General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. AbstractThe definition of failure is fundamental to the characterisation of fatigue strength of components and structures and is often expressed as a percentage of stiffness degradation. This article proposes a new method to capture damage initiation and structural degradation during a fatigue test, by exploiting resonance vibrations. The method entails monitoring dynamic parameters, including the phase angle between excitation and response, which suddenly changes as soon as the overall stiffness changes as a consequence of damage. In this paper, a theoretical approach based on equations of motion is presented in order to describe the possible scenarios in which a component undergoes structural degradation. In the proposed approach, an abrupt change in the time history of the stiffness of the component is assumed and analysed in both the quasi-static case at low excitation frequencies and the dynamic case, when the excitation frequency is close to the resonance frequency.The resulting analytical solution shows that any small stiffness variation is amplified by the dynamic response of the component as a large phase change, even when it is too small to be captured by the quasi-static response. The idea is successfully applied to capture the initiation of delamination in CFRP laminates, and the relative S-N curve to initiation is drawn. The experimental evidence of a critical event in the fatigue life of a component is found both in the dynamic phase response and in the base acceleration. The critical event is captured from a sudden change in the dynamic parameters of the structure as soon as a delamination is initiated. Thermography, C-scan and micrograph confirmed that the onset of delamination occurs at the moment of the critical event,after an initial stage of microcracking.

a b s t r a c tThis paper presents a method for detection and characterisation of structural non-linearities from a single frequency response function using the Hilbert transform in the frequency domain and artificial neural networks. A frequency response function is described based on its Hilbert transform using several common and newly introduced scalar parameters, termed non-linearity indexes, to create training data of the artificial neural network. This network is subsequently used to detect the existence of non-linearity and classify its type. The theoretical background of the method is given and its usage is demonstrated on different numerical test cases created by single degree of freedom nonlinear systems and a lumped parameter multi degree of freedom system with a geometric non-linearity. The method is also applied to several experimentally measured frequency response functions obtained from a cantilever beam with a clearance non-linearity and an under-platform damper experimental rig with a complex friction contact interface. It is shown that the method is a fast and noise-robust means of detecting and characterising non-linear behaviour from a single frequency response function.

Linear dynamic finite element analysis can be considered very reliable today for the design of aircraft engine components. Unfortunately, when these individual components are built into assemblies, the level of confidence in the results is reduced since the joints in the real structure introduce nonlinearity that cannot be reproduced with a linear model. Certain types of nonlinear joints in an aircraft engine, such as underplatform dampers and blade roots, have been investigated in great detail in the past, and their design and impact on the dynamic response of the engine is now well understood. With this increased confidence in the nonlinear analysis, the focus of research now moves towards other joint types of the engine that must be included in an analysis to allow an accurate prediction of the engine behavior. One such joint is the bolted flange, which is present in many forms on an aircraft engine. Its main use is the connection of different casing components to provide the structural support and gas tightness to the engine. This flange type is known to have a strong influence on the dynamics of the engine carcase. A detailed understanding of the nonlinear mechanisms at the contact is required to generate reliable models and this has been achieved through a combination of an existing nonlinear analysis capability and an experimental technique to accurately measure the nonlinear damping behavior of the flange. Initial results showed that the model could reproduce the correct characteristics of flange behavior, but the quantitative comparison was poor. From further experimental and analytical investigations it was identified that the quality of the flange model is critically dependent on two aspects: the steady stress/load distribution across the joint and the number and distribution of nonlinear elements. An improved modeling approach was developed that led to a good correlation with the experimental results and a good understanding of the underlying nonlinear mechanisms at the flange interface.

In this paper, we present a methodology and results from an experimental investigation of forced vibration response for a bladed disk with fitted underplatform “cottage-roof” friction dampers, together with the corresponding numerical predictions. A carefully designed and constructed rotating test rig is used to make precise measurements, which involve only the phenomena of interest. For this purpose, the measurement rig is operated under vacuum to eliminate aerodynamic effects on the rotating blisk and noncontact excitation and measurement techniques are employed so as not to modify the bladed disk dynamics. The experimental data measured are used for validation of multiharmonic balance-based prediction tools developed at the Imperial College. Predictions are carried out both with and without taking inherent mechanical mistuning into account, which is identified from measured data. Measured and predicted response curves are compared with each other and the degree of correlation is discussed.

A method for non-parametric identification of systems with asymmetric non-linear restoring forces is proposed in this paper. The method, named the zero-crossing method for systems with asymmetric restoring forces (ZCA), is an extension of zero-crossing methods and allows identification of backbones, damping curves and restoring elastic and dissipative forces from a resonant decay response. The validity of the proposed method is firstly demonstrated on three simulated resonant decay responses of the systems with off-centre clearance, bilinear and quadratic stiffness. Then, the method is applied to experimental data from a micro-electro-mechanical resonator in order to quantify its non-linear damping and stiffness effects. Throughout the paper the proposed method is also compared with the Hilbert vibration decomposition to demonstrate that the ZCA yields more accurate results with much less effort.