A Numerical Study of the Fatigue Life of a Gas Turbine Blade in Transient Operations

A numerical study of the dynamical response and the life estimation of a gas turbine blade which is subjected to transient nozzle excitation is presented. The mechanical and mathematical model for the blade, the exciting unsteady aerodynamic forces and the life estimation techniques are described and the solution procedure and its realization in a computer code is discussed. For an axial gas turbine compressor blade subjected to unsteady lift and drag forces during a run-up and run-down process numerical results are presented and the relation between the damping ratios, the speed of the run-up/down and the estimated fatigue life is discussed.