THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

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Printed in USA. Copyright © 1989 by ASME

Methods and Procedures for Trim Balancing the LM2500

Marine Gas Turbine in the Test Cell and Aboard Ship
BRUCE D. THOMPSON DR. ROBERT H. BADGLEY
Mechanical Engineer President, Expert Systems, Inc.
Naval Sea Systems Command Reston, Virginia
Washington, D.C. Member. ASME
Associate Member, ASME
RICHARD RACZKOWSKI
Mechanical Engineer Technician
Naval Sea Support Center, Pacific
San Diego, California

ABSTRACT
Extensive fleet experience with LM2500 marine gas
turbines shows that engines with higher than normal
vibration are more likely to show early wear. Gas
generator rotor unbalance has been identified as the
main cause of high vibration. Rotor rebalancing
reduces vibration to acceptable levels, at the same
time reducing or eliminating many wearout modes.
Initially, the only rebalance option was to remove the
gas generator from the ship and send it to the depot.
The high cost of this option led to a search for
alternatives, and the successful development of a
procedure for rebalancing the gas generator rotor
aboard ship. The method adopted was the well known
influence coefficient procedure, developed by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in
the late 1960's. This method is well suited for
implementation on portable computers, and fits readily
into a practical procedure for use by trained
technicians. The NASA program originally included a
procedure to minimize peak residual vibration. Navy
engineers added an improved optimizing procedure and a
method to account for engine nonlinearities.
Rebalancing involves mounting four external
accelerometers on the engine, along with a tachometer
to give a one-per-rev signal for phase angle
measurement. Baseline vibration measurements, together
with stored influence coefficients for the LM2500
engine series, permit first shot multi-plane,
multi-speed trim correction weights to be calculated.
The compressor case is readily opened and the weights
installed without disturbing the engine. Application
of this procedure has been highly successful: vibration
levels of less than 0.001 inch peak--to-peak over the
entire speed range have been achieved. The avoided
cost of removal, replacement and repair of an LM2500 is
estimated to be about $500,000.
INTRODUCTION
One of the leading causes of marine gas turbine
engine removals from US Navy ships during the past
decade has been excessive engine self generated
vibration. This was usually due to residual unbalance
in the gas generator rotor. A new procedure has been
developed by U.S. Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) engineers
to reduce this residual unbalance to acceptable levels
without removing the engine from the ship. This
procedure not only avoids expenditures for repairs at
the depot, currently estimated at about $500,000 per
engine, but also substantially increases the effective
number of spare engines, reduces the cause for many
engine hardware wearout modes and produces engines that
have increased availability, reliability and reduced
air and structureborne noise.
The new procedure makes use of the highly portable
class of computers called "laptops," together with
NAVSEA-developed trim balance and trim weight placement
software. The procedure is virtually "transparent" to
the ship's crew, since vibration measurement can be
done during normal underway periods. Engine case
opening for installation of a trim weight set requires
about eight hours to complete, and is usually done by
trained Navy technicians. If the need arises, it can
be done at sea. An engineer or engineering technician,
experienced in the trim balancing procedure, performs
all the calculations to place the trim weights and is
generally in charge of and is responsible for the
success of the operation.
BACKGROUND
More than two decades ago attention turned to
improved methods for in place balancing of rotors which
operated above one or more speeds at which resonant
vibrations could occur due to residual unbalance.
Goodman's (1963) work on the least squares method
identified an important new procedure at the time when
computers were just coming on the scene. Later work by
Lund and Tonneson (1971) reduced the method to a
workable software tool which was later evaluated by
Tessarzik, Badgley, and Anderson (1972), Tessarzik and
Badgley (1974), and others. Badgley (1974) discussed
the potential impact of multiplane-multispeed balancing
on gas turbine production and overhaul costs, while
Weinert and Badgley (1975) advanced a proposed approach
for its application.

Presented at the Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exposition—June 4 -8, 1989—Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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 In the intervening years since the latter two
papers, two long-range trends have continued: (1)
computers and electronic instruments have developed to
the point where they can be used readily in support of
field operations, and (2) costs of major engine
disassembly operations have escalated to the point
where they are becoming prohibitively expensive.
Reaching back two decades to use a procedure originally
developed by Goodman (1963) in conjunction with today's
laptop computers, has permitted these costly engines to
remain installed and operating, with savings of
$500,000 each time an engine removal is avoided.
TRIM BALA NCING COMPU TER SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIO NS
During the initial phase of the development of the
procedure to trim balance the LM2500 gas generator
rotor, a modification of a NASA trim balancing computer
program was used. This software was successful from
the start. Use of this computer program, though, showed
the limitations of 20 year old software in today's
applications. Once the specific requirements for trim
balancing LM2500 gas generator rotors were determined,
completely new software was developed.
The new trim balancing program, called Flexible
Rotor Balancing Program Version 2.0 (FRBP V2.0), was
developed for ease of use and is menu driven.
Experience has shown that in some applications it is
desirable to use trim weights calculated by the Least
Squares solution, while in other applications an
optimized solution is preferred. The Least Squares
solution is the one where the "sum of the squares of
the residuals" is minimized. The optimized solution
deviates from the least squares solution by using a
weighting technique and the least squares method to
minimize the maximum amplitude in the residuals.
Optimization is an iterative process, whereby weighting
factors are calculated, using the maximum amplitude
from the previous iteration and incorporated in the
least squares solution, with the objective of
minimizing the maximum residual vibration amplitude.
The iterations continue until a predetermined
convergence limit in the reduction of the maximum
residual amplitude is reached.
The new trim balancing program (FRBP V2.0) is
capable of handling mixed multi-plane trim balance
solutions. A mixed solution is one in which engine
specific influence coefficients are used for one
balance plane and generic influence coefficients are
used for the other plane(s). (In this case, the
FIG. 1 ACCELEROMETER MOUNT POSITIONS FOR LM2500 GAS TURBINE TRIM BALANCE
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generic influence coefficients are corrected based on
differences between the engine specific and the generic
influence coefficients, based upon data from the
balance plane where the trial weight was installed on
this specific engine). This is, of course, all
completely transparent to the user.
A brief discussion of the analysis upon which this
balancing approach is based is contained in the
Appendix.
PRACTICAI. ASPECTS OF TRIM BALANCING AND EQUIPMENT SETUP
Vibration Signals for Balan çg
Vibration data is generated by four frame-mounted
DSC-502 accelerometers, manufactured by Diagnostic
Systems Corporation. These are mounted vertically (12
o'clock position) on the LM2500 gas turbine, shown in
Figure 1, at four locations: the compressor front frame
(CFFV12), the compressor rear frame (CRFV12), the
turbine mid frame (TMFV12), and the turbine rear frame
(TRFVL2). The accelerometers come in two types,
differing only in that one has a high temperature
(hard) lead and the other has a low temperature (soft)
lead. The hard lead accelerometers are used on the hot
turbine frames, and the soft lead accelerometers are
used on the cooler compressor frames.
Connecting the accelerometers to the charge
amplifiers is a set of four low noise twisted pair
shielded cables which are run through a hole in the
module floor. A set of four coaxial cables connects
the charge amplifier output to the SD119C trim balance
analyzer, manufactured by Spectral Dynamics
Corporation. The charge amplifiers are used to amplify
the accelerometer charge signals and to integrate them
once to give a velocity output. The trim balance
analyzer then integrates the velocity output from the
charge amplifiers to displacement (mils), and displays
rotor speed, amplitude, and phase. Amplitude and phase
are switchable between the four sensors. Figure 2
shows a schematic of a typical trim balance setup.
The charge amplifiers, manufactured by Unholtz
Dickie, and the trim balance analyzer were originally
used for CF6 aircraft engine fan balancing. Both had
the reputation of being rugged, which has been valuable
in this application. These components have withstood
falls of several feet to a steel deck, as well as the
extreme humidity and temperatures found in surface
combatant ship engine rooms. To avoid possible damage
to this equipment, particular attention was paid as to
how this equipment is restrained in the engine room.
 L

is the method by which the SD119C calculates phase,

TRFV TMFV CRFV I hA CCELEROMETER which is from the reference point to the highest
amplitude reading on the sensor signal.

LIGHT
PROBE
Data_Acquisition
To date, data acquisition has been done manually.
LM2500
ROTOR The operator must be aware of phase angle stability (or
lack thereof) to assess the engine as a candidate for
balancing. The data is collected at 11 to 13 different
engine speeds, from idle (about 5000 RPM gas generator
LM2500
CASE speed) to maximum power. A typical trim balance
vibration survey is outlined in Table 1. Gas generator
AMP
0 RPM PHASE
speed is stabilized for one minute before a set of
amplitude and phase readings is taken. A reading set
1/REV TACH.
is defined as vibration amplitude and phase at the four
SD119 TRIM BALANCE
ANALYZER
GENERATOR accelerometer locations, and the lube oil inlet
temperature. The next set of readings is taken two
minutes later. The last set is taken just before
FIG. 2 INSTRUMENTATION SCHEMATIC moving to the next speed.
FOR LM2500 TRIM BALANCE
GAS TURBINE TRIM BALANCE PROCEDURE

Trim Balance Procedure

Phase Angle Signal Generation
To generate gas generator speed and phase angle, a
common reference location on the rotor is required. A
white spot (Scotchlite No. 1216 reflective paint) is
applied to the rotor through the 9th compressor stage
borescope port, on a land between the 9th and 10th
compressor stage blade rows. A small paint brush is
used to paint the spot, which experience has shown
should cover the entire axial distance between the
stages. The spot should have a circumferential length
of about one inch. To observe the reference spot
during engine operation, it was necessary to choose
borescope ports that are not encumbered by either
static components (brackets, piping, etc.) or dynamic
components (variable stator vane actuating levers).
Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the basic
LM2500 gas generator rotor trim balance procedure. The
initial steps, as discussed above, are followed by the
baseline vibration survey. In addition to being
required to make trim weight calculations, this survey
is necessary to make an initial assessment of the
condition of the engine.
B
START
A
C

The port(s) must give direct access to the rotor lands ro rrvESrrnrE Er^cr^E
in these stages. An alternate white spot is also MECN CONlIiION•
PFWVF IE NCESSAIry
ceLCUUre a
w
i painted on a land (between the 10th and 11th stages)
sruL nsuuLOTREa
nx waE c,w
that can be accessed through the 10th compressor stage
borescope port.
FEIliOME
The reference point is standardized on the rotor on
E MJY£1
SHIP SYSTEM

all engines as the location of one of two blade locking pEq^q'1MC1W

vla suavei ro
devices in the tenth compressor stage. To rotate the
has generator rotor to this location, the cover to an SYSTE .ATE SHIP
SYSTEM60ETER.
auxilary drive pad is removed from the accessory MAX VIB M.N VIB
USE OF NIOIV

gearbox and a wrench is used to rotate the rotor slowly .5 MIL51 r 25 MIL51

until the locking lug appears in the tenth stage

ro w E

borescope port. Before the engine is started, the ro A

paint must be allowed to dry for at. least two hours ID THY.I B/^IANGB
SF PRSJClEO RE

(preferably overnight).
An optical pickup is threaded into a borescope hole
in either the 9th or the 10th stage. In order to adapt
the optical pickup to the borescope hole, a fitting is
used, along with a jam nut, to prevent the lens of the
optical pickup from being damaged by over tightening.
The other end of the optical pickup is connected to a
fiber optic tachometer manufactured by Spectral
Dynamics. This tachometer produces a 5 volt DC square
pulse whenever the reference spot passes the optical
pickup. The 5 volt pulse is transmitted from the
optical tach to the trim balance analyzer by coaxial
cable. The light intensity of the optical tach must be
adjusted so it triggers only on the white spot.

Angle Convention
Angles increase in the direction opposite the
direction of gas generator rotation (i.e., angles
increase in the counter clockwise direction for an
observer located aft of the engine and looking
forward). The primary reason for this angle convention FIG. 3 TRIM BALANCE PROCEDURE FLOW CHART

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 W

TABLE 1 TRIM BALANCE VIBRATION SURVEY Baseline Run

Initially, a baseline run is conducted, to obtain a
TIME G.G. SPEED OPERATION NOTES vibration survey of the gas turbine (or gas generator)
in the as-received condition. At each of the speed
5 Min. Idle Start engine One set points in Table 1, three sets of vibration readings are
and checkout of readings taken and hand logged. Finally, several transient
10 Min. 7000 rpm Engine Maint.speed check runs are conducted. After stabilizing at full
warmup until lube power (or torque limiting) for five minutes, a rapid
oil in 15OF deceleration to 7000 RPM is performed with the analyzer
5 Min. 5000 rpm Steady 3 sets of observing the compressor rear frame accelerometer. The
state readings maximum amplitude level and the speed at which it
5 Min. 5500 rpm Steady 3 sets of occurred are recorded. Next, after stabilizing at 7000
state readings RPM for five to ten minutes with three sets of
5 Min. 6000 rpm Steady 3 sets of readings, a fast deceleration is performed from 7000
state readings
RPM to idle. Again, the compressor rear frame
5 Min. 6500 rpm Steady 3 sets of accelerometer is monitored and the maximum amplitude
state readings
and the speed at which it occurred are recorded. After
5 Min. 7000 rpm Steady 3 sets of
five to ten minutes at idle, the baseline vibration
state readings
survey is repeated.
5 Min. 7250 rpm Steady 3 sets of
state readings
Baseline Vibration Characteristics
5 Min. 7500 rpm Steady 3 sets of Prior to performing the computations necessary to
state readings start trim balancing a LM2500 gas generator rotor, the
5 Min. 7750 rpm Steady 3 sets of cause of the high vibration must first be determined.
state readings This can be done by examining the signature of the
5 Min. 8000 rpm Steady 3 sets of baseline vibration survey and comparing it to
state readings signatures of other engines where the cause of high
5 Min. 8250 rpm Steady 3 sets of vibration was known. Calculated critical speeds with
state readings their associated mode shapes, as described in Thompson
5 Min. 8500 rpm Steady 3 sets of and Badgley (1988), can also be useful in understanding
state readings the relationship between the particular unbalance
5 Min. 8750 rpm Steady 3 sets of condition and the response of the case-mounted
state readings vibration sensors.
5 Min. 9000 rpm or Steady 3 sets of LM2500 gas generators exhibit high pressure turbine
torque limit state readings (HPT) unbalance response as high vibration levels at
Fast Decel To 7500 rpm Transient Record peak low gas generator speeds, as shown in Figure 4.
CRFV resp. Typically, the high vibration response drops
10 Min. 7000 rpm Steady 3 sets of dramatically a few hundred RPM past the peak response
state readings point, due to the nonlinear effect of the squeeze film
Fast Decel To idle Transient Record peak damper at the No. 5 bearing.
CRFV resp. LM2500 gas generators exhibit high pressure
5 Min. Idle Steady 1 set of compressor (HPC) unbalance response as high vibration
state readings levels at high gas generator speed, as shown in Figure
5. LM2500 gas generators that exhibit both HPC and HPT
unbalance response will show high vibration responses
After the baseline survey, the balance plane to be at both low and high gas generator speeds. Sudden
used is selected and the size and angular location of a amplitude jumps can also occur with primarily HPC
calibration trim weight (CTW) is calculated using unbalance, and are due to the cross coupling effect the
generic LM2500 influence coefficients. The compressor HPC can have on the HPT, and to the nonlinear response
front case is opened and the weight is placed. of the No. 5 squeeze film damper bearing, when HPC
This is followed by a CTW vibration survey which unbalance drives the gas generator bending mode.
duplicates the speed points used in the baseline
survey. If the maximum vibration levels, at all sensor Decision on Trim Balancir
locations, are now below the target levels, then the A review of the two back--to-back baseline vibration
trim balance procedure can terminate. If, on the other surveys, described above, should be performed, in order
hand, the maximum vibration levels are not at or below to determine whether the engine is suitable for trim
target levels, or if the vibration response is unusual, balancing. For example, if the respective phase angles
then the trim balance procedure must continue. The (baseline 1 versus baseline 2) repeat within 10
technical representative in charge of this effort makes degrees, and if the data is consistent from run to run,
the decision. The choice is whether to make a then balancing may continue.
multi-plane trim balance using engine specific Balancing will very likely be successful if the
influence coefficients for one balance plane and following are found: there are no sudden or large phase
generic influence coefficients (corrected) for the angle shifts at any speed or while transiting between
other balance plane(s), or to calculate and install a speed points (particularly important in the speed range
CTW in another balance plane. If the former is of 8000 to 9000 RPM); the vibration amplitude is
selected, then, in the Navy's experience, the trim repeatable from run to run; the phase angles at the
balance goals will have been met and the procedure can compressor front and rear frames are similar; and the
end. If the latter is selected, however, then a lube oil inlet temperatures are consistent from run to
multi-plane trim balance can be accomplished using run.
engine specific influence coefficients. The second CTW It is also important that there be no unusual
run will then allow additional influence coefficients vibration characteristics. For example, thermally
to be acquired from the other balancing plane(s), which induced vibration typically appears during rapid engine
can later be averaged with the generic coefficients. accelerations or decelerations. These so-called

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 0

LM2500 PREDOMINANT HPT IMBALANCE misalignment, and cannot be reduced by trim balancing
HIGH VIBRATION AT LOW SPEED because it is not synchronous with gas generator
6.0 speed. Its frequency varies between .91 and .96 of gas
generator frequency, and it is seen along with the
synchronous signal because the frequency width of the
5,0
tracking filter on the ship's system includes these
lower frequencies. The SD119C analyzer, on the other
4.0 hand, has a tracking filter with a narrower frequency
width, so the "aero-mechanical instability" is less
likely to affect the one/rev signal.
3.0 Mechanically induced vibration is typically caused
by misalignment (lack of straightness) of the gas
BALANCE GOAL (2 0 generator rotor. Its primary characteristic is poor
2.0
amplitude repeatability. It may also exhibit thermal
side affects, and there may also be large phase angle
.0
shifts (on the order of 180 degrees) when moving from
one steady state speed point to another. The engine
may seem bi-stable, with two or more different sets of
00 vibration characteristics. An LM2500 that exhibits
(Tho-MO) these characteristics is a poor trim balance candidate.
GGA SPEED (RPM)
❑ CFFV
When trim balancing an LM2500 installed as a gas
generator, it is possible to deal with high pressure
FIG. 4 VIBRATION VS. SPEED FOR TYPICAL turbine unbalance because of the easier access to the
turbine trim balancing plane. Depending on response
HIGH PRESSURE TURBINE UNBALANCE
characteristics, it may be possible to correct this
problem using one balance plane (HPT only), three
planes (two in HPC and one in HPT) or a combination of
a two plane correction (HPC) followed by a one plane
correction (HPT).
LM2500 PREDOMINANT HPC IMBALANCE
HIGH VIBRATION AT HIGH GG SPEED
If the LM2500 being trim balanced is configured as
a gas turbine, and if it exhibits high pressure turbine
unbalance characteristics, then great care should be
taken in attempting to trim balance it. Because of the
great difficulty in reaching the turbine trim balance
plane, i.t is not usually feasible to attempt to correct
this type of unbalance response in place as a gas
H turbine. An attempt to offset the HPT unbalance by
5 adding weights to the HPC may make the HPC unbalance
worse, which confirms dynamic model predictions.
Predicting HPT response to such a balance attempt may
I be difficult due to the nonlinear response of the No. 5
TRIM BALANCE GOAL (2,0
damper bearing.

CORRECTION WEIGHT CALCULATIONS

Calculations are conducted with an IBM-compatible

(EEDu (PM)
GGA SPEED (RPM)
❑ CRFV + TREE
FIG. 5 VIBRATION VS. SPEED FOR TYPICAL
HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR UNBALANCE
"transient vibrations" normally "soak" down after a few
minutes at a steady state speed as the engine
stabilizes thermally. However, all LM2500 gas
generators exhibit transient vibration to some degree.
The amount depends on the rotor balance condition and,
perhaps more importantly, on the condition of the
spline/coupling nut assembly that holds the two gas
generator components together. Generally, the larger
the high pressure turbine or compressor unbalance, the
higher the spline/coupling nut assembly is stressed
during rapid changes of speed, and the higher the
transient vibration levels may be.
Aero-mechanically induced vibration is typically
characterized by an unsteady (fluctuating) response for
gas generator speeds near 7600 RPM. This response is
not. due to gas generator rotor component unbalance or
portable laptop computer with the 3.5 inch 720-Kbyte
format. The balancing software is contained on the
floppy disks. Start-up of the computer installs a RAM
disk which contains a full screen editing program as
well as directory display and file listing programs.
The full screen editor can be used to create input
files for the trim balancing programs.
FRBP V2.0, the multi-plane, multi-speed, trim
balancing program, is menu driven and assists the user
in creating the input file necessary to perform trim
balance calculations. When initially started, FRBP
V2.0 presents a menu from which the user chooses the
trim balance calculation that he wants to make. After
his initial selection, the program describes to the
user the data he needs to continue with the program.
If the user decides he has all the necessary
information, the program configures the input file in
the proper format and then assists the user in
inputting the data.
When all the data has been entered, the program
saves it as a readable disk file in the ASCII format.
The user can then perform the trim balance calculations
using the input file, and the program creates an output
file to store the completed calculations. The original
input file is retained unchanged. Thus, the advanced
user can bypass the assist menu and modify an input
file by using the full screen editor on the RAM disk.

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 CNrd STAGE 9 ANGLE INFLUENCE CCEFE Using the first. shot CTW option in the computer
BASED ON A POPULATION OF 12 GGAS program FRBP, a one plane first shot trim balance
220 calculation is made by using a set of precalculated
200 (generic) influence coefficients (both magnitude and
180 angle) for the particular compressor stage or the
160 turbine. Depending on the number of data points and
140 the speed and configuration of the computer, the trim
120 balance calculation may require as long as 30 minutes
100
or so to run, although usual runs are less than I
0
60 0 minute in length. The output will include the size of
O * the first shot one plane trim balance weight. (or
60
0
c o
o O O \ + calibration weight) to be installed in the compressor
40 ^-^
(stage 9 or 3) or the high pressure turbine at a
20 o +
specified angle.
0
Similarly, using the multi-plane option in FRBP, a
–20 first shot multi-plane trim balance calculation may be
–40 performed using generic coefficients. In the Navy's
-60 experience to date, however, first shot multi-plane
–80 trim balance is not the recommended procedure. The
8 9
5 6 7
TTnoo onds) variance of the magnitude part of the influence
AVE ANG COEFF—
SPEED
+ AVE + STD DEV o AVE – STD DEV
coefficient is too great to obtain an optimum first
shot multi-plane trim balance, and a first shot
multi-plane trim balance can not be used to obtain CTW
FIG. 6A ANGLE INFLUENCE COEFFICIENTS FOR data to calculate engine specific coefficients.
12 ENGINES Experience has shown that generally the trim
correction weights required to perform single plane,
single speed balances at the most important speed
points for each sensor location, all lie in the same
CRFV STAGE 9 MAG INFLUENCE COEFF angular quadrant. This means that an optimized
BASED ON A POPULATION OF 12 GGAS multi-speed single plane first shot trim balance has a
300
very good chance of substantially improving the
280 vibration amplitudes of the engine. The results of
260 this first shot. trim can be then used to calculate
240 engine specific influence coefficients which can be
220 used in a two or a three plane calculation to further
200 optimize the results.
180
0 0 Finally, the installation of balance weights may be
160 assisted with a spreadsheet program which calculates
140
how to distribute the required correction weights into
the available blade spaces.
2
o 0
120
100
0 0 0 INSTALLATION OF BALANCE WEIGHTS
80
60
To install compressor trim correction weights it is
40 necessary t.o raise the front compressor case of the
20 LM2500. Fortunately the LM2500 compressor design
0 greatly facilitates this type of maintenance.
9
5 6 7
RhoA Ods)
8
Procedures for raising the front compressor case are
SPEED
o AVE + 1 010
well developed and are incorporated in standard LM2500
— AVE MAG COEFF + AVE – 1 STD
technical documentation; this procedure is used by
FIG. 6B MAGNITUDE INFLUENCE COEFFICIENTS intermediate maintenance personnel for other LM2500
FOR 12 ENGINES repairs. The complete process of opening the
compressor case is considered routine. Tools necessary
to raise the case consist of standard aircraft type
hand tools, plus special support equipment which
includes hinges and brackets. The trim weights are the
The advantage of this is that small modifications can
same ones used during production or overhaul to balance
be done quickly without having to reenter all the data.
the compressor rotor in the 3rd and the 9th compressor
An influence coefficient is a relation defining a
stages. Elapsed time for an installation of trim
measured change in vibration level, at a particular
correction weights in the compressor rotor normally
sensor location and rotor speed, to a known change in
takes about eight hours and requires about 20 man-hours
balance condition (addition of a weight). Generic
of effort.
influence coefficients are a set of averaged
coefficients gathered from the previous calibration
POST CALIBRATION TRIM WEIGHT VIBRATION SURVEY
trim weights installed on LM2500 engines during earlier
trim balance procedures. Figure 6a shows a plot of the
Subsequent to insertion of the correction weights,
magnitude part of the generic influence coefficient for
a post trim balance vibration survey should be
a CTW installed in the 9th stage of the HPC and for the
performed and the resulting vibration levels should be
response measured on the compressor rear frame (CRF).
examined for acceptability. The post trim balance
Figure 6b shows the angle part of the same influence
vibration survey should be performed exactly as the
coefficient. The symbols on Figures 6a and 6b represent
baseline survey. Amplitude and phase measurements
plus or minus one standard deviation from the average
should be taken at the same speeds as the baseline
(or generic) influence coefficient.
survey, and other engine conditions should be

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duplicated as closely as possible. This is

particularly important when a CTW run is performed,
because the calculation of influence coefficients
requires consistency in the vibration survey data.
For gas generator assemblies at the depot,
acceptable levels are less than 2.5 mils double
amplitude (DA) steady state and 3.0 mils transient.
S
For installed gas turbines, the goal is 2.0 mils DA
3
steady state and 2.5 mils transient. Depot engines
which cannot meet vibration specification requirements

in the test cell are considered test cell vibration 2
BALANCE GOAL (2.0 MILS)

rejects. They should be disassembled and the cause of

the vibration should be determined.
In the ship, the trim balance procedure should be
continued until the goals described above are met, or
the ship's operational schedule intrudes. All engines
which cannot be trim balanced to less than 4.0 mils DA 0

should be removed and sent to the depot for repair. s s 7 8

9
(Tho—nec)
This limit is now under evaluation for possible ❑ TRIM CRFV
GGA SPEED (RPM)
+ BASELINE CRFV
reduction to 3.0 mils DA.
An analysis of post trim balance vibration levels
FIG. 7 BASELINE AND AFTER-TRIM VIBRATION
may also be made, using the same approach as was
FOR STAGE 9 CTW BALANCE
followed in the analysis of the baseline data. In this
case, engine specific influence coefficients may be
calculated from CTW trim balance data.
Generally, if an LM2500 cannot be trim balanced,
6.0
the cause of the vibration is probably lack of
compressor rotor straightness, a high pressure turbine
coupling nut problem, or rotor instability. The 5.0
exception is high pressure turbine unbalance, it may
not be possible to correct HPT imbalance by installing
balance weights in the compressor. A comparison should 4.0
be made between the predicted residual vibration levels
at the compressor rear frame vertical pickup location
and the actual post trim balance vibration survey 3.0

vibration levels. Good correlation indicates that the

5
influence coefficients used to calculate the correction 2.0
TRIM BALANCE

weight sizes and locations are close to the engine

specific influence coefficients. For a multi-plane
calculation, the comparison between the actual and the 1.0
predicted residual vibration is a good way to measure
the effectiveness of the trim balance, and to determine
whether it can be further improved. 0.0
5 6 7 8 9
(ThoA,o d )
SAMPLE RESULTS ❑ BAS (CRFV)+
GSA SPEED
(CRFV) o TRIM (CRFA

The in place balancing procedure has been applied FIG. 8 2-PLANE BALANCE WITH STAGE 3 GENERIC
successfully in nine out of nine times during the year AND STAGE 9 ENGINE-SPECIFIC COEFFICIENTS
ended in September 1988. In all cases, vibration
reductions to less than 0.0025 inch DA were achieved.

Several of these cases are described in Figures 7 - 9.

Figure 7 illustrates a successful stage 9 CTW balance,
while Figure 8 illustrates a successful two plane trim
using generic coefficients for stage 3 and engine
specific coefficients for stage 9. Figure 9
illustrates a two plane balance using engine specific 4
coefficients for both stages 3 and 9.

CONCLUSIONS 0
3

Several important conclusions can be drawn from the TRIM BALANCE GOAL (2.0
2
LM2500 in place balancing results observed to date:

1. In place balancing is an excellent alternative to

LM2500 engine removal for one/per/rev vibration in
many cases. Each such removal avoided saves the
Navy about $500,000. Nine such removals have been
5 6 7 8 9
avoided during the first year, for total savings of (ThoAoorda)
about $4,500,000. ❑ GSA SPEED (RPM)
BADE (CRFV) + TRIM (CRFV)

2. The in place balancing system and procedure have FIG. 9 2-PLANE BALANCE WITH ENGINE-
been proven to work well. First time corrections SPECIFIC COEFFICIENTS

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have been effective in each case, usually over the
entire speed range of the gas generator. The
system can perform corrections in 1, 2, or 3
balance planes, with data from four accelerometers
as input.
3. Access to the compressor rotor for trim weight
installation has been found to be straightforward.
All of the procedures, tools, and parts for weight
installation are used for either depot or (in
place) intermediate level tasks. Thus, the
complete process of opening the compressor case is
considered routine. Elapsed time for a two-plane
correction on the compressor rotor normally takes
about eight elapsed hours and requires about 20
man-hours of effort.
REFERENCES
Badgley, R.H., 1974, "The Potential Impact of
Multiplane - Multispeed Balancing on Gas Turbine
Production and Overhaul Costs", ASME Technical Paper
74-GT--94, Presented at the ASME Gas Turbine Conference,
Zurich, Switzerland, April, 1974.
Goodman, T.P., 1963, "A Least-Squares Method for
Computing Balance Corrections", ASME Paper No.
63-WA-295.
Lund, J.W., and Tonneson, J., 1971, "Analysis and
Experiments on Multi-Plane Balancing of a Flexible
Rotor", ASME Third Vibrations Conference, Toronto.
Tessarzik, J.M., Badgley, R.H., and Anderson, W.J.,
1972, "Flexible Rotor Balancing by the Exact
Point--Speed Influence Coefficient Method", Trans. ASME,
Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vol. 94, Series B,
No. 1, Feb. 1972, p. 148-158.
Tessarzik, J.M., and Badgley, R.H., 1.974, "Experimental
Evaluation of the Exact Point-Speed and Least Squares
Procedures for Flexible Rotor Balancing by the
Influence Coefficient Method", Trans. ASME, Journal of
Engineering for Industry, Vol. 96, Series B, No. 2, May
1974, p. 633-643.
Thompson, R.D., and Badgley, R.H., 1988, "Application
of an Advanced Rotordynamics Model to the Complete
Structure of a Marine Gas Turbine Engine," ASME Paper
88-GT-123, Presented at the Gas Turbine and Aeroengine
Congress and Exposition, June, 1988, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, and accepted for publication in the
Transactions of the ASME.
Weinert, E.B., and Badgley, R.H., 1975, "Down With
Vibration", Gas Turbine - International, Vol. 16, No. 1,
January-February 1975, p. 58.
APPENDIX
Assuming a rotor system is linear, the vibration,
Xw, produced by correction weights, W, is given by
the matrix equation:
Xw = A * W
where: Xw --> is a column matrix of n elements
W --> is a column matrix of in elements
A --> is a n by m matrix, whose
elements, @nm are influence
coefficients of that rotor
system
An influence coefficient is characterized by the
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I
change in rotor unbalance, DU, over the change in
measured vibration response DX.
@nm = DUm / DXnm
Thus, influence coefficients can be determined from
a total of in tests (trial weights), where n measure-
ments (engine speed points) are taken for each test.
Knowing the influence coefficients for a particular
rotor system, the proper correction weights Wm can be
calculated. Assuming the residual vibration after the
correction weights have been inserted is Xr then:
Xr = Xo + Xw = Xo + A *Wm
where: Xo ---> is the initial rotor vibration
In the ideal case where n = in the matrix A is
square and the residual vibration, Xr, (at least
theoretically) can be brought to zero.
Wm = -A -1 * Xo
In the general case (and in reality) the number of
measurements, N, is normally slot greater than the
number of dynamically independent balance planes.
Therefore, another method needs to be used to minimize
Xr, the residual vibration.
The Least Squares technique which was pioneered by
Goodman (1963) and Lund & Tonneson (1971) proposes a
method to minimize the sum squares of the residuals.
This can be written as:
AT *A*W=-AT *Xo
where: AT is the complex conjugate, transpose of
matrix A
for n > in we have:
Wm -(AT * A) * AT * Xo
This formulation will calculate the correction, W,
weights that will minimize the residual vibration, in a
least squares sense (i.e. minimize the sum squares of
the residuals).
In practice, however, minimizing the sum squares of
the residuals may not give an optimum solution, because
there is no direct control over the individual
amplitudes. There have been several optimizing
procedures used; one is to minimize the maximum
residual amplitude, at the expense of the overall
vibration level, by weighting the least squares
solution as follows:
Enj = :Xn:j / (Mrms)j
(Mrms)j = T:Xn:2j / N
where: Enj is the weighting diagonal matrix for
iteration j
(Mrms)j is the root mean square for
iteration j
therefore:
Wmj = -(AT * Ej * A) - ' * AT * Ej * Xo
The iterations converge when,
^:Xn lj - :Xn ly-i ;man < prescribed limit
thereby minimizing the maximum residual.