[131] Identification of fan blade characteristics for condition monitoring purposes
J Liska, J Jakl and R Kroft
University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic
In the recent past, several industrial fan impeller blades have been damaged in the area of their mounting in the rotor with subsequent blade breakage and fan outage. This paper aims to present research and development activities for monitoring industrial fan blades including their variable pitch mechanism. The article describes the modelling of blade modal properties using FEM SW, verification of blade properties performing bump tests and blade modal properties identification during fan operation, covering the influence of blade rotation on detection time and blade behaviour in different operating conditions. Modelled, stationary and operational measurements have shown a very good agreement of the results, taking into account the influence of centrifugal forces on the blades and their attachment.
