ROTORDYNAMICS AND WHOLE ENGINE MODELLING WITHIN THE

PRELIMINARY DESIGN PHASE OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Daniel Hugler, Prof. Arnold Khhorn

Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany

SUMMARY

For current requirements of reliable aircrafts engines with low emissions it is

indispensable to conduct extensive research compromising various technical fields
to meet the needs for future propulsion systems. During the development process
from the design phase to the entry into service it takes a lot of time and money to
comply with legal requirements and customer demands. The earlier a design flaw or
potential structural problem can be addressed during the development process, the
lower the following effort and costs to resolve the problem.

Presently a mechanical whole engine model of a civil aircraft engine is only available
during a comparatively late stage within the development process and therefore not
suitable for early structural analysis and optimisations. In close collaboration with
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG a fully parameterised generic whole engine
model (generic WEM) was created. This generic WEM is developed and adapted for
an application within the preliminary design phase of a new jet engine. The
parameter input is conducted by a self implemented graphical user interface within
Abaqus/CAE. Various interfaces enabling a modification of the used parameters and
a following fully automatic finite element model generation with a user defined set of
load cases.

However, the modelling of engine rotors remains of high importance for subsequent
load case analyses and the automated tip clearance calculation which is
implemented in the generic WEM. Various modelling strategies for rotors have been
reviewed during the research. During the initial beam model approach with individual
rotor stages and coupling stiffnesses represented by lumped masses and springs, an
insufficient representation of rotordynamic effects has been observed. Therefore an
enhanced strategy with three-dimensional rotor models is promoted. Abaqus offers a
variety of possible approaches to perform rotordynamic analyses depending on the
accuracy of the necessary rotor representation. These different strategies are of
particular interest in conjunction with the application within the generic WEM.

Due to gyroscopic effects the so called forward and backward bending frequencies
can be observed since they are of significant importance for the conducted research.
These particular bending modes shall not coincidence with the relevant engine
orders for save steady-state operations. Furthermore, insufficient tip clearance
characteristics with possible blade rubbing should also be addressed during the
preliminary design phase to minimise performance loss during later operations.
Effects from the loads applied to the engine are of particular interests in regard to the
overall structural behaviour of the propulsion system. Especially the load transfer
through the mounting system into the aircraft structure is subject of investigations. In
addition to general rotordynamic problems the effects of mistuning and material
nonlinearities are object of secondary investigations. Finally, examples for structural

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optimisations are shown using the generic WEM and the process integration
software Isight within the preliminary design phase of virtual aero engines.

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