } ]{ [ u I u A =
Where is the eigenvalue and } {u is the eigenvector
Going back to our solution and rewriting it as an eigen problem
( ) } 0 { } { ] [ ] [
2
= +
m m
K w M
m m m
w M K } { ] [ } ]{ [
2
=
m m m
I w K M } ]{ [ } ]{ [ ] [
2 1
=

This is similar to
} ]{ [ } ]{ [ x I x A =
Therefore the natural frequencies are eigenvalues
2
m
w and mode shapes are eigenvectors
m
} { for given mass and stiffness matrices.
A possible engineering challenge is posed when a structure with symmetric
geometry appears. Cyclic symmetry is present in many mechanical and civil engineering
structures such as domes, cooling towers, milling cutters, gears, and gas turbine engines
to name a few. Such structures can be considered a domain composed of identical sub-
domains that have symmetry with respect to an axis. The sub-domain or sector creates
the whole domain by rotating the sub-domain by 2/J. J is the number of identical
sectors. Analysis of one of the sub-domains and its high degree of repetition is the key to
obtaining major savings in computation time.
Commercial software such as NASTRAN and ANSYS have been developed to
handle linear and nonlinear static and dynamic analyses. ANSYS has the capability to

8
perform modal analysis on any type of structure. It can extract natural frequencies and
mode shapes. It is also capable of performing modal analysis on a pre-stressed structure
to include stiffening and thermal effects from static loads. ANSYS modal cyclic
symmetry obtains natural frequency and mode shapes of a cyclically symmetric structure
by modeling just one of its sectors. ANSYS modal analysis is a linear analysis. Any non-
linearities, such as plasticity and contact (gap) elements are ignored even if they were
defined. ANSYS has several mode extraction methods: Block Lanczos, subspace, PCG
Lanczos, reduced, unsymmetric, damped, and QR damped [1]. Those damped methods
allow for damping to be included in the structure. Block Lanczos will be used to analyze
the models in this paper. The Block Lanczos method is used for large symmetric
eigenvalue problems. It achieves higher convergence rate than the subspace method and
it uses the sparse matrix solver.
The general process for modal analysis consists of five steps: Build the FE model,
apply the loads and obtain the solution, expand the modes and review the results. In this
paper we will investigate two methods of modeling a rotating gas turbine stage. The first
will be referred to as the full method and will include a full wheel with 24 blades
representing the actual structure. The second method will be the modal cyclic symmetry
which will utilize one sector i.e. one blade with a disk sector and use that reduced model
for modal analysis to predict the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the entire
wheel. We can define the structure in terms of a primary segment which is repeated at
equally spaced intervals about the symmetry axis. If the displacement boundary
conditions of all segments are identical with respect to the axis of symmetry, we can
analyze the entire structure in terms of the mass and stiffness characteristics of a single
segment. As mentioned earlier the primary advantage of cyclic symmetry is the large
savings in CPU/elapsed time and computer resources. The two methods are shown in
Figure 7.
By using the ANSYS modal cyclic symmetry capability we can obtain the natural
frequencies and mode shapes of the entire structure for a prescribed range of nodal
diameters using a single sector model. Cyclic symmetry is implemented in ANSYS by
defining constraint relationships between the high and low edges of the basic sector as

9
shown in Figure 3. The definition of the constraint equations depends on the harmonic
index specified.

Figure 3: Cyclic Symmetry Layout [1]
The relationship between harmonic index, n, and nodal diameter, m, for a model
consisting of J sectors is given by the following equation: [1]
0,1,2,3... i ; = = n J i m
For example, if there are 24 sectors (J = 24) and we specify k = 2, ANSYS will obtain
the solution for nodal diameters 2, 22, 26, 46, 50, 70, 74 and so on. The harmonic index
range is from 0 to J/2 ([J -1]/2 if j is odd). The full structure dynamic equation is
} { } ]{ [ } ' ]{ [ } ' ' ]{ [ F x K x C x M = + +
The Finite Fourier Series force expansion in complex exponential form is

=

=
P
m
ma j i
m j
e t f t F
0
) 1 (
) ( ) (
And the deflection is

=

=
P
m
ma j i
m j
e t u t U
0
) 1 (
) ( ) (

10
Where,
a: Sector Angle
J
a
2
=
m
f : Coefficient corresponding to the jth sector
1 = i complex notation
J j ,... 2 , 1 = , J is the number of substructures, j is sector number
P m ,..... 2 , 1 , 0 = , m is the nodal diameter
P = J/2 for even J and (J-1)/2 for odd J
The cyclically symmetric problem is solved on a single substructure enforcing the
compatibility boundary conditions between the cyclic substructures. Two most
commonly used solution methods are the Complex Hermitian and the Duplicate sector
which is used by ANSYS for its fast performance. During the solution stage, ANSYS
automatically generates a duplicate sector of elements at the same geometric location of
the basic sector and applies all boundary conditions, loads, coupling and constraint
equations present on the basic sector to the duplicate sector. Modal analysis stores
information in complex form with real and imaginary components. This is done since
cyclic symmetry structures require phase information to be stored to determine
displacement, stress and strain fields when the sector model is expanded to the full 360.

Figure 4: Cyclic Symmetry Process [1]
The procedure for creating cyclic symmetry models is shown in Figure 4. First we
need to define the basic sector, to do so we obtain bladed-disk sector geometry and mesh

11
it. The model uses solid45 elements for simplicity. SOLID45 elements are used for 3-D
modeling of solid structures. The element is defined by eight nodes having three
translation degrees of freedom at each node as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: SOLID45 Element [1]
The mesh on the cyclic faces of the disk section must match, that can be
accomplished by using the sweep mesh function, if thats not possible the MSHCOPY can
be used to copy the mesh from one sector side to the other. ANSYS imposes cyclic
symmetry compatibility conditions for each nodal-diameter solution by the use of
couples or constraint equations connecting the nodes on the low and high-edge
components on the basic and duplicate sectors as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Cyclic Symmetry Sector Edges [1]
The nodes at the edge components are related by the following equation.

B
Low
A
Low
B
High
A
High
U
U
ma
ma
ma
ma
U
U
cos
sin
sin
cos


12
Using the automated procedure, ANSYS detects the coordinate system that the
geometry was built in, it also detects the symmetry planes and creates components from
them. It configures the symmetry planes so that the nodes match up with one another,
this is necessary in generating the constraint equations that enforce cyclic symmetry.
ANSYS detects the sector angle, and calculates the number of sectors necessary to
complete the full 360. Once the CYCLIC command is executed, ANSYS will echo the
number of sectors needed to complete the full 360, the components created in defining
the symmetry plane, and whether the component pairs are matched or unmatched. In our
case, cyclic symmetry boundary conditions were created successfully as ANSYS output
indicated that sectors have matched as shown in Figure 7. Boundary conditions included
ALL DOF constraints (displacement constrained in x, y and z directions) at the inner
disk diameter to both models as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9. The full model was
basically a sector model physically duplicated 24 times to create a full wheel.

Figure 7: Cyclic Symmetry and Full Model

13

Figure 8: Sector Model Boundary Conditions


Figure 9: Full Model Boundary Conditions

14
3. Discussion and Results
ANSYS is capable of post processing cyclic symmetry results. The ANSYS command
/CYCEXPAND controls the number of sectors to expand and the phase angle shift. The
response of any sector is represented by
( ) { } ( ) { } + + = ma j U ma j U U
B A
j
1 sin 1 cos
Where,
j
U = Response of the full structure for sector number j
A
U = Basic sector solution
B
U = Duplicate sector solution
j = Sector number
m= Nodal diameter
a = sector angle
= Phase angle
Result can be expanded to any angle and up to the full 360. This option usually
requires extra time and memory for large models. The results may be plotted at any
phase angle. Cyclic symmetry post-processing is somewhat complicated yet it can be
coded. A macro is provided in the appendix section that automates the cyclic symmetry
post-processing. The macro basically loops through every frequency substep and nodal
diameter loadstep, determines the max phase angle of deflection and plots the deflection
results.
Looking at the results, it was important to note the sequence difference between the
cyclic symmetry model and the full model. As shown in Table 1, the cyclic symmetry
model shows all the frequencies as substeps and nodal diameters as loadsteps. The full
model solution shows its predicted frequencies as loadsteps. The full model loadsteps
basically vary by nodal diameter but this is not shown in the results summary because
its inherent in the structure. In other words, the load steps are arranged by a blade mode
family (same type of deflection) over different disk nodal diameters. In cyclic symmetry,
ANSYS expands the solution for a specific nodal diameter and mode shape. This is very
useful since cyclic symmetry arranges results so there are multiple blade modes (natural
frequencies) for every nodal diameter solved for. The full model results arrangement is

15
not versatile since it only shows one blade mode shape type over all the possible nodal
diameters making it complicated as far as result tracking and post processing. It also
does not allow phase angle plotting since the phase angle is a part of that mode shape
(loadstep) and its not a parameter than can be expanded upon like in cyclic symmetry.
Table 1: Results Summary Sequence

Figure 10, Figure 11 and Figure 12 compare the frequency and mode shape (EWB
Easy Wise Bending) between the two models for ND1, ND2 and ND3, respectively.
Cyclic symmetry model mode shapes were expanded over the full wheel structure. All
the cyclic symmetry plots show the harmonic index (Nodal Diameter) value. Overall,
both cyclic symmetry and the full model frequencies and mode shapes were very similar.
Table 2 compares a sample of the frequency results. The highest difference was about
1.94% at ND0 while the difference diminished to 0% beyond ND4. Mode shapes for
ND1, ND2 and ND3 are shown in Figure 10, Figure 11 and Figure 12, respectively.
Table 2: Full Model vs. Cyclic Symmetry Frequency Results


16


Figure 10: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND1

17

Figure 11: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND2

18

Figure 12: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND3


19
The blue colored contours across the disk in the mode shapes plots in Figure 10,
Figure 11 and Figure 12 represent nodal diameters. As explained earlier, nodal diameters
are lines of zero out-of-plane displacement which cross the entire disk. The
displacement, for example, of the tip of each blade when plotted with angular position,
shows a sinusoidal characteristic over the circumference where the peaks are the out of
plane blade motion. There can be as few as zero nodal diameters where the entire blade
set is in phase with one another. The maximum number of nodal diameters is onehalf
the number of blades, in this situation every blade moves out of phase with its neighbor.
For our case, the disk contains 24 blades, so the maximum number of nodal diameters is
twelve. The nodal diameter mode shape ND1 is illustrated in Figure 10. There are two
phase changes in the bladed disk which are noted by the radial lines forming the one
nodal diameter mode shape. The same observation can be applied to the 2nd and 3rd
nodal diameter plots shown in Figure 11 and Figure 12, respectively. Figure 13 shows
both a zero and twelve nodal diameter mode shapes. Sometimes the disk is not
participating and the vibration is only at the blade this is typically known as a blade
alone mode mainly due to a stiff disk. Still blades are affected by the presence of nodal
diameters. As shown in Figure 13 and Figure 14 the disk has almost zero deflection and
the blades are out of phase. In Figure 14 multiple nodal diameters are shown for the
Torsion mode, it is clear that nodal diameters affect the blade deflection. At ND1 and
ND3 plots in Figure 14 there is almost stagnant or very small blade vibration where a
node line is crossing.

20

Figure 13: Mode1 Easy Wise Bending ND0 vs. ND12

Figure 14: Torsion Mode variation with nodal diameters

21
More than 50 years ago, Dr. Campbell working in the Rotor Dynamics Laboratory
of the General Electric Steam Turbine facility in Schenectady, New York, was looking
for a way to present information about turbine blade resonances during startups of large
steam turbines. He needed to evaluate the performance of a rotating turbine blade during
accelerations and decelerations. Campbell diagrams [3] are used to illustrate the
interference between natural frequencies and common exciting forces described earlier.
In the case of a gas turbine bladed disk natural frequencies are plotted against rotor
running speed. Diagonal lines represent the sources of excitation or engine orders such
as vane or strut counts. When the diagonal line crosses a bladed disk natural frequency
within the turbine speed range a resonance is said to occur.
Figure 15 shows a Campbell diagram of actual modes and possible engine order
drivers. The mode frequency drop is typically due to thermal affects, as speed increases
the temperature increase and elastic modulus decrease thereby dropping natural
frequency of the part. Depending on the speed, the frequency drop is usually within 15%
of the value at zero speed or room temperature. As stated earlier, drivers can be actual
static structures such as struts or vane passes or they can be running speed harmonics.
Whenever there is a crossing it represents possible resonance as shown by the blue
circles in Figure 15. During startups and shutdowns these modes would get excited but
the time spent at resonance is key. If it is passing through, then it has a small effect and
does not pose any concern but if there is a long time to be spent at a specific speed (like
during cruising of aircraft) then, care must be taken to avoid resonance at long dwells.

22

Figure 15: Campbell Diagram

23
4. Conclusion
In this paper we introduced the theory and the general process of analyzing the dynamic
characteristics of gas turbine rotating components. It is very important to design
turbomachinery to assure trouble free operation since failure can expose lives to danger.
One of the engineer/designer main tasks is to design components that avoid deadly
resonance at operational speeds. In depth structural analysis using finite elements is
required to address the complex nature of the designs and to troubleshoot field problems.
In this study we looked at two methods on analyzing a turbine bladed disk using ANSYS
Finite element code. The first method was the full turbine wheel of 24 blades and the
other method used one sector by utilizing cyclic symmetry. Cyclic symmetry has many
advantages and its primary advantage is the large savings in CPU time and computer
resources. Its important to note that our cyclic symmetry model was only 1572 nodes,
while the full model was about 17,280 nodes, thats about 11x model size and yet cyclic
symmetry provided results with the same accuracy. Cyclic symmetry can be more
powerful when used to model actual hardware like a turbine airfoil or an integrally
bladed rotor that can potentially reach and exceed one million elements for a single
sector. In that case modeling a full wheel is not an option due to limited resources and
cyclic symmetry is the method of choice since it will obtain results with the same
accuracy at a fraction of time and resources. An important condition for the successful
application of finite element models is the validation and calibration. Although
validation details are not covered in this paper it typically includes lab testing, spin rigs
and full engine testing to validate designs at actual running condition. FEA can be most
valuable in situations where there is an extensive history of modeling, testing, and field
experience. Having a valid analysis approach available will likely save several design
iterations and produce a more robust blade design in the end.

24
5. References
[1] ANSYS 11.0 Theory Reference, ANSYS Corporation, 2007
[2] T. Tomioka, Y. Kobayashi and G. Yamada Analysis of free vibration of rotating
disk-blade coupled systems by using artificial springs and orthogonal polynomials
Journal of Sound and Vibration " 191(1), 53-73, 1996
[3] J. Hou and B. Wicks Root Flexibility and Untwist Effects on Vibration
Characteristics of a Gas Turbine Blade Air Vehicles Division Platforms Sciences
Laboratory DSTO-RR-0250, 2002
[4] William J. Palm Mechanical Vibration Wiley ISBN 0-471-34555-5, 2004
[5] Jerry H. Griffin "Unstable Resonant Response of Shrouded Bladed Disks,
Proceedings of the Third National Turbine Engine High Cycle Fatigue Conference,
1998
[6] M. Singh, J. Vargo, D. Schiffer and J. Dello, Safe Diagram A Design and
Reliability Tool for Turbine Blading, Dresser-Rand Company, 2002
[7] John M. Vance Rotordynamics of Turbomachinary Wiley ISBN-13:
9780471802587, 1988

25
6. Appendix: ANSYS Macros
!**********************************************************************
!This Macro is for meshing the model and creating the cyclic boundary
!conditions setting up the solution parameter and the number of nodal
!diameters to solve for

!This macro requires the geometry file cyc_sym_model.iges to be in the
working directory
!**********************************************************************
FINISH
/CLEAR,START

!Allows the user to use ansys automated process or define it manually
(for more complicated structures)
auto_process = 0 !Automated cyc symmetry- 1, Manual cyc symmetry- 0

!Read IGES Geometry
/AUX15
!*
IOPTN,IGES,NODEFEAT
IOPTN,MERGE,YES
IOPTN,SOLID,YES
IOPTN,SMALL,YES
IOPTN,GTOLER, DEFA
IGESIN,'cyc_sym_model','iges',' '
VPLOT
!*

!Define Solid45 Element
/prep7
ET,1,SOLID45

!Define Material Properties
MP,DENS,1,0.000777
MP,EX,1,3e7
MP,PRXY,1,.3

!Meshing
ESIZE,0.1,0,
FLST,5,4,6,ORDE,2
FITEM,5,1
FITEM,5,-4

26
CM,_Y,VOLU
VSEL, , , ,P51X
CM,_Y1,VOLU
CHKMSH,'VOLU'
CMSEL,S,_Y
!*
!*
VCLEAR,_Y1
MSHAPE,0,3d
VMESH,_Y1
!*
CMDELE,_Y
CMDELE,_Y1
CMDELE,_Y2
!*
!Apply Boundary Conditions
allsel
ASEL,S, , , 14
nsla,s,1
csys,0
NSEL,r,LOC,Y,-.32,.32
d,all,all
allsel
!Couple blade and disk
asel,s,,,7
asel,a,,,16
nsla,s,1
CPINTF,ALL,0.0001,
allsel

*if,auto_process,eq,1,then

CYCLIC, , , ,'CYCLIC'
!CPCYC,ALL,,1,,360/24
*else
!cyclic symmetry components
asel,s,,,22
asel,a,,,6
asel,a,,,17
CM,cyclic_m01h,AREA

asel,s,,,20
asel,a,,,4

27
asel,a,,,15
CM,cyclic_m01l,AREA

!asel,s,,,6
!asel,r,,,17
!CM,cyclic_m02h,AREA
!asel,s,,,4
!asel,s,,,15
!CM,cyclic_m-2l,AREA

!CYCLIC, , , ,'CYCLIC'
csys,1
cyclic,24,360/24,1,cyclic,1
!CPCYC,ALL,,1,,360/24

*endif
!Solution Controls
CYCOPT,HINDEX,0,12,,, !Defines 12 Nodal Diamters to solve for
/SOL
ANTYPE,2
MODOPT,LANB,10 !Will obtain the first 10 modes of the structures
EQSLV,SPAR
MXPAND,10, , ,1
LUMPM,0
PSTRES,0
!*
SAVE
Solve












28
!**********************************************************************
! This Macro to Automate Post-Processing it works for both full and
! cyclic symmetry models
!**********************************************************************
/post1
/WIND,ALL,OFF
/WIND,1,LEFT
/WIND,2,RIGHT
GPLOT
EPLOT
/VIEW,1,,,-1
/ANG,1
/AUTO,1
/REP,FAST
!/VIEW,2,-1
!/ANG,2
!/ANG,2,90,ZS,1
/VIEW,2,-1
/ANG,2
/AUTO,2
/REP,FAST
/FOC, 2, 1.02420727007 , -0.131829818902 ,
0.177885996090
/VIEW, 2, -0.706832267489 , -0.201670178251E-01, -
0.707093655061
/ANG, 2, 0.940571321353
set,last
*get,nlstp,active,,set,lstp
*get,nsub,active,,set,sbst
/cycexpand,1,amount,nrepeat,360
/cycexpand,2,amount,nrepeat,360
*do,k,1,nlstp,1
set,k,1
*get,freq_1,active,0,set,freq
set,k,2
*get,freq_2,active,0,set,freq
cycno2_key=0
test_freq=abs(freq_1-freq_2)
*if,freq_1,eq,freq_2,or,test_freq,le,0.1,then
cycno2_key=1
*endif
*if,cycno2_key,eq,1,then
*do,i,1,nsub,2

29

set,k,i
/graph,power
/PLOPTS,INFO,auto
/PLOPTS,LEG1,1
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
/PLOPTS,LEG3,1
/PLOPTS,FRAME,1
/PLOPTS,TITLE,1
/PLOPTS,MINM,1
/PLOPTS,LOGO,0
/PLOPTS,WINS,1
/PLOPTS,WP,0
/TRIAD,LBOT
/RGB,INDEX,100,100,100, 0
/RGB,INDEX, 80, 80, 80,13
/RGB,INDEX, 60, 60, 60,14
/RGB,INDEX, 0, 0, 0,15
/SHOW,JPEG
/cycexpand,1,amount,nrepeat,360
cycphase,disp,1
cycphase,get,u,sum,max
/cycexpand,,phaseang,_cycphase
PLNSOL, U,SUM, 2,1.0
*enddo
*else
*do,i,1,nsub,1
set,k,i
/graph,power
/PLOPTS,INFO,auto
/PLOPTS,LEG1,1
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
/PLOPTS,LEG3,1
/PLOPTS,FRAME,1
/PLOPTS,TITLE,1
/PLOPTS,MINM,1
/PLOPTS,LOGO,0
/PLOPTS,WINS,1
/PLOPTS,WP,0
/TRIAD,LBOT
/RGB,INDEX,100,100,100, 0
/RGB,INDEX, 80, 80, 80,13
/RGB,INDEX, 60, 60, 60,14

30
/RGB,INDEX, 0, 0, 0,15
/SHOW,JPEG
/cycexpand,1,amount,nrepeat,360
cycphase,disp,1
cycphase,get,u,sum,max
/cycexpand,,phaseang,_cycphase
PLNSOL, U,SUM, 2,1.0
*enddo
*endif
*enddo
/show,close
/show,term