Steady and Transient Thermal State of Turbine Disk Estimation for Life Time Monitoring

Abstract

In connection with increasing intensification of the working process in a gas turbine engine and increasing requirements for economy, the problem of defining and monitoring the main parts lifetime is becoming more vital. Modern algorithms of the monitoring systems are based on taking into account the levels of part temperature and total equivalent stress throughout the flight cycle. Thermal and stress-strain states of the critical zones of the main parts are determined on the basis of information received from the sensors installed in the engine gas path. Turbine disks are located in the internal cavities of the engine and are cooled by air from the compressor. However, in some designs, the disk cavity can be separated from the place of cooling air bleed by several stages of non-contact labyrinth seals, which will lead to some delay in changing the parameters of the cooling air flow when changing the engine operating mode. It has been observed that if this situation is not taken into account, it can lead to significant errors (more than 40%) in determining the lifetime for the peripheral zone of the disk. At the same time, this error is minimal for the hub and the middle zone of the disk, and the existing monitoring algorithms can be used.