Optical Non-contacting Vibration Measurement of Rotating Turbine Blades II

Abstract

Identifying the structural dynamics of rotating components can be difficult. Often times, structural dynamic measurements are obtained while the structure is in a static configuration. There are differences that exist in the structural behavior when comparing these statically performed tests and the dynamic characteristics when in operation. In order to evaluate the actual system while in operation, slip-rings are used during testing with measurements made at only a very few selected points. But this slip-ring configuration can be problematic, suffer from measurement noise and the attached sensors can obscure the true dynamic response due to mass loading and aerodynamic effects. 3D digital image correlation (DIC) has been used to capture the out-of-plane motion on the surface of a small scale rotating fan blade. This work extends prior efforts, by quantifying the performance of the optical measurement on a 46 in (1.17m) diameter, rotating wind turbine. The optical measurements are made using DIC (10,000+ measurement points) and dynamic photogrammetry (providing dozens of effective measurement locations). The motion of the turbine as measured using DIC, photogrammetry and accelerometers is compared at several discrete points. The proposed measuring approaches via DIC and dynamic photogrammetry enable full-field dynamic measurement and monitoring of rotating structures in operation.