A Reduced-Order Meshless Energy Model for the Vibrations of Mistuned Bladed Disks—Part II: Finite Element Benchmark Comparisons

This paper draws upon the theoretical basis and applicability of the three-dimensional (3-D) reduced-order spectral-based “meshless” energy technology presented in a companion paper (McGee et al., 2013, “A Reduced-Order Meshless Energy Model for the Vibrations of Mistuned Bladed Disks—Part I: Theoretical Basis,” ASME J. Turbomach., to be published) to predict free and forced responses of bladed disks comprised of randomly mistuned blades integrally attached to a flexible disk. The 3-D reduced-order spectral-based model employed is an alternative choice in the computational modeling landscape of bladed disks, such as conventionally-used finite element methods and component mode synthesis techniques, and even emerging element-free Hamiltonian–Galerkin, Petrov–Galerkin, boundary integral, and kernel-particle methods. This is because continuum-based modeling of a full disk annulus of mistuned blades is, at present, a steep task using these latter approaches for modal-type mistuning and/or rogue blade failure analysis. Hence, a considerably simplified and idealized bladed disk of 20 randomly mistuned blades mounted to a flexible disk was created and modeled not only to analyze its free and forced 3-D responses, but also to compare the predictive capability of the present reduced-order spectral-based “meshless” technology to general-purpose finite element procedures widely-used in industry practice. To benchmark future development of reduced-order technologies of turbomachinery mechanics analysts may use the present 3-D findings of the idealized 20-bladed disk as a new standard test model. Application of the 3-D reduced-order spectral-based “meshless” technology to an industry integrally-bladed rotor, having all of its blades modally mistuned, is also offered, where reasonably sufficient upper-bounds on the exact free and forced 3-D responses are predicted. These predictions expound new solutions of 3-D vibration effects of modal mistuning strength and pattern, interblade mechanical coupling, and localized modes on the free and forced response amplitudes.