Research, Design, and Development of Cost Effective Optical Vibration Monitoring System

The cost and limited lifespan of strain gages for stress and vibration surveys has driven researchers to find alternate means of investigating airfoil stress and vibration. Systems based on optical sensors have been reported in the literature since the mid 1960's. These systems have been limited to test cell use and relatively complex, thus preventing their widespread application. One recently developed system has been successfully used in LV100 testing. Developed by the Principal Investigator while still at Textron Lycoming, this system produced stress and vibration data in good agreement with strain gage results. Further work by the PI, since joining Concept ETI, included the programming of advanced data reduction algorithms, a graphical user interface, and the application of recently developed electronics for dramatic improvements in speed, accuracy, usability and cost. The proposer will thoroughly research the diagnostic and prognostic needs of the sponsoring agency and the gas turbine community. Recent advanced in optics and electronics will be investigated. A software simulation of blade dynamics, optic probe response, electronic resolution, and data reduction algorithms will be created and implemented. By combining the components of the system into a single simulator, the most capable and cost effective measurement system will be designed.