Convergence Analysis of the Numerical Solution for Cathode Design of Aero-engine Blades in Electrochemical Machining

As a main difficult problem encountered in electrochemical machining （ECM）, the cathode design is tackled, at present, with various numerical analysis methods such as finite difference, finite element and boundary element methods. Among them, the finite element method presents more flexibility to deal with the irregularly shaped workpieces. However, it is very difficult to ensure the convergence of finite element numerical approach. This paper proposes an accurate model and a finite element numerical approach of cathode design based on the potential distribution in inter-electrode gap. In order to ensure the convergence of finite element numerical approach and increase the accuracy in cathode design, the cathode shape should be iterated to eliminate the design errors in computational process. Several experiments are conducted to verify the machining accuracy of the designed cathode. The experimental results have proven perfect convergence and good computing accuracy of the proposed finite element numerical approach by the high surface quality and dimensional accuracy of the machined blades.

Aero-engine Blade Fatigue Analysis Based on Nonlinear Continuum Damage Model Using Neural Networks

Fatigue life and reliability of aero-engine blade are always of important significance to flight safety.The establishment of damage model is one of the key factors in blade fatigue research.Conventional linear Miner＇s sum method is not suitable for aero-engine because of its low accuracy.A back propagation neutral network（BPNN） based on the combination of Levenberg-Marquardt（LM） and finite element method（FEM） is used to describe process of nonlinear damage accumulation behavior in material and predict fatigue life of the blade.Fatigue tests of standard specimen made from TC4 are carried out to obtain material fatigue parameters and S-N curve.A nonlinear continuum damage model（CDM）,based on the BPNN with one hidden layer and ten neurons,is built to investigate the nonlinear damage accumulation behavior,in which the results from the tests are used as training set.Comparing with linear models and previous nonlinear models,BPNN has the lowest calculation error in full load range.It has significant accuracy when the load is below 500 MPa.Especially,when the load is 350 MPa,the calculation error of the BPNN is only 0.4%.The accurate model of the blade is built by using 3D coordinate measurement technology.The loading cycle in fatigue analysis is defined from takeoff to cruise in 10 min,and the load history is obtained from finite element analysis（FEA）.Then the fatigue life of the compressor blade is predicted by using the BPNN model.The final fatigue life of the aero-engine blade is 6.55 104 cycles（10 916 h） based on the BPNN model,which is effective for the virtual design of aero-engine blade.

Composite Adaptive Control of Belt Polishing Force for Aero-engine Blade

The existing methods for blade polishing mainly focus on robot polishing and manual grinding.Due to the difficulty in high-precision control of the polishing force,the blade surface precision is very low in robot polishing,in particular,quality of the inlet and exhaust edges can not satisfy the processing requirements.Manual grinding has low efficiency,high labor intensity and unstable processing quality,moreover,the polished surface is vulnerable to burn,and the surface precision and integrity are difficult to ensure.In order to further improve the profile accuracy and surface quality,a pneumatic flexible polishing force-exerting mechanism is designed and a dual-mode switching composite adaptive control(DSCAC) strategy is proposed,which combines Bang-Bang control and model reference adaptive control based on fuzzy neural network(MRACFNN) together.By the mode decision-making mechanism,Bang-Bang control is used to track the control command signal quickly when the actual polishing force is far away from the target value,and MRACFNN is utilized in smaller error ranges to improve the system robustness and control precision.Based on the mathematical model of the force-exerting mechanism,simulation analysis is implemented on DSCAC.Simulation results show that the output polishing force can better track the given signal.Finally,the blade polishing experiments are carried out on the designed polishing equipment.Experimental results show that DSCAC can effectively mitigate the influence of gas compressibility,valve dead-time effect,valve nonlinear flow,cylinder friction,measurement noise and other interference on the control precision of polishing force,which has high control precision,strong robustness,strong anti-interference ability and other advantages compared with MRACFNN.The proposed research achieves high-precision control of the polishing force,effectively improves the blade machining precision and surface consistency,and significantly reduces the surface roughness.

Full-field dynamic strain reconstruction of an aero-engine blade from limited displacement responses

Blade strain distribution and its change with time are crucial for reliability analysis and residual life evaluation in blade vibration tests.Traditional strain measurements are achieved by strain gauges(SGs)in a contact manner at discrete positions on the blades.This study proposes a method of full-field and real-time strain reconstruction of an aero-engine blade based on limited displacement responses.Limited optical measured displacement responses are utilized to reconstruct the full-field strain.The full-field strain distribution is in-time visualized.A displacement-to-strain transformation matrix is derived on the basis of the blade mode shapes in the modal coordinate.The proposed method is validated on an aero-engine blade in numerical and experimental cases.Three discrete vibrational displacement responses measured by laser triangulation sensors are used to reconstruct the full-field strain over the whole operating time.The reconstructed strain responses are compared with the results measured by SGs and numerical simulation.The high consistency between the reconstructed and measured results demonstrates the accurate strain reconstructed by the method.This paper provides a low-cost,real-time,and visualized measurement of blade full-field dynamic strain using displacement response,where the traditional SGs would fail.

A trajectory planning method on error compensation of residual height for aero-engine blades of robotic belt grinding

While the traditional trajectory planning methods are used in robotic belt grinding of blades with an uneven machining allowance distribution, it is hard to obtain the preferable profile accuracy and surface quality to meet the high-performance requirements of aero-engine. To solve this problem, a novel trajectory planning method is proposed in this paper by considering the developed interpolation algorithm and the machining allowance threshold. The residual height error obtained from grinding experiments of titanium alloy sample was compensated to modify the calculation model of row spacing, and a new geometric algorithm was presented to dynamically calculate the cutter contact points based on this revised calculation model and the dichotomy method. Subsequently, the off-line machining program is generated based on a double-vector controlling method to obtain an optimal contact posture. On this basis, three sets of robotic grinding tests of titanium alloy blades were conducted to investigate the advantages of the proposed method.The comparative experimental results revealed that the presented algorithm had improved the surface profile accuracy of blade by 34.2% and 55.1%, respectively. Moreover, the average machined surface roughness was achieved to 0.3 μm and the machining efficiency was obviously promoted. It is concluded that this research work is beneficial to comprehensively improve the machined quality of blades in robotic belt grinding.

Remaining useful life prediction of aero-engines based on random-coefficient regression model considering random failure threshold

Remaining useful life(RUL)prediction is one of the most crucial components in prognostics and health management(PHM)of aero-engines.This paper proposes an RUL prediction method of aero-engines considering the randomness of failure threshold.Firstly,a random-coefficient regression(RCR)model is used to model the degradation process of aeroengines.Then,the RUL distribution based on fixed failure threshold is derived.The prior parameters of the degradation model are calculated by a two-step maximum likelihood estimation(MLE)method and the random coefficient is updated in real time under the Bayesian framework.The failure threshold in this paper is defined by the actual degradation process of aeroengines.After that,a expectation maximization(EM)algorithm is proposed to estimate the underlying failure threshold of aeroengines.In addition,the conditional probability is used to satisfy the limitation of failure threshold.Then,based on above results,an analytical expression of RUL distribution of aero-engines based on the RCR model considering random failure threshold(RFT)is derived in a closed-form.Finally,a case study of turbofan engine is used to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the RUL prediction method and the parameters estimation method of failure threshold proposed.

Reliability analysis of aero-engine blades considering nonlinear strength degeneration

To comprehensively consider the effects of strength degeneration and failure correlation, an improved stress–strength interference （SSI） model is proposed to analyze the reliability of aeroengine blades with the fatigue failure mode. Two types of TC4 alloy experiments are conducted for the study on the damage accumulation law. All the parameters in the nonlinear damage model are obtained by the tension–compression fatigue tests, and the accuracy of the nonlinear damage model is verified by the damage tests. The strength degeneration model is put forward on the basis of the Chaboche nonlinear damage theory and the Griffith fracture criterion, and determined by measuring the fatigue toughness during the tests. From the comparison of two kinds of degeneration models based on the Miner’s linear law and the nonlinear damage model respectively, the nonlinear model has a significant advantage on prediction accuracy especially in the later period of life. A time-dependent SSI reliability model is established. By computing the stress distribution using the finite element （FE） technique, the reliability of a single blade during the whole service life is obtained. Considering the failure correlation of components, a modified reliability model of aero-engine blades with common cause failure （CCF） is presented. It shows a closer and more reasonable process with the actual working condition. The improved reliability model is illustrated to be applied to aero-engine blades well, and the approach purposed in this paper is suitable for any actual machinery component of aero-engine rotor systems.

Failure Assessment of Aero-engine Support Structure due to Blade-off

Aero-engine blade-off event could cause serious malfunction and endanger flight safety,which is an important issue widely concerned for a long period.This paper presents a comprehensive review on the regulation requirements,the major research methods and status at home and abroad.Firstly,the relevant certification regulations and standards about aero-engine structure safety due to blade-off event were overviewed and the research gaps between the abroad and the domestic were compared.Then,the simulation and experimental methodologies on aero-engine supporting structures undertake abnormal load due to blade-off event were discussed as major issue.Finally,the safety certification verification technology system for aero-engine support structures during blade-off event was proposed.

Surface integrity of GH4169 affected by cantilever finish grinding and the application in aero-engine blades

GH4169 is the main material for aero-cngine blades and integrated blisks. Because GH4169 has a poor milling performance, the profile precision and surtace integrity of blades and integrated blisks are difficult to be met by utilizing the conventional milling process, which directly influence the global performance and reliability of aero-engines. Through grinding experiments on parameters and surface integrity optimization, the helical cantilever grinding process utilizing a 300# CBN RB wheel is presented and applied in finish machining of GH4169 blades. The profile errors of the blade surface are within ±0.01 mm, the roughness is less than 0.4μm, the residual compressive stresses and the hardening rate are appropriate, there are no phenomena of burr and smearing with the grinding chips, and the leading/trailing edge can be smoothly connected with the suction/pressure surface. All the experimental results indicate that this grinding process is greatly suitable for the profile finish machining of GH4169 blades.

An Inter-Shaft Bearing Fault Diagnosis Dataset from an Aero-Engine System

In this paper,the aero-engine test with inter-shaft bearing fault is carried out,and a dataset is proposed for the first time based on the vibration signal of rotors and casings.First,a test rig based on a real aero-engine is established,driven by motors and equipped with a lubricating system.Then,the aero-engine is disassembled and assembled following the specification process,and the inter-shaft bearing with artificial fault is replaced.Next,the aero-engine test is conducted at 28 groups of high-and low-pressure speeds.Six measuring points are arranged,including two displacement sensors to test the displacement vibration signals of the low-pressure rotor and four acceleration sensors to test the acceleration vibration signals of the casing.The test results are integrated into an inter-shaft bearing fault dataset.Finally,based on the dataset in this paper,frequency spectrum,envelope spectrum,CNN,LSTM,and TST are used for fault diagnosis,and the results are compared with those of CWRU and XJTU datasets.The results show that the characteristic fault frequency cannot be found directly in the spectrum and envelope spectrum corresponding to this paper’s dataset but in CWRU and XJTU datasets.Using CNN,LSTM,and TST for fault diagnosis of the dataset in this paper,the accuracy is 83.13%,85.41%,and 71.07%,respectively,much lower than the diagnosis results of CWRU and XJTU datasets.It can be seen that the dataset in this paper is closer to the actual fault diagnosis situation and is a more challenging dataset.This dataset provides a new benchmark for the validation of fault diagnosis methods.Mendeley data:https://github.com/HouLeiHIT/HIT-dataset.

Mechanism of internal thermal runaway propagation in blade batteries

Blade batteries are extensively used in electric vehicles,but unavoidable thermal runaway is an inherent threat to their safe use.This study experimentally investigated the mechanism underlying thermal runaway propagation within a blade battery by using a nail to trigger thermal runaway and thermocouples to track its propagation inside a cell.The results showed that the internal thermal runaway could propagate for up to 272 s,which is comparable to that of a traditional battery module.The velocity of the thermal runaway propagation fluctuated between 1 and 8 mm s^(-1),depending on both the electrolyte content and high-temperature gas diffusion.In the early stages of thermal runaway,the electrolyte participated in the reaction,which intensified the thermal runaway and accelerated its propagation.As the battery temperature increased,the electrolyte evaporated,which attenuated the acceleration effect.Gas diffusion affected thermal runaway propagation through both heat transfer and mass transfer.The experimental results indicated that gas diffusion accelerated the velocity of thermal runaway propagation by 36.84%.We used a 1D mathematical model and confirmed that convective heat transfer induced by gas diffusion increased the velocity of thermal runaway propagation by 5.46%-17.06%.Finally,the temperature rate curve was analyzed,and a three-stage mechanism for internal thermal runaway propagation was proposed.In Stage I,convective heat transfer from electrolyte evaporation locally increased the temperature to 100℃.In Stage II,solid heat transfer locally increases the temperature to trigger thermal runaway.In StageⅢ,thermal runaway sharply increases the local temperature.The proposed mechanism sheds light on the internal thermal runaway propagation of blade batteries and offers valuable insights into safety considerations for future design.

Blade Wrap Angle Impact on Centrifugal Pump Performance:Entropy Generation and Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis

The centrifugal pump is a prevalent power equipment widely used in different engineering patterns,and the impeller blade wrap angle significantly impacts its performance.A numerical investigation was conducted to analyze the influence of the blade wrap angle on flow characteristics and energy distribution of a centrifugal pump evaluated as a low specific speed with a value of 69.This study investigates six impellermodels that possess varying blade wrap angles(95°,105°,115°,125°,135°,and 145°)that were created while maintaining the same volute and other geometrical characteristics.The investigation of energy loss was conducted to evaluate the values of total and entropy generation rates(TEG,EGR).The fluid-structure interaction was considered numerically using the software tools ANSYS Fluent and ANSYSWorkbench.The elastic structural dynamic equation was used to estimate the structural response,while the shear stress transport k–ωturbulence model was utilized for the fluid domain modeling.The findings suggest that the blade wrap angle has a significant influence on the efficiency of the pump.The impeller featuring a blade wrap angle of 145°exhibits higher efficiency,with a notable increase of 3.76%relative to the original model.Variations in the blade wrap angle impact the energy loss,shaft power,and pump head.The model with a 145°angle exhibited a maximum equivalent stress of 14.8MPa and a total deformation of 0.084 mm.The results provide valuable insights into the intricate flow mechanism of the centrifugal pump,particularly when considering various blade wrap angles.

Nonlinear Flap-Wise Vibration Characteristics ofWind Turbine Blades Based onMulti-Scale AnalysisMethod

This work presents a novel approach to achieve nonlinear vibration response based on the Hamilton principle.We chose the 5-MW reference wind turbine which was established by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory(NREL),to research the effects of the nonlinear flap-wise vibration characteristics.The turbine wheel is simplified by treating the blade of a wind turbine as an Euler-Bernoulli beam,and the nonlinear flap-wise vibration characteristics of the wind turbine blades are discussed based on the simplification first.Then,the blade’s large-deflection flap-wise vibration governing equation is established by considering the nonlinear term involving the centrifugal force.Lastly,it is truncated by the Galerkin method and analyzed semi-analytically using the multi-scale analysis method,and numerical simulations are carried out to compare the simulation results of finite elements with the numerical simulation results using Campbell diagram analysis of blade vibration.The results indicated that the rotational speed of the impeller has a significant impact on blade vibration.When the wheel speed of 12.1 rpm and excitation amplitude of 1.23 the maximum displacement amplitude of the blade has increased from 0.72 to 3.16.From the amplitude-frequency curve,it can be seen that the multi-peak characteristic of blade amplitude frequency is under centrifugal nonlinearity.Closed phase trajectories in blade nonlinear vibration,exhibiting periodic motion characteristics,are found through phase diagrams and Poincare section diagrams.

PFNA2 versus 95 Degree Condylar Blade Plate in the Management of Unstable Trochanteric Fractures

Purpose: The proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) is known to have advantages in enhancing the anchorage ability of internal fixation in elderly unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric fracture patients. However whether it is superior to condylar blade fixation is not clear. This study aimed to determine which treatment has better clinical outcomes in older patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 86 patients over the age of 60 with unstable trochanteric fractures within the past 3 weeks, were included in this prospective study conducted from June 1, 2018, to May 31, 2021. All the intertrochanteric fractures were classified according to AO/OTA classification. Among them, 44 cases were treated with the Proximal Femoral Nail (PFNA2) with or without an augmentation screw, and 42 cases were treated with the Condylar Blade Plate. In addition, the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative and postoperative blood transfusion, postoperative weight-bearing time, hospitalization time, Harris score of hip function, Kyle’s criteria and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Results: The mean duration of surgery for the PFN group was 66.8 minutes (on average), whereas for the condylar blade plate group, it was 99.30 minutes (on average). The PFNA2 group experienced less blood loss (average of 80 mL) compared to the condylar blade plate group (average of 120 mL). Union and partial weight-bearing occurred earlier in the PFNA2 group (14.1 weeks and 10.6 weeks, respectively) compared to the Condylar blade plate group (18.7 weeks and 15.8 weeks). In two patients from the PFNA2 group, screw backing out and varus collapse complications were encountered;however, these patients remained asymptomatic and did not require revision surgery. In two other patients, screw cut out and breakage of the nail at the helical screw hole leading to non-union of the proximal femur were observed during the nine-month follow-up, necessitating revision surgery with prosthetic replacement. Among the condylar blade plate group, three patients experienced complications, including blade breakage at the blade and plate junction. In two cases, the fracture united in varus, and in one case, the blade cut through, resulting in non-union of the femoral head, which required revision surgery. According to the Harris hip score and Kyle’s criteria, a good-excellent outcome was observed in 92.85% of cases in the PFNA2 group and 90.90% of cases in the condylar blade plate group. Conclusion: Both the Proximal Femoral Nail A2 and Condylar blade plate are effective implants for the treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures. The intramedullary implant promotes biological healing and allows for early ambulation with minimal complications. Similarly satisfactory restoration of anatomy and favorable radiological and functional results can be achieved with the biological fixation provided by the 95-degree condylar blade plate. However, the use of PFNA2 internal fixation technique has the advantage of less trauma in elderly patients than the 95-degree condylar blade plate.

Flashover Probability of Wind Turbine Blade and Impact of Strong Electromagnetic Pulse from Lightning Strikes on Wind Turbine Safety

This paper systematically studies the flashover probability of wind turbine blade lightning arrester and the impact of strong electromagnetic pulses on the local and surrounding wind turbines during lightning strikes.The research results indicate that the flashover probability of direct lightning strikes by the wind turbine blade lightning arrester is almost negligible,and the strong electromagnetic pulse of wind turbine blade during lightning strikes has a serious impact on the electronic equipment of the machine,while the impact on the surrounding wind turbine is relatively small.At the same time,the calculation formula for the reflection of lightning current on the carbon brush between the wind turbine hub and the engine compartment during the flashing of the wind turbine blades is provided,and the calculation method for calculating the spatial gradient distribution of electromagnetic field intensity using Biot-Savart Law theorem is applied.The limitations of using wind turbine blades for lightning protection are pointed out,and a technical route for achieving wind turbine lightning safety is proposed,which can be used as a reference for wind turbine lightning protection technicians.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH TEMPERATURESTRUCTURAL MATERIALS FOR AERO-ENGINE APPLICATIONS

The status of research, development of superalloys and materials processing ＆ fabrication technologies for aero-engine applications in China Aviation Industry, with an emphasis on recent achievements at BIAM including directionally solidified and single crystal superalloys for blade and vane applications, wrought superqlloys for aero-engine disks and rings, and powder metalurgy （PM） superalloys for high performance disk applications were described. It was also reviewed the development of new class of high temperature structural materials, such as structural intermetallics, and advanced material processing technologies including rapid solidification, spray forming and so on. The trends of research and development of the above mentioned superalloys and processing technologies are outlined. Cast, wrought and PM superalloys are the workhorse materials for the hot section of current aero-engines. New high temperature materials and advanced processing technologies have been and will be the subject of study. It is speculated that high performance, high purity and low cost superalloys and technologies will play key roles in aero-engines.

Machining the Integral Impeller and Blisk of Aero-Engines:A Review of Surface Finishing and Strengthening Technologies

The integral impeller and blisk of an aero-engine are high performance parts with complex structure and made of difficult-to-cut materials. The blade surfaces of the integral impeller and blisk are functional surfaces for power transmission, and their surface integrity has signif- icant effects on the aerodynamic efficiency and service life of an aero-engine. Thus, it is indispensable to finish and strengthen the blades before use. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of studies on finishing and strengthening technologies for the impeller and blisk of aero-engines. The review includes independent and inte- grated finishing and strengthening technologies and dis- cusses advanced rotational abrasive flow machining with back-pressure used for finishing the integral impeller and blisk. A brief assessment of future research problems and directions is also presented.

Application of multi-outputs LSSVR by PSO to the aero-engine model

Considering the modeling errors of on-board self-tuning model in the fault diagnosis of aero-engine, a new mechanism for compensating the model outputs is proposed. A discrete series predictor based on multi-outputs least square support vector regression （LSSVR） is applied to the compensation of on-board self-tuning model of aero-engine, and particle swarm optimization （PSO） is used to the kernels selection of multi-outputs LSSVR. The method need not reconstruct the model of aero-engine because of the differences in the individuals of the same type engines and engine degradation after use. The concrete steps for the application of the method are given, and the simulation results show the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Aero-engine Thrust Estimation Based on Ensemble of Improved Wavelet Extreme Learning Machine

Aero-engine direct thrust control can not only improve the thrust control precision but also save the operating cost by reducing the reserved margin in design and making full use of aircraft engine potential performance.However,it is a big challenge to estimate engine thrust accurately.To tackle this problem,this paper proposes an ensemble of improved wavelet extreme learning machine(EW-ELM)for aircraft engine thrust estimation.Extreme learning machine(ELM)has been proved as an emerging learning technique with high efficiency.Since the combination of ELM and wavelet theory has the both excellent properties,wavelet activation functions are used in the hidden nodes to enhance non-linearity dealing ability.Besides,as original ELM may result in ill-condition and robustness problems due to the random determination of the parameters for hidden nodes,particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithm is adopted to select the input weights and hidden biases.Furthermore,the ensemble of the improved wavelet ELM is utilized to construct the relationship between the sensor measurements and thrust.The simulation results verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed method and show that aero-engine thrust estimation using EW-ELM can satisfy the requirements of direct thrust control in terms of estimation accuracy and computation time.

Bifurcation analysis of aero-engine's rotor system under constant maneuver load

When an aircraft is hovering or doing a dive-hike flight at a fixed speed, a constant additional inertial force will be induced to the rotor system of the aero-engine, which can be called a constant maneuver load. Take hovering as an example. A Jeffcott rotor system with a biased rotor and several nonlinear elastic supports is modeled, and the vibration characteristics of the rotor system under a constant maneuver load are analytically studied. By using the multiple-scale method, the differential equations of the system are solved, and the bifurcation equations are obtained. Then, the bifurcations of the system are analyzed by using the singularity theory for the two variables. In the EG-plane, where E refers to the eccentricity of the rotor and G represents the constant maneuver load, two hysteresis point sets and one double limit point set are obtained. The bifurcation diagrams are also plotted. It is indicated that the resonance regions of the two variables will shift to the right when the aircraft is maneuvering. Furthermore, the movement along the horizontal direction is faster than that along the vertical direction. Thus, the different overlapping modes of the two resonance regions will bring about different bifurcation modes due to the nonlinear coupling effects. This result lays a theoretical foundation for controlling the stability of the aero-engine＇s rotor system under a maneuver load.