Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea and Air

GT2009
June 8-12, 2009, Orlando, Florida, USA
Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea and Air
GT2009
June 8-12, 2009, Orlando, Florida, USA

GT2009-60144

GT2009-60144
FINITE ELEMENT TURBINE BLADE TANGLING MODELLING
FOLLOWING A SHAFT FAILURE
Aikaterini Psarra
Cranfield University
School of Engineering
Dept. of Power and Propulsion
Gas Turbine Engineering Group
Cranfield, Bedfordshire
MK43 0AL, England
k.psarra@cranfield.ac.uk

Vassilios Pachidis
Cranfield University
School of Engineering
Dept. of Power and Propulsion
Gas Turbine Engineering Group
Cranfield, Bedfordshire
MK43 0AL, England
v.pachidis@cranfield.ac.uk

ABSTRACT
A shaft failure in a gas turbine engine is a severe
event which leads to a sudden decoupling between the
compressor and turbine, while there is not any instantaneous
variation in the aerodynamic power flow. During a shaft
failure event, the decoupled turbine is free to accelerate to a
terminal speed whilst, depending on the arrangement of the
shaft support bearings, the aerodynamic loads may also force
it to move rearwards and contact the downstream NGV
structure. If the terminal speed attained exceeds a certain
critical limit, high energy debris may be released from the
engine compromising the safety of the operations.
In order to prove that shaft failure events can be
handled in a safe and contained manner, engine manufacturers
need to demonstrate among others that the extremely high
rotational speeds a free running turbine can attain, can be
reduced to a minimum value as quickly as possible. The
present paper attempts to prove that one potential mechanism
for limiting terminal speed may be blade tangling. Seal
segments and platforms in particular can be designed in such
a way so that they become quickly damaged and eroded by
the dislocated turbines disc to allow for a quick contact
between the turbine rotor blades and NGVs. A premature
blade tangling can increase the energy dissipated as friction
and heat between the structures and can lead to a decrease in
terminal speed.
The work reported here investigates this exact
scenario focusing on a hypothetical intermediate pressure (IP)
shaft failure of a modern 3-spool High By-pass Ratio (HBR)
turbofan engine. The study investigates the effects of the
various damage mechanisms considering the violent
interaction of turbine structures using Finite Element Analysis

Pericles Pilidis
Cranfield University
School of Engineering
Dept. of Power and Propulsion
Gas Turbine Engineering Group
Cranfield, Bedfordshire
MK43 0AL, England
p.pilidis@cranfield.ac.uk

(FEA). More specifically, the paper discusses analytically the

development of a three-dimensional FEA model for the
simulation of the dynamic impact phenomenon as well as the
implementation of a dynamic non-linear finite element solver
for the modelling of blade to vane interactions. A number of
sample scenarios involving IPT blade to LP1 vane contact are
presented to provide a better understanding of the effects of
blade tangling on the evolution of the event.
The study reported in this manuscript constitutes a
first important step towards developing an appropriate
simulation strategy for the modelling of turbine interactions
following a shaft failure event. It seeks to advance todays
knowledge in the evolution of such complex events and the
effects on turbine terminal speed of blade tangling and energy
dissipated in eroding/melting surrounding structures.
NOMENCLATURE
D
Cowper-Symonds Coefficient
FD
Dynamic Friction Coefficient
FS
Static Friction Coefficient
HBR
High By-pass Ratio
IPT
Intermediate Pressure Turbine
LP1
1st Row Low Pressure
NGV Nozzle Guide Vanes
p
Cowper-Symonds Coefficient

Plastic Strain
c
Friction Coefficient
y
Yield Stress
d
Dynamic Yield Stress
vrel
Relative Velocity

Copyright 2009 by ASME

INTRODUCTION
The development of aero gas turbines demands a
rigorous effort to prepare and integrate computational models
[1,2] and hardware, generate analysis results and post process
data [3,4] in order to access the operational safety of the
machine and generally its airworthiness. Proving the
mechanical integrity of an aero engine under various nominal
and non-nominal operating conditions is crucial for satisfying
durability and reliability requirements. Moreover, from an
engine certification point of view, engine manufacturers need
to demonstrate that a catastrophic failure of an engine
component is highly unlikely and that in any case it will not
compromise the safety of the aircraft and passengers. This
includes shaft failure events.
A shaft failure is a fairly complex and potentially
hazardous event. It can trigger a number of mechanisms
which can have an effect on the mechanical integrity
particularly of turbine discs and attached blades. Following a
shaft failure, the free running turbine will over-speed within
the first few milliseconds after the event due to the sudden
decoupling between the compressor and turbine. If the
terminal speed of the turbine exceeds the critical limit, the
turbine structure will fail, releasing high energy debris.
Depending also on the arrangement of the shaft support
bearings, the free running turbine may become dislocated and
move downstream causing a mechanical interaction between
the rotor and the surrounding stationary structure (NGVs and
seals). In this case, the frictional energy that is dissipated
between the structures may have a critical effect on the
evolution of the event. For example, in the case of an IP shaft
failure, tangling of IPT blades with LP1 NGVs would cause a
significant increase in the frictional energy, which would
affect in consequence the maximum rotational speed attained
by the IPT.
Figure 1 represents a schematic of the IPT and NGV
structures and indicates the areas that are most likely to come
into contact following a shaft failure. After the IP shaft
failure, the IP turbine rotor decoupled from the compressor
behaves as a free running turbine. The aerodynamic forces
resulting mainly from the impingement of hot gases on the
surface of the blades are responsible for the rearward
movement of the turbine rotor and the contact interaction with
the stationary structure of NGVs and cavity seals. Obviously,
the most critical loads in this case are the axial loads acting
on the turbine blades and disc, arising from the gas pressure
differences in the main gas path and the secondary air system,
as well as the centrifugal forces imposed on the turbine rotor
due to the over-speed.
In this particular case, as it can be observed in
Figure 1, the distance between the IPT lock-plate and the seal
segment and platform is smaller than the distance between the
blades and the vanes. This implies that the first material
interaction will occur between the lock-plate of the rotor disc
and the seal segment/platform of the NGVs. Due to the high

axial loads and torque applied on the IPT structure, the

material interaction of the disc and the seal segment and
platform is so severe, that after a few milliseconds the
surfaces of all involved structures are expected to erode (melt
away) leading to a further IPT dislocation. The evolution of
this material damage depends also on the material properties.
A more ductile alloy has the capability of showing higher
plastic deformation. Because of this, it is more likely to be
damaged quicker resulting in advance blade tangling limiting,
in this way, the terminal speed, than an alloy of lower plastic
deformation. After the structural damage of the seal segment
and the vane platform, the blade tips of the free running
turbine are going to come in contact with the NGVs tips
leading to high load on both surfaces and ,as a consequence,
material deformation and possible failure.
It becomes obvious that in order to fully understand
and capture the dynamics of such a complex phenomenon, a
multidisciplinary analysis is necessary combining engine
aero-thermodynamic performance simulation and mechanical
integrity/structural modelling. The main aim is to investigate
the effect of blade tangling on the rotational speed in terms of
dynamic mechanical impact modelling.

IPT lock-plate

NGV platform

Seal segment

Figure 1. Schematic of the IPT and the surrounding static

structure
The majority of the research efforts that have been
reported in the public domain up to now have used broadly,
finite element-based methods to identify the mechanical
behavior and structural integrity of turbine blades and discs.
They tend to concentrate on the analysis of stress distribution
and fatigue crack initiation to estimate the lifetime of the aero
engine. Some researchers have also proposed enhanced
structures in order to satisfy durability and reliability criteria.
More specifically, Hou, et al. [5] investigated blade
fatigue failures by mechanical analyses utilizing non-linear
FEA to determine the steady-state stresses and dynamic
characteristics of the turbine blade. They also looked into the
contact interaction between the blade and the disc fir-trees
under service conditions, taking into consideration significant
geometric features, centrifugal forces and temperature

Copyright 2009 by ASME

distribution. In 2006, Wiket [6] published a work on the

damage mechanisms of the turbine disc, at the region of the
lower fir tree slot, subjected to both operational and overspeed conditions. Apart from several studies on fatigue crack
propagation, more recent papers have reported the transient
vibration and friction forces of shrouded blades. In 2003,
Petrov [7] demonstrated a method for analyzing the periodic
force response of non-linear symmetric structures using a
finite element model of a shrouded turbine disc capable of
accounting for friction forces and interferences at nodes at the
surfaces of shroud contacts. In addition, Szwedowinz, et al.
[8] created a non-linear dynamic model to simulate the
contact stress and friction of the shroud connection in order to
assess the reliability of shroud couplings, whereas Sang-Ho
Lim, et al. [9] investigated structural dynamics problems on
bladed discs due to blade mistuning.
A predominant aim of engine design and
development has always been to prevent any rotor failure that
could release high energy debris [10]. Due to the fact that
experimental test arrangements are considered not to be time
and cost affordable, scientists tried to apply FE tools to
investigate the effect of a possible failure on aircraft safety. In
this way, past studies have been focused on predicting the
containment of disc burst fragments [11], the blade release
[12] and evaluating the turbine clashing behavior after shaft
failure [13].
Generally speaking, FE tools have proven to be an
accurate and time efficient way to analyze the structural
dynamics of turbine blades and discs taking into account
stress distribution, friction and impact forces and vibration.
More published works [14, 15, 16, 17, 18] have presented the
implementation of FE tools for the study of other engine
components such as fan blades and shafts.
Several FE models and methods have been utilized
up to now for the structural analysis of gas turbine engine
components. The majority of the work being done however
tends to focus on particular isolated phenomena and usually
aims at improving the design of existing engine structural
systems. To the authors best knowledge a simulation strategy
for the analysis of complex failure scenarios that are
associated with severe structural interactions has not been
reported yet in the open literature.
This study utilizes three commercially available
software tools: i) a high performance pre-processor, Altair
Hypermesh, ii) a finite element program for non-linear
response of 3D structures, LS-DYNA3D and iii) a dedicated
post-processor for LS-DYNA3D, LS-POST.
HyperMesh is a high performance pre-processor
which supports the LS-DYNA3D Finite Element package. It
provides tools to build and edit models with its specific 2D
and 3D mesh generation panels and comprehensive meshing
capability. LS-DYNA3D is an explicit finite element program
able to analyze the non-linear dynamic response of threedimensional structures and gives the opportunity to solve
complex crash problems like the one analyzed in this paper.

Finally, LS-POST is a dedicated post processor for LSDYNA3D which visualizes the results obtaining time
histories for nodes and elements.
The main objective of this study was to develop a
simulation strategy that has the potential to investigate
complex structural interactions and particularly blade to vane
contact. This paper presents the simulation strategy developed
for the analysis of the interaction between an IPT and LP1
NGVs in the case of an IP shaft failure scenario. Sample
results of rotor blade to vane contact are presented together
with a parametric analysis of the effects of various boundary
conditions.
SIMULATION STRATEGY
The investigation of the mechanical structure
interaction between turbines after a shaft failure can be
extremely computationally expensive and therefore
demands the creation of separate high-fidelity models to
simulate various key aspects of the dynamic impact
phenomena. The simulation strategy followed by this study
effectively breaks the overall complex event down to two
key areas of interest that can be studied separately. More
specifically, the first part of the analysis includes the
interaction between the disc/lock-plate and the seal
segment/platform of the NGVs as it is illustrated in Figure
2. The lock-plate and seal segment are the first parts of the
structure that come in contact after the dislocation of the
turbine. The second part involves the interaction between
the turbine blades and the downstream turbine stators. In
order to save computational time and for the sake of setting
up a preliminary 3D model, the initial analysis of blade to
vane contact included the material interaction between only
two rotor blades, arranged axi-symmetrically, and a nozzle
guide vane. Figure 3 presents the configuration of a blade
and a vane.
NGVs Platform

Disc

Lock-plate
Seal segment

Figure 2. 3D structure
segment/platform [19]

of

disc/lock-plate

seal

Copyright 2009 by ASME

The 3D FE models presented in Figures 2 and 3

reflect the real geometry of a modern three-spool HBR
engine. The exact dimensions of the real geometry are
company proprietary information and, as a result, they cannot
be included.

Structure interaction between IP Turbine and LP1 NGVs

Develop a 3D model of
disc/lock-plate - seal
segment/platform interaction

Develop a 3D model of blade

to vane contact

Conduct parametric analyses to evaluate the effect of critical

parameters including temperature effects

Group results appropriately into tabulations and establish a generic

simulation strategy

Figure 3. 3D structure of a rotor blade and a stator vane

Group results into non-dim maps and develop generic tabulations

The structure interaction between the lock-plate of

the IPT rotor and the NGVs platform and seal segment
results in eroding part of the area of the seal segment and the
platform. A consequence of the rubbing of the NGVs
structure is the movement of the IPT further rearwards
causing the tips of the vanes and the blade to come in contact.
Although, the FEA tool has a lot of capabilities, an
appropriate implementation of critical parameters is vital to
derive the desirable solution. Parametric analyses can give an
insight to the understanding of the contact interaction leading
to a suitable simulation strategy that needs to be followed for
the accurate modelling of turbine structure interaction events.
Figure 4 represents the steps taken by this study for
the modelling of a complete turbine failure scenario. Due to
the complexity of the event, the simulation methodology is
split into two structural models (as described above) which
can run in parallel, reducing this way the total amount of
computational power and time needed. Parametric studies are
then carried out separately, and results obtained are grouped
together in tabulations in a meaningful and appropriate
manner so that when combined together they can give a
complete picture of the evolution of a shaft failure event (i.e.
axial displacement, energy dissipation, rotational speed and
torque change with time etc). The biggest advantage of the
proposed methodology is that results obtained could be
converted into a non-dimensional form and could be utilized
later on for other engine geometries.

Study of complete turbine failure scenarios and apply the same

strategy to other engine geometries

Figure 4. Simulation strategy flow chart

MODELLING APPROACH
Structure and Mesh
The analysis reported in this manuscript focuses
mainly on the high relative velocity impact between the rotor
blades of the IP turbine and the stator vane of the first row of
the LP turbine. As mentioned previously, in order to save
computational time and for the sake of setting up a preliminary
3D model, the initial analysis of blade to vane contact included
the material interaction between only two rotor blades,
arranged axi-symmetrically, and one nozzle guide vane. The
configuration of the structural model is illustrated in Figure 5.
It is important to point out that the study focuses
particularly on the interaction between the trailing edge of the
rotor blades and the leading edge of the stator at the tips. In
order to achieve a considerable reduction in computational
time, the areas coming in contact are modeled as deformable
bodies, while the rest of the structure is considered to be rigid.
Each blade consists of 66,356 elements while the vane is
constructed by 52,712 elements.

Copyright 2009 by ASME

The geometry of blades and vanes is defined by

several complex three dimensional curves. The creation of the
mesh demands the division of blades into a number of
volumes in order to produce a good quality mesh. Blades and
vane are meshed with eight-node hexahedron and six-node
pentahedron elements. All solid elements use one-node
integration points that define a constant stress throughout the
element. The mesh of both blades and vane has nearly the
same element size to avoid any penetrations (Figure 5).
During the simulations, the combination of the high
velocity impact, the existence of large forces for a long time
and the one-point integration elements used, was found to
lead to zero energy modes. These zero energy modes, called
hourglass modes, provoke instabilities affecting the nodes
displacement. This behavior of the elements is related to the
increase in hourglass energy. The primary location of the
hourglassing is in the highly stressed regions of the blade tips.
A beyond limits hourglass energy gives a doubtful outcome in
terms of plastic deformation of the structures. However, by
employing an appropriate hourglass control card, the use of
one-point integration elements proved to be an effective
solution to the hourglass energy problem. When an hourglass
control card is employed, an additional hourglass stiffness
matrix is defined reducing the produced hourglass energy.
Therefore, in order to avoid the existence of high hourglass
energy at the regions of contact, a strain co-rotational stiffness
form for the 3D structure is assumed according to
Belytschko-Bindemann [20] with low hourglass constant
definition.
Material models
Appropriate materials for the construction of turbine
blades and vanes are the nickel based alloys due to their
exceptional high temperature strength. The nickel based alloy
material assigned to the deformable regions is modeled
utilizing piecewise linear plasticity model. This material type
is a strain rate dependent material model. Instead of stressstrain curves for each different strain rate, it is possible to
input a quasi-static stress strain curve, which will be scaled
with the Cowper-Symonds coefficients.
In order to investigate how the strain rate
dependency affects the results, at the beginning only the
static stress-strain curve is used. In a further step, values of
Cowper-Symonds parameters impose the strain rate effects.
Analysis
Before the blade to vane contact takes place, the
blades, as a part of the whole turbine, rotate at a high angular
speed. Due to the centrifugal effects, the blades are deflected
into a quasi-static shape. This preloaded state of the structure
is calculated by LS-DYNA3D during an implicit static
analysis which is the first part of the entire simulation. The
blades are free to rotate about their axial direction, while the

center of rotation of the body is fixed and the rotational load

is applied as a body force.

Figure 5. Meshing of deformable areas of structures

In order to study the material interaction between the
blades and the vane, a number of assumptions are made
considering the boundary conditions applied on the structure.
In the described model, the applied load on the free turbine
rotor due to pressure difference is defined as a dynamic axial
displacement of the center of rotation. In shaft failure events,
the dynamic displacement depends also on the dynamic
impact phenomenon of the plastic deformation of the seal
segment and NGV platform after the interaction with the
lock-plate of the disc. In order to evaluate how the growth of
the seal segment/platform plastic deformation influences the
blade to vane interaction, an analysis of different dynamic
displacement scenarios was carried out. This is discussed in
detail in the next section.
The actual relative rotational speed between blade
and vane is a key parameter in determining the total amount
of frictional energy dissipated during blade tangling. A high
relative rotational speed implies that significant plastic
deformation is likely to occur in both structures following the
impact. The accurate assessment of the plastic deformation of
the materials involved during contact requires including a
failure criterion for the material. The piecewise linear
plasticity damage model is based on utilizing plastic strain as
a damage mechanism of failure of the material. The
implementation of the damage model demands a contact card
able to remove failed elements. This demand leads to the
choice of the *ERODING SURFACE TO SURFACE [21]
contact algorithm.
Furthermore, the contact between the blades and the
vane is simulated with a static friction coefficient of 0.7, a
dynamic friction coefficient of 0.2 [22] and an exponential
decay coefficient of 0.25. Equation 1 shows the dependency
of the friction coefficient on the relative velocity between the
structures. In cases of impact at a high relative blade velocity
Vrel, the friction coefficient is defined by the value of the
dynamic friction coefficient.

Copyright 2009 by ASME

 c = FD + (FS FD ) e DC v

Eq. 1

rel

1024

Rotational Speed [rad/sec]

1022

The structural model response is also subjected to

the torque which forces the rotor blades on a circular path
around the mass center. Using as boundary conditions the
initial angular speed and the torque versus time, the variation
of the rotational speed is then calculated considering the
moment of inertia of the structure and the energy dissipated
due to impact.

1020

1018
case 1
case 2
case 3

1016

1014

1012

SIMULATION RESULTS

1010
0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0.035

0.040

0.045

time[sec]

Axial Displacement Variation

In this study, instead of defining a load that is
applied to the IPT structure, an axial translation is employed
to demonstrate how the IPT blades will be displaced axially
with time. The axial displacement is representative of the
forces acting on the structure and affects the growth rate of
material plastic deformation. The effects of the axial
dislocation of the turbine rotor are illustrated in Figures 6 to 9
for three different cases of displacement versus time.
Figure 6 illustrates the three notional curves of
structure displacement versus time that have been examined
in this study. The curves represent a possible moderate axial
displacement of the rotor blades. The erosion rate of the
elements of the seal segment and the platform define when the
first contact interaction between the blade and vane tips is
going to occur. The axial translation is connected to the
plastic growth propagation of the seal segment and platform.

Figure 7. Rotational speed versus time

Figure 7 represents the variation of the angular speed
with respect to time. The rotational speed starts decreasing as
soon as the high velocity impact occurs due to the frictional
forces arising on both structures. In a case of a moderate
crash impact as in case 3, where the rotational speed remains
almost unaffected, frictional forces have minimum effect due
to the smaller contact surface area. A more intense impact,
leading to a higher axial displacement in the same time (case
2), results in a larger decrease in the rotational speed due to a
larger frictional energy dissipation.
40.00
35.00
Sliding energy [J]

30.00

0.0045
0.004

case 1

20.00

case 2
case 3

15.00
10.00

0.0035
axial displacement [m]

25.00

5.00

0.003

0.00
0.000

case 1
case 2
case 3

0.0025
0.002

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0.035

0.040

0.045

time [sec]

0.0015

Figure 8. Sliding energy of the contacting surfaces

versus time

0.001
0.0005
0
0

0.005

0.01

0.015

0.02

0.025

0.03

0.035

0.04

0.045

time [sec]

Figure 6. Imposed axial displacement versus time

All simulations were initiated at a typical freerunning turbine angular speed of 1022 rad/sec before blade to
vane contact. The applied torque forces the rotor blades to
rotate around the mass centre leading to one rotor revolution
in approximately 6 msec. During the high speed impact
against the turbine stator, the blade loses its initial velocity
and becomes highly deformed.

In Figure 8, each step increase illustrates the contact

between one blade and the vane at each time. Due to the
existence of only two blades in the model, after a step
increase in sliding energy, a period of no material interaction
follows until the axi-symmetric blade contacts the vane
structure again. In case 1, when the rate of the plastic
deformation of the seal segment is high, the energy dissipated
between the surfaces increases immediately after the contact
occurs. After 40 msec, in case 1 and 2, the turbine blades
travel downstream covering the same distance, 2 mm.
However, the rotational speed in case 1 is lower than in case 2
and also the sliding energy is 5 J higher. Based on Figures 6

Copyright 2009 by ASME

and 7, it can be concluded that bigger axial displacements of

the IPT lead to lower rotational speeds.

LS-DYNA KEYWORD
DECKBY
LS-PREPOST
LS-DYNA
KEYWORD
DECK
BY LS-PREPOST
Time=0.045
Time=0.045
Contours of Effective Plastic Strain
Contours
of Effective Plastic Strain

0.278600

mass [kg]

0.278550

0.278500

case 1
case 2
case 3

0.278450

0.278400

0.278350
0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0.035

0.040

0.045

time [sec]

Figure 9. Mass change due to elements erosion

Furthermore, according to Figure 7, the rotational
speed of case 2 decreases more rapidly towards the end of the
simulation to nearly 1016.5 rad/sec, while the sliding energy
is lower than the one in case 1. The mass change due to the
element erosion is depicted in Figure 9, where it can be
observed that the mass status of case 1 and 2 is approximately
the same for the last 3 msec. But in case 1, the element
erosion takes place after the first 15 msec, resulting in a less
rapid decrease in rotational speed due to larger changes in the
turbine moment of inertia with time.
Variation of material characteristics
Material characteristics play a significant role in the
development of structure interaction in cases of high velocity
impact. In the previous analyses material interaction was
studied without taking into account the strain rate dependency
of the material. Therefore, a further analysis looked into the
effect of the material model behaviour on the results of blade
to vane contact. A material option with no strain rate
dependency was compared with an option of high
dependency. When the static stress-strain curve is taken
into consideration, permanent deformations tend to be higher
than those expected. This occurs because some materials tend
to increase their
strength under dynamic load and high
strain rate ( & = d/dt ).
The sensitivity of the material to strain rate is
defined using the Cowper-Symonds relation [20], which
correlates the yield static stress to the yield stress obtained
during a dynamic load with high strain rate:
1/ p

d
&
=1+
y
D

Eq. 2

Figure 10. Effective plastic strain and element erosion

calculated without a strain rate dependency of the
material
Figure 10 illustrates the effective plastic strain
calculated with a material of a static stress strain curve and
Figure 11 depicts the plastic deformation of a blade when a
yield stress is calculated according to equation 2. While
elements of the blades are eroded for a material option without
strain rate dependency, effective plastic strain is not high
enough to provoke elements erosion in case of a strain rate
dependency of the material. This is obvious in Figure 11, where
the maximum effective plastic strain reaches about 80% of the
failure strain.
LS-DYNA KEYWORD DECKBY LS-PREPOST
Time=0.045
Contours of Effective Plastic Strain

Figure 11. Effective plastic strain and element erosion

calculated with a strain rate dependency of the material
The consideration of the strain rate effects in the
simulation is a key factor as it affects the rotational speed.
Figure 12 illustrates the variation of rotational speed with and
without a strain rate dependency of the material while the same
failure criterion and the same axial displacement curve are
considered. The decrease of the rotational speed in case of a
material option without strain rate dependency is large in

Copyright 2009 by ASME

comparison with the variation of speed when sensitivity of the

material to strain rate is defined according to Cowper and
Symonds relation. This result shows that the energy dissipated
between the structures in case without strain rate dependent
material is higher than that of a strain rate dependent material.
The small peaks on the rotational speed curve of the static
strain rate material are related to the decrease in mass of the
blade which leads to a reduction of moment of inertia and an
instant acceleration.
1022.0
1021.5

Rotational Speed [rad/sec]

1021.0
1020.5
1020.0

without strain rate

dependency

1019.5

with strain rate

dependency

change of rotational speed, sliding energy and mass change.

The main output reported is that different axial displacements
of the IPT in time, result in different amounts of frictional
energy being dissipated and hence, different turbine rotational
speeds. Moreover, the evolution of the material deformation
was found to change when a strain rate material is defined
instead of a static strain rate. The study also showed that in
order to obtain realistic plastic growth propagation and
elements erosion the specification of appropriate material
characteristics becomes vital.
The analysis presented here establishes key elements
of an effective simulation strategy that can accurately capture
the effects of structure interactions for the study of shaft
failure scenarios.
ACKNOWLWGMENTS

1019.0

The authors would like to thank Mr. Steve Brown and Mr.
Arthur Rowe of Rolls-Royce plc for their support to this
project.

1018.5
1018.0
1017.5
1017.0
0.000

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

0.030

0.035

0.040

0.045

time[sec]

REFERENCES
1.

Figure 12. Rotational speed versus time

CONCLUSIONS
As mentioned previously in the main body of the
manuscript, FE models and methods have been used routinely
for the structural analysis of gas turbine engine components
such as shafts, blades and discs. Most of the work reported in
the public domain however, tends to focus on particular
isolated phenomena and usually aims at improving the
reliability of existing engine structural systems. A simulation
strategy for the analysis of really complex failure scenarios,
associated with severe structural interactions, has not been
reported up to now in the open literature.
This study investigates the mechanical structure
interaction between the IPT and LP1 NGVs of a modern
HBR turbofan engine after a shaft failure. The prohibitive
computational power required for this type of analysis is
addressed via the creation of separate high-fidelity models to
simulate various key aspects of the dynamic impact
phenomena. More specifically, the simulation strategy
followed here effectively breaks the overall complex event
down to two key areas of interest that can be studied
separately. The first part includes the interaction between the
disc/lock-plate and the seal segment/platform of the NGVs,
while the second part involves the interaction between the
turbine blades and the downstream turbine stators.
This manuscript reports analytically on the second
part of the analysis evaluating the effect of blade tangling on
the reduction of the terminal speed. Simulations were carried
out studying the influence of axial displacement on the

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Copyright 2009 by ASME