Figure.
Coordinated National Program Results in Improved Engine Designs
Carnegie Mellon University
Jerry H. Griffin, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
The development of the GUIde Consortium on Forced Response of Bladed Disks was prompted by the fact that excessive vibration of bladed disks is an industry-wide problem that impacts engine development, reliability, efficiency, and fleet readiness. The name "GUIde" was selected for the Consortium. The acronym GUIde stands for Government agencies,Universities, and Industry working together to achieve a specific goal. The word "Guide" also alludes to the the fact that excessive vibration of bladed disks in fans, compressors, and turbines is an industry-wide problem and that by cooperating these organizations can develop an enhanced view of how to achieve their objective.
To address the significant, industry-wide problem caused by high cycle fatigue, Allison, Allied-Signal, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Westinghouse joined with Carnegie Mellon University to form a partnership - the GUIde Consortium - that would result in improved technology for dealing with blade vibration problems. The acronym GUIde stands for Government Agencies, Universities, and Industry working together to achieve a specific goal. The word "guide" also alludes to the idea that by cooperating these organizations can develop an enhanced view of how to achieve their objective and, consequently, serve as guides to each other in obtaining their mutual goal.
The research sponsored by the Consortium is interdisciplinary in nature and requires research in the areas of structures and fluid mechanics. A consortium center has been established at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Consortium Center Director at CMU is Professor Jerry Griffin. Professor Griffin is responsible for coordinating Consortium research activities and works together with the Steering Committee in managing the various projects of the Consortium.
Guidance to the Consortium is provided by the Steering Committee, composed of representatives from the member companies (who are technical experts in unsteady aerodynamics and vibration) as well as representatives from the Air Force and NASA. The Steering Committee sets research directions, evaluates proposals, and technically interact and "guide" the researchers as their projects develop.
The objectives of the GUIde Consortium are:
• to understand and control stage vibration and, as a result, decrease engine development time and increase engine reliability
• to provide a national focus for forced response research and thereby enhance technology transfer to industry
The approach for achieving these objectives is to develop a coordinated research and development effort that involves industry, government agencies, and universities. An important part of this approach is basic research and development in the various aspects of the phenomena inherent in the vibratory response of bladed disks. The GUIde Consortium Approach has three primary features.
1. Industry and government participation in the development of a nationally coordinated R & D program.
2. Active participation by industry and the government in evaluating the research and setting research directions.
3. Expediting the transfer of the resulting technology to industry.
To develop a research and development program, research proposals are solicited from nationally known researchers in the areas of unsteady aerodynamics and structural response in gas turbine engines. They are asked to propose research that addresses the development of analytical models, supporting experimental data, design tools and design strategies for controlling bladed disk vibratory response. The proposals are initially ranked by the Consortium Members using the following criteria: feasibility of approach, reputation of principal investigator, and the compatibility of the objectives of the proposed research with the Consortium's goals. The projects are then discussed and ranked by the Steering Committee and an integrated research program developed that
incorporates the best projects as well as R&D efforts planned by the government agencies and industry. The Center Director, Dr. Griffin, is then asked to write proposals to various agencies to obtain funding to pursue the developed research agenda.
The main advantage of sponsoring the proposed R&D activities through GUIde lies in the general and rapid transfer of needed technology to industry. The individuals from industry that serve on the GUIde Steering Committee are the key people who decide what technologies are used to predict vibration in their companies. Because the projects are initially selected and continuously evaluated by these individuals, the technologies developed through GUIde research programs are rapidly assimilated by all of the involved parties.
The GUIde Consortium provides a mechanism for implementing an integrated national research program in blade vibration. One reason for this is that Air Force and NASA representatives serve on the GUIde Steering Committee. This results in improved communication and coordination between government and industrial R&D programs, see Figure
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Figure.
Coordinated National Program Results in Improved Engine Designs
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An additional reason for the program to have a broader scope is the way in which the projects are monitored under GUIde by special committees of combined industrial and government representatives. For example, in one of early projects on mistuning both TEXTRON and General Electric supplied the researcher with benchmark test data that was used to validate his mistuning analysis code. The results have been shared with the other members of the Consortium as well as the Air Force and NASA.
GUIde
I: The GUIde Consortium started in 1991 when
a number of companies joined with Carnegie Mellon University and Purdue University
to form a partnership that would result in improved technology for dealing with
the forced vibration of bladed disks. The contracts in the GUIde I initiative
lasted from 1991 to 1995. Funding supported the Center Director and research
projects at CMU, Purdue University, University of Michigan, Ohio State University,
and United Technologies Research Corporation.
The GUIde I activities are summarized in the paper, "The
GUIde Consortium: Government, Universities, and Industry Working Together to
Develop New Technologies."
GUIde II: The GUIde II initiative began in 1996 and continues through 2000. This initiative supports research projects at CMU, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of California at Davis, and Duke University.
GUIde III: The GUIde III program is under development and would start in 2001.