Vibration Dynamics for Aeronautic engines – DyVA

As a way to achieve carbon neutrality, aircraft engine manufacturers are seeking original engine architectures allowing to comply with European objectives. Several directions for development have been considered which all aim to reduce both the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. They generally point towards lightening of structures, enlarging fan diameters, using high-performance materials (more resistant to mechanical and thermal loads) and new geometries. However, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate all of these aspects, in order to ensure that these new design paths, emerging from previously gained knowledge, can be safely integrated in future design processes.

In this context, the DyVA project aims to acquire simulation tools and experimental data linked to the prediction of vibration levels of these new generation engines, especially in two areas of research: nonlinear dynamics and high modal density structures. This knowledge and its developments will be applied to key components of engines, i.e. bladed disks and stators.

The first direction of research developed concerns nonlinear and non-smooth dynamics relating to friction and impacts in bladed disks. By acquiring efficient simulation tools able to estimate periodic and transient states, the goal of the DyVA project is to predict, study and characterize these nonlinear vibratory motions.

The second direction aims to develop robust prediction techniques for high modal density structures like bladed disks and stators. Recent developments in stochastic and reliability-based simulation have led to genuine advances in this area. The DyVA project will seek to combine these approaches with machine learning techniques to improve their robustness and reliability in the framework of the engine architectures developed.

Obviously, such works cannot be grasped without carrying out experiments that provide knowledge regarding the modelling of such multi-physics phenomena and allowing for comparisons with simulations. In order to ensure representativeness and applicability of this work, all experiments will be carried out on actual components. Special attention will be paid to the capacity to reproduce realistic dynamics by ensuring perfect control over implementation. The latter point will be ensured by the academic resources of LTDS (Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systèmes) which conducts the Equipex PHARE (10-EQPX-0043) capable of satisfying all these requirements.

This ambitious project, relying on a historic collaboration between the world leader in airplane engines, Safran, and LTDS, will allow going beyond conventional architectures by opening up the scope of possibilities through a deep understanding of the complexity introduced by non-linear dynamics and high modal density. Such a project will enable preparing the future both for research and technological solutions, by fully integrating it in the challenges of sustainable development and decarbonisation.