Aerodynamic and dynamic loading in a blade cascade designed for flutter research

Abstract

Flow-induced vibration of turbine and compressor blades, so called blade flutter, represents a serious problem for designers and operators of large turbomachines. The research of mechanisms leading to this dangerous aeroelastic instability, which can occur especially in modern long and slender blades, is hindered by lack of experimental data. A new experimental setup for controlled flutter testing has been designed in cooperation of the Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Mechatronics of the Technical University of Liberec. The test section consists of five planar blades placed in a transonic wind tunnel, with high-frequency torsional oscillation of the middle blade driven by an electric motor. The contribution presents the results of first measurements, namely the static pressure distribution for various inlet Mach numbers, aerodynamic moments and deformation of the middle blade due to inertial loads during high-frequency oscillation.