ADiSS — Aeroelastic Damping in Separated Flows

The project aims at obtaining experimental data to verify and improve accuracy in aerodynamic damping and flutter predictions for the conditions where available calculation methods are not fully validated or reliable. In particular, the focus will be on aeroelastic response of the compressor blades vibrating in a near stall flow condition.

Funded by:

Vinnova (through the NFFP7 program)

Time period:

10 Oct 2019 – 30 June 2024

Project partner:

GKN AEROSPACE SWEDEN AB, Sweden

Background

Aeromechanical blade vibrations present a significant challenge in a new design as well as in operation, and avoiding this constitutes a large part of the blade design work. Mastering this successfully enables engine designs with improved efficiencies and lighter components. In operation, vibrations that occur often result in high maintenance costs and sometimes can lead to availability problems affecting end users. In the worst case, safety can also be questioned, followed by flight restrictions as a consequence. Identifying root causes and suggesting effective measures in a short period of time becomes even more important. The area is developing fast with more advanced opportunities available in the simulation tools; however, there are areas where the tools are still inaccurate or not validated. The project focuses on one of these areas, namely flutter in separated flow, where the project aims to generate detailed measurements for the validation of CFD.

Aims and objectives

Detailed objectives are:

Establish a validation database from experiments in an oscillating compressor cascade operated at near stall conditions and use the test data for direct comparison with results of numerical simulations employing state of the art CFD codes
Quantify the impact of increased blade surface roughness (due to in service wear) on aeroelastic response of the blades