Forced Response of Interlocked Vane Segments: Numerical Predictions and Experimental Results

Resonant vibrations affect fatigue life of vane segments. Friction damping is employed to reduce vibration amplitude. When vane segments are assembled, they are twisted so that lower platforms are in contact. The sum of displacements of the two ends of the lower platform after twisting is defined ‘interlocking’. Different ‘interlocking’ values correspond to different values of normal contact force. When interlocked vanes vibrate under external force excitation, energy is dissipated by friction forces at lower platform contacts providing damping to the system. The aim of this paper is the experimental validation of a numerical code for forced response calculation of interlocked vane segments. Since friction forces depend on relative displacements of bodies in contact, the system is nonlinear. System force response is computed by means of Harmonic Balance Method (HBM). Contact model implemented in the code is characterised by tangential and normal stiffness to take into account local compliance of the contact area. Gross slip occurs when the instantaneous ratio of tangential force to normal force is equal to the friction coefficient. Also effect of microslip is taken in account. The experimental set-up used to validate the code is made of a vane segment fixed at the outer radius to an aluminium frame and in contact with two supports at the inner radius. Comparison between the numerical predictions and experimental results is performed for different values of interlocking (i.e. force normal to the contact).