Stress and Vibration Analysis for Woven Composite Axial Impeller

A stress and vibration analysis procedure is developed to assess the static and dynamic characteristics of the Woven Composite Axial-Impeller under loading conditions particular to centrifugal force. This procedure is based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA, commercial software ABAQUS) results. A low-cost, light-weight, high-performance, composite turbomachinery impeller with uniquely designed blade patterns are evaluated. Understanding the stress-strain behavior of fiber composite laminates to ultimate failure and the ability to predict ultimate strength is critical in the design of safe and lightweight impellers. To determine failures, the maximum stress failure criterion is used. In order to avoid resonance which can make impellers suffer a significant reduction in the design life, the designer must calculate the natural frequency and modal shape of impeller to analyze the dynamic characteristics. The results show that composite material Kevlar fiber/epoxy matrix enables the impeller to run at high tip speed of 450m/s and withstand the stresses; no critical speed will be matched during start-up and shut-down and that mass imbalances of the impeller shall not pose a critical problem.