Development of an on-line damage detection, discrimination and tracking system for the spin rig facility

The main goal of the work reported here was to expand the capability of the NRC-Aerospace spin rig by adding an on-line damage detection, discrimination and tracking system, and to develop necessary expertise that will allow for optimizing the NDE inspection periods of gas turbine engine components in this facility and minimizing undetected crack nucleation and growth and possibility of catastrophic failures. Passive eddy-current sensors and a data acquisition system able to simultaneously measure blade deflection and tip clearance were selected to monitor health of rotating components. Before application of the system in the spin rig, the system was tested with a rotor rig to check sensor responses to deliberately induced changes in blade tip positions in both radial and circumferential directions. The monitored disc had 12 bolts simulating aerofoils that could be turned into threaded holes to extend or shorten the protruding parts of the bolts. On the other hand, bolt vibration was not excited and analysed during the experiment. Lessons learned on the rotor rig are used to prepare and plan spin tests in vacuum chamber.