Experimental research on the characteristics of thermal bow in an aeroengine HP spool

During the cooling process after shut down for aeroengines, internal hot air rises and cold air drops due to natural convection, which makes uneven temperature distribution in the casing and creates temperature difference in radial and axial directions, causing uneven deformation of rotor. Once aeroengine starts after a little time of cooling, thermal bow forms more easily, causing excessive vibration. In some cases, the thermal bow can be so severe that the engine will be unable to start. Based on the rotor for one certain type of aeroengine, the paper describes an experiment of thermal bow failure, which is divided into a static one and a dynamic one, both having simulated the uneven temperature field. Firstly, the static experiment measures temperature difference and deformation of rotor in different temperature environments and dissimilar cold blowing conditions. Results show temperature difference of each cross section increases with the growth of casing temperature. And cold blowing can quickly and effectively eliminate uneven temperature distribution and structural deformation. Secondly, the dynamic experiment produces the results that the vibration amplitude increases obviously when rotating frequency approaches critical speeds (2365r/min and 2892r/min). As the cooling time increases, the amplitude decreases until normal, which is the most important feature different from that in failure of initial mass imbalance. Thermal bow mainly influences the fundamental frequency vibration. Cold blowing can quickly and effectively reduce vibration amplitude. The conclusions obtained from the dynamic experiments are consistent with the known regulations from engineering experience.