See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/327133093

Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade

Out Event in the Flexible Rotor System of Aero-Engine: Vol. 4

Chapter · January 2019

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-99272-3_2

CITATIONS READS

0 83

3 authors, including:

Yongfeng Wang
Beihang University (BUAA)
6 PUBLICATIONS   7 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Yongfeng Wang on 11 October 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation
for the Fan-Blade Out Event in the Flexible
Rotor System of Aero-Engine

Yanhong Ma1,2, Yongfeng Wang1, and Jie Hong1,2(&)

1
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Beihang University,
Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China
mayanh2002@163.com, 18810688984@163.com,
hongjie@buaa.edu.cn
2
Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Aero-Engine,
Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China

Abstract. The fan-blade out (FBO) from a turbofan rotor is a real possibility
during the complex operation cycling of an aero-engine. This paper aims to
understand the dynamic behavior of the aero-engine rotor system with the FBO
event by theoretical approaches and numerical simulations. The physical process
of the FBO and its effects on the rotor system are analyzed first, from which the
main mechanical characteristics on different time scales are acquired. Then a
timeliness dynamical model considering the whole process of FBO event is put
forward based on the structural and mechanical characteristics of rotor. More-
over, some simulations for the flexible rotor in aero-engine with FBO are carried
out and vibration characteristics are achieved.
The dynamic response of FBO rotor is driven by a combination of typical
mechanical processes. The results reveal that the sudden unbalance will increase
the transient response and excite modal vibration of the rotor system. The
asymmetry of inertia and the deceleration will introduce the parametric excita-
tions into the rotor system. The blade-casing rubbing can increase the resonance
speed of the rotor and cause the abundant frequency components, while the
vibration amplitude and reaction force of the transient response are decreased.
For the practical rotor system in aero-engine, this research can provide some
theoretical guidance for the safety design.

Keywords: Aero-engine  Fan-blade out  Flexible rotor system

Dynamic model  Vibration characteristics

1 Introduction

Fan-blade Out (FBO) is one of the most major safety concerns during the operation of
aero-engine. If the blade fly out, the operating rotor will endure the cruel impact load,
and may rub against casings [1], which threatens the safety of flight. For safety reasons,
the successful FBO test is required by the authorities all over the world, but considering
the huge cost of FBO test, the theoretical investigation and numerical simulations of
FBO rotors gets more and more attention [2].

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

K. L. Cavalca and H. I. Weber (Eds.): IFToMM 2018, MMS 63, pp. 18–33, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99272-3_2
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 19

The vibration response of FBO rotor is the combined action of several mechanical
processes [3], including the sudden unbalance load [4], the asymmetry of blade-disk
inertia [5], the deceleration of rotor [6], and the rub-impact between blade and casing
[7]. In the last decades, different dynamic models of the rotor system concerning FBO
event have been established, and some valuable studies have been carried out.
The dynamical response of rotor under sudden unbalance is widely studied based
on the Jeffcott rotor model [8, 9], the offset single-disk rotor [10], as well as the
overhung fan disk shaft rotor models considering the structural and mechanical char-
acteristics of fan rotor aero-engine [11, 12]. The results show that the sudden unbalance
on the operating system will cause larger oscillations, which are increased with the
advance of the sudden unbalance, and the impact effect will be induced, while the
critical speed frequency is excited in frequency spectrum.
There is a rapid declaration after blade loss, where the speed of asymmetrical rotor
drops suddenly from the normal flight operating speed down to the wind-milling speed
[6]. The no-constant component of rotor speed has been considered by Gunter [13], Xie
[14], Miao [15] in study of varying velocity rotor based on the Jeffcott’s model, while
the influence of asymmetric characteristics are focused in the researches of Yamamoto
[16], Toshio [17], and Ardayfio [18], in use of the single-disk rigid rotor model. The
results shows that, considering the speed changing, the beat vibration appears near the
critical speed due to the coupling between natural frequency and speed frequency, and
lags in peak response.
The rubbing between the rotor and the casing is inevitable at Wind-milling of FBO
event. The physics of blade tip-rubs and the nonlinear dynamic response of rotor have
been widely studied, and the periodic motion [19], quasi-periodic responses [20], chaos
[21], and coupling response of rubbing and other faults [22, 23] have been revealed by
researchers. Most of the studies are based on the Jeffcott rotor model, while the flexible
overhung rotor model is established by Sinha [24] to considering the influence of the
structure characteristics and the rubbing position of the rotor.
The studies to FBO are abundant, but most of the researches aim at only one or two
mechanical characteristics of FBO by now, and the rotor model considering the
comprehensive influence of various FBO excitation loads is still insufficient. Moreover,
most studied are carried out based on the Jeffcott rotor with simple geometrical layouts,
while the aero-engine rotor is ordinarily overhung form supported by multiple bearings.
Thus, the dynamic model considering both the structural characteristics of aero-engine
fan-rotor and the combined excitation of FBO event is imperative.
The work presented in this paper aims at proposing a rotor dynamic model for the
study of aero-engine rotor with FBO, and get the typical dynamic characteristics by
theoretical investigation. The physical process of the FBO and its effects on the rotor
system are analyzed first, and the main mechanical characteristics on different time
scales are acquired. Based on which, a timeliness dynamical model considering the
whole process of FBO event is put forward. Then, some simulations and theoretical
investigation are carried out, revealing the vibration characteristics aroused by the
sudden unbalance, the deceleration and blade-casing rubbing are achieved.
20 Y. Ma et al.

2 Dynamic Model for the Flexible Overhung Rotor with FBO

2.1 Structural and Mechanical Characteristics of Aero-Engine LP-Rotor
The low pressure rotor (LP-rotor) in typical high bypass ratio turbofan engine is usually
designed as slender flexible rotor supported by three flexible supports, as shown in
Fig. 1(a), and works above several critical speeds. The mass of the rotor, as well as the
moment of inertia, are concentrated on fans in front and low pressure turbines at the
back end (see Fig. 1(b)). In the figures, Mi; Ji; Li respectively represents the mass, the
moment of inertia and the axial length of each section.

Fig. 1. Diagram of low pressure rotor in typical turbofan engine (a) structure, and (b) the
distribution of the mass and inertia

Based on the mechanical equivalent principle, the dynamic model for the flexible
overhung rotor with hollow shaft and multi supports is set up, as shown in Fig. 2. The
parameters of rotor can be set based on actual rotor, while they are assumed in this
paper considering several typical LP-rotor, as listed in Table 1. The structural char-
acters, distribution of supports and mechanical characteristics are consistent with the
LP-rotor in typical high bypass ratio turbofan engine, and the first two critical speed
frequencies of rotor are 44.6 Hz (2676 rev/min) and 119.5 Hz (7170 rev/min).

Fig. 2. The dynamic model for a flexible overhung rotor with hollow shaft and multi supports
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 21

Table 1. Details of the parameters considered for the sample rotor used in this paper
mblade Single fan blade mass 3 kg
R Radius of blade mass center 0.5 m
md1, md2 Blade-disk mass 120 kg, 80 kg
Jp1, Jp2 Polar inertia of blade-disk 8 kgm2, 6 kgm2
Jd1, Jd2 Diameter inertia of blade-disk 4 kgm2, 3 kgm2
E Young’s modulus 2.1  105 MPa
q Density 7800 kg/m3
l Poisson’s ratio 0.3
f Damping ratio 0.1
l, li Shaft length 2000 mm, 300/300/1200/200 mm
Di Outer diameter of shaft 160/160/80/80 mm
di Inner diameter of shaft 140/140/70/70 mm
ð1Þ ð2Þ
Kb ; Kb ; Kb
ð3Þ Support stiffness 5  107N/m

2.2 Physical Process of FBO Event

The FBO event in aero-engine can be divided into three stages, including the instan-
taneous stage of the blade out, the deceleration of the rotor, and the continuous
operation at wind-milling [3], as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Physical process and mechanics characteristics of FBO event by different time scales [3]

At the instantaneous stage of the blade out, the centroid of the blade-disk is altered
suddenly and sudden unbalance load is introduced into the rotor system firstly. The
time scale of that is about 10−3–10−1s, and under which the impact effect and rotor’s
transient response are mainly needed to concerned about.
The fuel supply of aero-engine is cut off in general, and the rotor will decelerate
rapidly to wind-milling status after the instantaneous stage [5], in the time scale 10−1–
101s. In this status, the responses are mainly affected by the unbalance loads and the
inertial loads produced by the change of rotation speed.
The rotor operates at a low speed after FBO to avoid the airflow-induced forces
produced by the forward motion, that is called wind-milling status, which can last
22 Y. Ma et al.

about 101–103s till landing. In this status, large unbalance load caused by lost blade is
applied to the rotor, and may results in the severe rub-impact [6].
Moreover, it should be noted that the lost blade also destroys the symmetry of the
blade-disk, and the spinning rotor will be affected by the structure asymmetry at the
same time in the deceleration and wind-milling statue.

2.3 Dynamic Modeling

Considering the influence of FBO event, the mechanical characteristic parameters (such
as the unbalance load, blade-disk mass, the moment of inertia, and the support stiffness)
are all time dependent, and the rub-impact load will also have a great influence,
introducing the nonlinear characteristics.
The dynamical equation of the rotor with FBO can be built as follows:

Mðt Þ q ~ q; qÞ
€ þ ½C þ GðtÞ q_ þ KðtÞq ¼ QðtÞ þ Qðt; _ ð1Þ

Where, q is the generalized degree of freedom, and MðtÞ, KðtÞ, GðtÞ, QðtÞ are the rotor
segment’s time dependent mass, stiffness, gyroscopic and unbalance load matrix,
~ q; qÞ
respectively. While, C is the damping matrix of rotor, and Qðt; _ is the nonlinear
excitation load caused by rotor-stator rubbing. The finite element method is used to
obtain the initial parameter matrix of flexible overhung rotor can.
Sudden Unbalance Load. Thanks to the highly precise machining and initial dynamic
balancing technique, the initial eccentricity e0 of aero-engine rotor can be assumed to
be null. At the instantaneous of blade-off, the eccentricity change from 0 to e, causing
the sudden unbalance load (Fr ¼ m ~ d e x2 ) in the radial direction, as shown in Fig. 4(a).
When fan blade is out at the moment t1 , the sudden unbalance load is:

f0 0 0 0 gT t\t1
Qd ðtÞ ¼ ð2Þ
~ d e x2 f cos xt
m sin xt 0 0g T
t  t1

~ d and x is the mass of the blade-disk after blade off and the speed of rotor.
Where, m

Fig. 4. Sketch of blade-off (a) sudden unbalance load, and (b) asymmetric of inertia
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 23

Asymmetry Blade-Disk. The lost blade suppresses the symmetry of the blade-disk,
and the moment of inertia is changed, as shown in Fig. 4(b). The polar moment of
inertia about the rotating axis O is changed into ~Jp ¼Jp  mloss R2 , where Jp is the polar
moment of inertia before blade off, and mloss is the mass of the lost blade, R is the
distance between mass centroid of the lost blade and rotating axis O. While, the
diametric moments of inertia about the axis x and y is Jx ¼ Jp =2  mloss R2 and
Jy ¼ Jp =2.
The dynamic model of the asymmetric blade-disk can be built by Lagrange’s
method, with the kinetic energy formula shown in Eq. (3).

1  2  1  2
Td ¼ m~ d x_ þ y_ 2 þ Jx h_ x cos xt þ h_ y sin xt
2 2 ð3Þ
1 _ 2 1 h  i
þ Jy hx sin xt  h_ y sin xt þ ~Jp x2 þ x h_ x hy  h_ y hx
2 2
To introduce the influence of asymmetric conveniently, the average diametric moment
of inertia 
Jd and asymmetric value of inertia DJd are defined:

 1  1  1  1
Jd ¼ Jx þ Jy ¼ Jp  mloss R2 ; DJd ¼ Jy  Jx ¼ mloss R2 ð4Þ
2 2 2 2

Include the terms (from Eq. (4)) Jd and DJd into the kinetic energy formula (Eq. (3)),
then plug that into the Lagrange’s equation (Eq. (5)), and we can obtain the vibration
differential equation for the asymmetric blade-disk as Eq. (6).
 
d @Td @Td
T
 ¼ 0; q ¼ x; y; hx ; hy ð5Þ
dt @ q_ @q
   
€ € € ~ _ _ _
~ d€x ¼ 0 Jd hx  DJd hx cos 2xt þ hy sin 2xt þ Jp xhy þ 2xDJd hx sin 2xt  hy cos 2xt  ¼ 0
m
;
~ d€y ¼ 0 
m Jd €
hy  DJd €
hx sin 2xt  €
hy cos 2xt  ~Jp xh_ x  2xDJd h_ x cos 2xt þ h_ y sin 2xt ¼ 0

ð6Þ

The equation can be expressed by matrix form, as Eq. (7):

   
~ d þ DM
M ~ d ðt Þ q€ G~ d þ DG
~ d ðtÞ q_ ¼ 0 ð7Þ

here, M~ d and DM~ d ðtÞ are the constant parts and the time dependent parts of the mass
matrix respectively, while G ~ d and DG~ d ðtÞ are the constant parts and the time dependent
parts of the gyroscopic matrix respectively. The period of time dependent parts is p=x,
which means DM ~ d ðt þ 2p=2xÞ ¼ DM ~ d ðtÞ, G~ d ðt þ 2p=2xÞ ¼ G ~ d ðtÞ. The expressions
of the coefficient matrixes in Eq. (7) are derived as:
24 Y. Ma et al.

2 3 2 3
~d
m 0 0 0 0
6 ~d
m 7 60 0 0 0 7
~d ¼6
M 7; ~ 6
DMd ðtÞ ¼ DJd 4 7 ð8Þ
4 
Jd 5 0 0  cos 2xt  sin 2xt 5

Jd 0 0  sin 2xt cos 2xt
2 3 2 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
60 0 0 0 7 60 0 0 0 7
~d ¼ 6
G ~ d ðtÞ ¼ 2xDJd 6
7; DG 7 ð9Þ
40 0 0 Jp x 5
~ 40 0  sin 2xt cos 2xt 5
0 0 ~
Jp x 0 0 0 cos 2xt sin 2xt

Rotational Effects in Deceleration. During the rotor decelerating, the mechanical

parameters of rotational structure, such as inertial loads, will be changed by the change
of rotation speed. The disk will be taken as an example to analyze the rotational effects
in this paper.
The moving coordinate system is built to analyze the rotational effects of the disk,
and the Euler angles are defined in Fig. 5. x0 , y0 , z0 are the inertial axes of the disk in the
Euler coordinate, while oxyz form the fixed coordinate system. a, b, h are the pre-
cession angle, nutation angle and self-rotation angle respectively. Meanwhile, the
angular velocity around the fixed coordinate axis are defined as h_ x , h_ y , h_ z , and xx0 , xy0 ,
xz0 are the angular velocity around the inertial axes of Euler coordinate.

Fig. 5. The moving coordinate system and Euler angles of the disk

In the small deformation state, the assumption sin hx  hx can be taken into the
equation, by which the kinetic energy formula can be obtained as Eq. (10):

1 1 1 _ x h_ y þ 1 Jp h2 h_ 2
Td ¼ mð_x2 þ y_ 2 Þ þ Jd ðh_ 2x þ h_ 2y Þ þ Jp h_ 2  Jp /h x y ð10Þ
2 2 2 2

Using the Lagrange’s method, the dynamic model of disk in deceleration can be
built:
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 25

€d þ Gd q_ d þ Kd qd ¼ Qd
Md q ð11Þ
2 3 2 3 2 3 8 9
md 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 >
> m eh_ 2 cos h þ md e€h sin h > >
6 7 6 0 7 6 0 7 < d _2 €h cos h =
md 7; Gd ¼ 6 0 0 0 7; Kd ¼ 6 0 0 0 m eh sin h  m e
Md ¼ 6 _ 7; Q d ¼ d d
4 Jd 5 40 0 0 Jp h 5 40 0 0 Jp €h 5 >
> 0 >
>
: ;
Jd 0 0 Jp h_ 0 0 0 Jp €h 0 0

ð12Þ

The additional stiffness Kd and the additive component of the inertial load Qd are
generated at the process of deceleration, which are produced by the swinging of the
disk, and proportional to angular acceleration.
Rotor-Stator Rubbing. The rub-impact occur as the vibration displacement exceeds
the blade-casing clearance. Owing to the lateral vibration and circumferential rotation
of the rotor, the mechanical behavior of rotor-stator rubbing can be expressed by the
normal impact and the tangential rub [25].
The following assumptions are made in this paper: (1) the disk is rigid and the
elastic deformation only present at the local area of the case where blade-disk impact
with. (2) The tangential force and the normal force at rotor-stator rubbing conform to
the coulomb’s law of friction, which can be described as Fs ¼ mFn , where m is the
friction coefficient at the contact point. (3) In the process of rubbing, the additional
damping is approximate to be linear, and the damping ratio is Cc .
The dynamic model of overhung rotor considering the rotor-stator rubbing is shown
in Fig. 6, and the rub-impact only occurs between the fan blade-disk and the casing.

Fig. 6. The dynamic model of overhung rotor considering the rub-impact at fan blade-disk

According to the Hertz contact theory [26], the normal impact force caused by the
collision of elastic bodies considering the friction damping effect is:
26 Y. Ma et al.

 3=2
dr
Fn ¼ þ Cc d_ r ð13Þ
a
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Where, dr ¼r  h is the radial depth in rub-impact, while r¼ x2 þ y2 is the radial
displacement at the fan blade-disk and h is the internal blade-casing clearance. d_ r is the
reflection of the rubbing speed and the Structural parameters is described as
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2
3 9 1l1 1l2
a¼ 0:8 16 ð E1 þ E2 2 Þ2 ðj11  j12 Þ, in which li , Ei , ji (i¼1; 2) is Poisson’s ratio,
Young’s modulus and curvature radius at the rotor-stator rubbing region.
Based on the coordinate system in Fig. 6, the rub-impact force acted on the rotor
can be decompose to the coordinate axes:
x y x y
Fx ¼  ð  m ÞFn ; Fy ¼  ðm þ ÞFn ð14Þ
r r r r

In the dynamic equation of rotor, the impact excitation load vector can be expressed
as:

~ q; qÞ¼ Fn
Qðt; _ f x þ my mx  y 0 0 gT ð15Þ
r

3 Theoretical Investigation for the Rotor System with FBO

Based on the dynamic model built in Sect. 2, the dynamic response of flexible over-
hung rotor at the whole process of FBO can be studied, which is vital but absent in
present research. In this paper, several typical mechanical processes in FBO event are
studied, including the sudden unbalance at the instantaneous stage, the rotational effects
during the deceleration process, and the rotor stator rubbing at the wind-milling status.
From the numerical simulation results, some typical mechanisms of rotor dynamic
response under FBO event are investigated as well.

3.1 Transient Response Caused by Sudden Unbalance Load

The transient response caused by sudden unbalance at the instantaneous stage after
FBO is calculated firstly. The sudden unbalance load generates at the moment
t0= 0.5 s, and the speeds at that are 1800 rev/min (30 Hz, subcritical state) and 3600
rev/min (60 Hz, subcritical state), in consideration of the critical speed
(x1n = 44.6 Hz). The dynamic response is analyzed through Newmark’s method of
direct integration, while the dynamical equation is formed through finite element
method.
The response of fan-disk and the reaction force of different supports, excited by
sudden unbalance at both subcritical and supercritical state are summarized in Figs. 7,
8 and 9. At the moment sudden unbalance load generated, the vibration increases
instantaneously to a peak value, and the orbit is obvious elliptical, which indicates that
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 27

the sudden unbalance produce an impact on the rotor. Then the vibration attenuates to a
stable amplitude in several periods, and the orbit tends to be circular trace.

Fig. 7. The response of fan-disk excited by sudden unbalance at subcritical state (a) the orbits,
(b) time-domain response, and (c) frequency-domain response

Fig. 8. The response of fan-disk excited by sudden unbalance at supercritical state (a) the orbits,
(b) time-domain response, and (c) frequency-domain response

Fig. 9. The reaction force of the supports caused by sudden unbalance at (a) subcritical state and
(b) supercritical state

The impact effect is the most important characteristic of FBO at the instantaneous
stage, for the peak value of response is far beyond the limit clearance between rotors
and stators, and the instantaneous reaction force, especially at the first support, may be
too huge to stand for the bearing. The great response will result in the severe collision
between rotors and cases, while the overload of supports may destroy the bearing and
lead to the rotor binding, causing the structural damage of engine.
28 Y. Ma et al.

The strength of the impact effect can be depicted by the impact factor Ru [4], which
is the ratio of the maximum response Amax and the steady amplitude As. The impact
factor at supercritical state (Ru2= 2.28) is larger than that at subcritical state
(Ru1= 1.85), which means the unbalance load is much higher and the rotor is more
sensitive to the sudden unbalance at supercritical state. The impact effect is time-
dependent, and the transient peak decreases to stable response in 0.76–1.65 s. So that,
if only disastrous structural damages are avoided at the moment blade-out, the aero-
engine could keep rotating until the landing. And it’s the reason that effective structural
designs are important and must be taken at the first support of aero-engine.
The forward precession at speed frequency caused by the unbalanced load is the
main rotating characteristic of normal rotors, which won’t induce the alternating loads
in shafts. But under the sudden unbalance load, besides the rotating speed frequency x,
the first natural frequency at both forward and backward precession (xn1 þ and xn1 )
are aroused in frequency content. It is mainly because that the sudden unbalance load is
one kind of shock load with broad frequency components, which can arouse the
vibration of the low-order natural mode of the rotor system. So that, for governing the
vibration response of rotor, the low order mode must be taken more attention to.

3.2 Dynamic Characteristics of Rotor in Deceleration

The LP-rotor of the aero-engine works in the supercritical state, and needs to slow
down after FBO, it needs to decelerate to wind-milling status rapidly. The speed of
rotor at FBO moment is assumed to be 4014 rpm (1:5xn ), while the wind-milling
speed is 536 rev/min (0:2xn ), and deceleration time is set to 1 s in this paper.
The vibration response of the fan blade-disk in deceleration is summarized in
Fig. 10. The calculated orbits maintain circular in deceleration, which means the
intensive oscillation and instability fault are not a matter of concern. But the amplitudes
of response varying quickly and the transient peak can get a great level indeed, as
shown in Fig. 10(b), for the rotor pass through the critical speed in deceleration. And
the impact effects are evident at the initial and the end of deceleration, which is result
from the sudden change of angular acceleration. Thus, steps need to be taken to reduce
the impact effects and control the peak of response, by changing the deceleration time
or adjusting the critical speed generally.

Fig. 10. The vibration response of rotor in deceleration (a) orbit, (b) response in time domain,
and (c) frequency content
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 29

The deceleration time have great influence on both of the impact effect and the peak
response, as shown in Fig. 11. As the deceleration time reduce, the impact effect at the
initial and the end of deceleration, as well as the vibration response get smaller. The
results make it clear that it’s much safer for the overhung rotor to decrease to wind
milling status in a shorter time.

Fig. 11. Diagram of (a) deceleration time, and (b) the influence to vibration response

3.3 Influence of the Rotor-Stator Rubbing

The clearance between rotor and stator in aero-engine is keep as small as possible to get
the higher aerodynamic efficiency in construction design. The vibration response of
rotor caused by FBO is so large that it’s impossible to avoid the rotor-stator rubbing.
The influences of rub-impact to rotor are analyzed in this section, as the clearance is set
ð1Þ
to 2 mm, the support stiffness of casing is set as kc ¼ Kb , and the friction coefficient is
assumed to be 0.1.
Additional Constraint Induced by Rub-Impact. The amplitude of vibration versus
rotating speed and the bifurcation of response are shown Fig. 12, while the k is the ratio
of the operating speed to the first critical speed of the rotor. When the operating speed
is low (the ratio k below 0.75), there is no rubbing for the amplitude of vibration is
smaller than the initial clearance. As the speed increasing, the amplitude increases until
the break point at a speed far beyond the first critical speed, causing the rotor-stator
rubbing. In consideration of the constraint stiffness caused by the rubbing, the

Fig. 12. Diagram of (a) amplitude of vibration versus rotating speed and (b) the bifurcation
30 Y. Ma et al.

resonance frequency is raised and the response peak is lower, but the resonant fre-
quency region is extended. If rotation speed ratio is higher than 1.35, the response will
become partial rub, which is quasi-periodic or chaotic, as we can see many points at a
certain rotation speed.
Influence on Response Characteristic. The annular rub and the partial rub is two
basic rubbing motions in different speed state, the orbit of which are shown in Fig. 13.
When the rotating speed ratio k in Fig. 12 is 0.8, the rotor axis orbit is a circle as
Fig. 13(a) with an amplitude higher than clearance constantly. In this case, the rotor is
subject to additional constraint produced by stator all the time because rotor-to-stator
contact always exists, and the rubbing is single period. Once the rotating speed ratio k
comes to 1.6, it turns to quasi-periodic partial rub. The rotor contacts with stator first,
subsequently it will rebound and separate with stator due to the constraint, and then
above process repeats, as shown in Fig. 13(b). The additional constraint applied to
rotor is time dependent and non-smooth for this kind of rubbing states, and the chaotic
may be unavoidable.

Fig. 13. Rotor orbit under different rubbing states (a) annular rubbing and (b) partial rub

Figures 14 and 15 are the vibration responses under different rub-impact states.
When the rotor is subject to the annular rubbing, the time domain response of the rotor
is a sine curve, and there is only rotation frequency in frequency domain. But if the
constraint stiffness is time dependent and non-smooth due to the partial rubbing, the
time domain curve of rotor is more complex. Both rotation frequency and a super
harmonic frequency are aroused, and a closed curve formed in Poincare map, which
reveal the quasi-periodic feature of response.
As we can see from the results above, the responses and influences of rotor-stator
rubbing are diverse in different speed for the flexible rotor. The annular rubbing at a
lower speed decrease the amplitude of response, with negligible changes in frequency
content. While, the partial rubbing results in the complicated vibration with both larger
amplitude and abundant frequencies, and the chaotic needs to be concerned, which may
cause unpredictable damages. Thus, for the safety of engine, the wind-milling speed
must be contorted to avoid the harmful partial rubbing.
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 31

Fig. 14. Vibration response under annular rubbing (a) response in time domain, (b) frequency
content, and (c) Poincare map

Fig. 15. Vibration response under partial rubbing (a) response in time domain, (b) frequency
content, and (c) Poincare map

4 Conclusions

Pointing at the FBO event of aero-engine, a dynamic model for the flexible overhung
rotor with multi supports is built, based on the mechanical characteristics and physical
process analysis. In use of the model, dynamic response of rotor in typical process and
the relevant mechanisms are studied, and possible conclusions are as follows.
(1) The dynamic model for the flexible overhung rotor in aero-engine with multi
supports was set up, which took into account the sudden unbalance load, the
asymmetry inertia of blade-disk, the rotational effect in deceleration, as well as the
rotor-stator rubbing caused by FBO event.
(2) At the instantaneous stage after FBO, the sudden unbalance produces impact
effect on the rotor system and can lead to the natural mode components for the
rotor vibration. For the case of typical high bypass ratio turbo fan engine, bearing
#1 is subject to the highest reaction force, which threaten the safety of aero-
engine.
(3) Considering the influence of the inertial loads caused by the deceleration, the
vibration amplitude of rotor oscillates at the initial and end time, while the res-
onant frequency reduce and the frequency content gets more complex. As the
deceleration time reduce, the impact effect and the vibration response get smaller,
revealing that it’s much safer for FBO rotor to decrease faster to the wind-milling
status.
32 Y. Ma et al.

(4) At the wind-milling status, the response is mainly determined by the rub-impact,
which can significantly decrease the amplitude of the transient response. But the
partial rub at a higher speed will results in a more complicated vibration with
abundant frequencies, and may cause the adverse chaotic, indicating the impor-
tance of speed control for wind-milling rotors.

Acknowledgements. This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science

Foundation of China, the grant Numbers are 51575022, 51475021, and 11772022.

References
1. Cosme N, Chevrolet D, Bonini J et al (2002) Prediction of engine loads and damages due to
fan blade off event. In: AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC structures, structural dynamics, and
materials conference
2. Husband JB (2007) Developing an efficient FEM structural simulation of a fan blade off test
in a turbofan jet engine. LS-Dyna
3. Yu P, Zhang D, Ma Y et al (2018) Dynamic modeling and vibration characteristics analysis
of the aero-engine dual-rotor system with Fan blade out. Mech Syst Sig Process 106:158–
175
4. Kalinowski P, Bargen O, Liebich R (2010) Vibrations of rotating machinery due to sudden
mass loss. In: The 8th IFToMM international conference on rotor dynamics, Korea, pp 584–
590
5. Genta G (1995) Acceleration through critical speeds of an anisotropic, non-linear, torsional
stiff rotor with many degrees of freedom. J Sound Vib 180(3):369–386
6. Götz VG, David JE (2007) On the dynamics of windmilling in aero-engines. In: Seventh
international conference on vibrations in rotating machinery. Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, Oxford, pp 779–788
7. Ma H, Tai X, Han Q, Wu Z, Wang D, Wen B (2015) A revised model for rubbing between
rotating blade and elastic casing. J. Sound Vib 337:301–320
8. Genta G (2005) Dynamics of rotating systems. Springer, New York
9. Wang ZY, Gong B, Wen BC (2008) Research on rotor dynamics with sudden change of
mass and excitation magnitude. J Vib Shock 27(8):48–51
10. Li T, Ren X, Yue C et al (2012) Transient response of single-disc rotor system under sudden
unbalance load. Mech Sci Technol Aerosp Eng 31(6):924–927 (in Chinese)
11. Sinha SK (2013) Rotor dynamic analysis of asymmetric turbofan rotor due to fan blade-loss
event with contact-impact rub loads. J Sound Vib 332(9):2253–2283
12. Wang C, Zhang D, Ma Y et al (2016) Theoretical and experimental investigation on the
sudden unbalance and rub-impact in rotor system caused by blade off. Mech Syst Sig
Process s76-77:111–135
13. Hassenpflug HL, Flack RD, Gunter EJ (1981) Influence of acceleration on the critical speed
of a Jeffcott rotor. J Eng Gas Turbines Power 103(1):108
14. Xie RG (2004) Analysis of transient response of flexible Jeffcott rotor. J Jiangxi Inst Educ.
(in Chinese)
15. Miao H, Gao J, Xu H (2004) Transient response of unbalanced rotor system through its
critical speed. J Vib Shock 23(3):3–6 (in Chinese)
16. Yamamoto T, Ishida Y, Ikeda T (1981) Summed and differential harmonic oscillations of an
unsymmetrical shaft. Bull JSME 187(24):183–191
 Dynamic Model and Theoretical Investigation for the Fan-Blade Out Event 33

17. Toshio Y, Hiroshi O, Kiyoomi S (1966) On the forced vibrations of the shaft carrying an
unsymmetrical rotor: forced vibrations having the circular frequencies differing from the
rotating angular velocity of the shaft. Bull JSME 9(33):58–66
18. Ardayfio D, Frohrib DA (1976) Instabilities of an asymmetric rotor with asymmetric shaft
mounted on symmetric elastic supports. J Eng Ind 98(4):1161–1165
19. Li Q, Lu Q (2000) Single rub-impacting periodic motions of a rigid constrained rotor system.
Commun Nonlinear Sci Numer Simul 5(4):158–161
20. Ma Y, Cao C, Zhang D et al (2015) Constraint mechanical model and investigation for rub-
impact in aero-engine system. In: ASME Turbo Expo 2015, turbine technical conference and
exposition, p. V001T01A018
21. Khanlo HM, Ghayour M, Ziaei-Rad S (2011) Chaotic vibration analysis of rotating flexible
continuous shaft-disk system with a rub-impact between the disk and the stator. Commun
Nonlinear Sci Numer Simul 16(1):566–582
22. Patel TH, Darpe AK (2009) Coupled bending-torsional vibration analysis of rotor with rub
and crack. J Sound Vib 326(3):740–752
23. Luo Y, Ren Z, Ma H et al (2007) Stability of periodic motion on the rotor-bearing system
with coupling faults of crack and rub-impact. J Mech Sci Technol 21(6):860–864
24. Sinha SK (2004) Dynamic characteristics of a flexible bladed-rotor with Coulomb damping
due to tip-rub. J Sound Vib 273(4):875–919
25. Thiery F, Gustavsson R, Aidanpää JO (2015) Dynamics of a misaligned Kaplan turbine with
blade-to-stator contacts. Int J Mech Sci 99:251–261
26. Liu Y, Li QL, Chen YZ et al (2012) Dynamic analysis of rubbing rotor system based on
hertz contact theory. Adv Mater Res 479–481:743–747

View publication stats