Laser Balancing Demonstration on a High-Speed Flexible Rotor

This paper describes a flexible rotor system used for two-plane laser balancing and an experimental demonstration of the laser material removal method for balancing. A laboratory test rotor was modified to accept balancing corrections using a laser metal removal method while the rotor is at operating speed. The laser setup hardware required to balance the rotor using two correction planes is described. The test rig optical configuration and a neodymium glass laser were assembled and calibrated for material removal rates. Rotor amplitudes before and after balancing, trial and correction weights, rotor speed during operation of laser, and balancing time were documented. The rotor was balanced through the first bending critical speed using the laser material removal procedure to apply trial weights and correction weights without stopping the rotor.