Stress Recovery Algorithm for Reduced Order Models of Mechanical Systems in Nonlinear Dynamic Operative Conditions

Abstract

Nonlinear forced response analyses of mechanical systems in the presence of contact interfaces are usually performed in built-in numerical codes on reduced order models (ROM). Most of the cases these derive from complex finite element (FE) models, because of the high accuracy the designers require in meshing the components in commercial FE software. In the technical literature several numerical methods are proposed for the identification of the nonlinear forced response in terms of kinematic quantity (i.e. displacement, velocity and acceleration) at the location where the master degrees-of-freedom are retained in the ROM. In fact, the displacement is the quantity usually adopted to monitor the nonlinear response, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a partially loose friction interface in damping vibrations with respect to a linear case where no friction interfaces exist and no energy dissipation can take place. However, when a ROM is used the engineering quantities directly involved in the mechanical design, i.e. the strains and stresses, cannot be retrieved without a further data processing. Moreover, in the case of a strong nonlinear behavior of the mechanical joints, the distributions of the nonlinear strains and stresses is likely different than the modal ones, meaning that the latter cannot be used to predict the safety margins of the structure working in real (nonlinear) operative conditions. This paper addresses this topic and presents a novel stress recovery algorithm for the identification of the strains and stresses resulting from a nonlinear forced response analysis on a ROM. The algorithm is applied to a bladed disk with friction contacts at the shroud joint, which make the behavior of the blades nonlinear and non-predictable by means of standard linear analyses in commercial FE software.