Aero-Engine Turbine Shaft and Blade Stress Experiment
This case study analyzes a comprehensive testing project for critical aero-engine components conducted for an engineering college in August 2022. The project aimed to synchronously measure multiple physical parameters of the turbine shaft, bearings, and blades under high-speed rotation conditions, successfully simulating an extreme operational event (bird strike). This report elaborates on the testing solution that utilized multiple sensor types and a modular acquisition system to create a high-precision, highly synchronized setup for a thorough engine condition assessment, demonstrating the company's technical prowess in complex condition testing.
1. Project Background & Overview
1. Objective:
An engineering college required a condition assessment of aero-engine turbine components. The experiment needed to synchronously acquire multi-dimensional data—including turbine shaft centerline trajectory, bearing temperature, blade strain, and engine casing vibration—under high-speed rotation, while simulating a bird strike event at maximum speed to analyze blade dynamic response and damage tolerance.
2. Technical Challenges:
Multi-parameter Synchronization: Requiring precise time-correlation of signals of different natures (speed, displacement, temperature, strain, vibration).
Extreme Environment: High temperatures in the turbine area demanded high temperature resistance from sensors, particularly strain gauges.
Transient Event Capture: The bird strike simulation, a millisecond-level transient event, required a system with high sampling rates and reliable trigger/capture capabilities.
3. Solution: A centralized acquisition platform formed by 3x DE-944 Dynamic Signal Test and Analysis Systems, paired with a targeted sensor strategy, successfully completed this complex, integrated experiment.
2. Core Solution & Technical Highlights
The experiment's success hinged on precise sensor selection and superb system integration/synchronization capabilities.
1. Targeted Multi-Sensor Configuration:
Condition Monitoring (1 ch): One channel precisely monitored engine speed, serving as the reference signal for all data analysis.
Shaft Orbit Measurement (2 ch): Used eddy current displacement sensors for non-contact measurement of the turbine shaft's dynamic displacement, analyzing rotor dynamics.
Temperature Field Measurement (20 ch): Used K-type thermocouples covering key points on the turbine bearings and inner/outer walls to map the temperature distribution.
Blade Strain Measurement (110 ch): The technical core. Employed room-temperature, medium-temperature, and high-temperature strain gauges selected based on measurement point temperatures, ensuring signal accuracy and stability in high-temperature environments, directly measuring strain from aerodynamic loads and centrifugal forces.
Vibration Measurement (10 ch): Vibration sensors measured the engine casing’s vibration acceleration, reflecting overall operational smoothness.
2. Highly Integrated Synchronized Acquisition System:
Modular System: The 3x DE-944 Dynamic Signal Test and Analysis Systems provided over 143 total channels, perfectly covering the project's requirement of 133 channels with room for expansion. All channels achieved strict synchronous acquisition under the Dynatronic basic platform software.
Dynamic Signal Analysis Capability: The DE-944 series is designed for dynamic signals (e.g., vibration, strain). Its high sampling rate ensured clear capture of the dynamic strain response on the blades during the instantaneous bird strike event.
3. Analysis of Key Success Factors
Targeted Technical Selection: Choosing the most suitable sensor types based on the environmental conditions (temperature) and physical parameters (displacement, strain, etc.) of each measurement location was foundational. The successful application of high-temperature strain gauges was particularly critical.
System Synchronization and Integrity: Using one integrated system to synchronously acquire all signals avoided the complexity of linking multiple systems. It guaranteed all data—from slowly changing temperatures to transient bird strike strains—had a unified timestamp, providing the sole basis for subsequent correlation analysis.
Practicality and Reliability: The solution was closely designed around the practical R&D needs of the engineering college, solving the challenge of acquiring data across the entire operational spectrum from steady-state to transient impact. The system operated stably, delivering reliable data.
4. Project Significance & Value
Value for the Client (Engineering College):
Supported Critical R&D Data: Provided invaluable experimental data for structural design, strength verification, fatigue life prediction, and damage tolerance research of aero-engine turbine components.
Enhanced Research Capabilities: Enabled the college to conduct comprehensive testing on core aero-engine components under extreme conditions, strongly supporting related discipline development and high-level research projects.
Validated Theoretical Models: The acquired multi-physics field coupling data can be used to validate and refine computer simulation models, improving design accuracy and efficiency.
Value for Our Company:
Demonstrated Complex Testing Integration Capability: This case serves as a classic demonstration of synchronous multi-parameter testing, highlighting the company's comprehensive strength in sensor application, system integration, and data analysis.
Deepened Collaboration in Aerospace R&D Sector: Successfully serving a cutting-edge university research project solidified the company's image of technological leadership in the higher education equipment market, laying a solid foundation for cooperation with more research institutions.
Created a Standardized Solution: The sensor configuration and system integration approach validated in this project can be replicated for other rotating machinery and high-temperature component testing scenarios, forming a standardizable solution for promotion.
5. Conclusion & Outlook
Although the channel count in this project was relatively modest, its technical complexity and comprehensiveness were very high. It successfully verified the reliability and accuracy of the company's data acquisition systems in testing aero-engines under extreme conditions.
Looking forward, it is recommended that the company:
Develop Technical White Papers: Compile the sensor selection guidelines, system configuration, and experimental methodologies from this case into technical documentation or application white papers, serving as a powerful marketing tool for universities and research institutions.
Focus on High-Temperature Testing Technology: Continue tracking and developing strain measurement solutions for even higher temperature grades to maintain a leading position at the forefront of high-temperature testing technology.
Expand into the Rotating Machinery Diagnostics Market: Use this case as a benchmark to expand into the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis market for rotating machinery in sectors like energy (gas turbines) and marine (naval propulsion).
