Optimization of Friction Damper Weight, Simulation and Experiments

A new friction damper has been designed by Volvo Aero Corporation. It is used in the high pressure turbine stage of a turbojet engine. The objective of this paper was to find the optimal weight of the new damper that minimizes the blade response amplitude for six and nine engine order excitation and to compare the new damper design with that currently used. Another objective was to compare how well simulation results agree with experimental results from spin pit tests. Simulations were made with a damper model that incorporates the possibility of both micro- and macro-slip in the blade-damper contact interface. Turbine blades were modeled using finite element beam elements. Experimental data were provided from spin pit tests with a completely bladed high pressure turbine rotor. Results show that the simulation model can be used to give qualitative results but has to be further developed to incorporate mistuning effects and coupled modes of vibration for the blade. The spin pit test shows that the new damper design is more efficient in reducing resonance stresses than the old design. It was not possible to see if simulations predict the right optimal damper weight by comparing with experimental data because the rotor could not be excited up to the design point.