European Union – Clean Sky Activity

We are proud to announce that EMTD Ltd has been awarded a two year grant from the European Union to undertake a research activity. This is under the Horizons 2020 Clean Sky programme.

EMTD Ltd are leading a project group which includes the following.

Manchester University’s School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

The Institute of Thermomechanics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IT ASCR)

Please scroll further down this page for the latest updates –

1st May 2022 – The project has been successfully completed. Our thanks to all involved.

Call Reference:	H2020-CS2-CFP09-2018-02
Type of Action:	RIA
Topic Identification Code:	JTI-CS2-2018-CfP09-ENG-01-39
Topic Title :	Measurement of rotor vibration using tip-timing for high speed booster and evaluation of associated uncertainties
Proposal Number/ Acronym:	862034 / Batista
Proposal Title:	Blade Tip Timing System Validator

Update – 6th December 2019

We’ve been to Manchester University to supply them with a set of blades and a rotor for scanning and modelling. The 29 blades were removed from a Rolls-Royce Viper Engine. This engine was chosen because the blades are made from steel which will allow them to be excited using a magnetic field whilst spinning in the test rig.

Thanks to Ben at Vapourworx surface solutions for the great job of cleaning the blades and disk.

Update – 16th December 2019

We’ve been back to Manchester University to supply them with another set of blades and a rotor for scanning and modelling. We now have three complete rotors from two Viper engines, all with steel blades

Thanks again to Ben at Vapourworx surface solutions for another great job of cleaning the blades and disk.

Update – 29th January 2020

We have returned from a visit to The Institute of Thermomechanics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IT ASCR) in Prague. The purpose of the visit was to review the test requirements and see the spinning rig first hand. This was a very positive visit and we are on plan to get the Viper Rotor on the rig later this year.

Update – 9th March 2020

The preliminary blade mode data has been imported into our axial position calculator. This calculator will help determine the axial position of the probes above the blades. For more information see the relevant section of the Editor Manual in the downloads section. There you can also find a sample file for the mode information. This information is subject to change as the project continues.

Update 11th May 2020

The equipment for Batista is commissioned and undergoing testing. The picture shows the following equipment.

Acquisition, Lasers, Power Supply, simulator and variable reluctance conditioning units. All of this equipment is networked and controllable from MultiTool software. The simulator is driving the laser receivers optically across a small air gap. More information is available on request. enquiries@emtd-measurement.com

Update 4th June 2020

The telemetry system design is complete. We have a custom 15 channel unit designed to interface directly onto the rig. The telemetry for Batista is undergoing commissioning and testing. Below is the PCB for the end of shaft design and this can be seen in the rig adapter design below. The blue area is the telemetry unit. To the right is the blades are marked ready for strain gauge placement.

Status update for the spinning rig in Prague.

Here is the configuration for the rotor. All of the parts will soon be in manufacture and we can see the multiple probe holders for the various probes and the excitation magnets. We are looking to add more magnets at present.

More information is available on request. enquiries@emtd-measurement.com

Update 29th June 2020

Manchester University remains in lockdown due to Covid-19 but are hoping to open up the labs shortly to continue with the blade calibrations. The telemetry system for Batista is commissioned and undergoing calibration using our bespoke Telemetry acquisition software. More information is available on request. enquiries@emtd-measurement.com

Update 12th August 2020

The blades are back from being strain gauged at Rotadata and we will begin testing with the Telemetry unit shortly.

Update 12th Update September 2020

Manchester University has resumed work on blade calibration after being unable to access their labs during the lockdown. We visited last week to witness the blade calibration process before the calibration work begins in earnest. We are using the strain gauged blades from the Viper engines.

The blades are clamped into a vice at the root and then excited via a chopped air jet. The blade response is recorded via a strain gauge system for each of the first three modes. Two cameras are also being used to measure the peak displacement at the end of the blade and to determine mode shapes. This will give us the stress to deflection ratios for the first three modes which we need for the Tip Timing system to be able to measure blade stress.

A slow motion video has been uploaded to our YouTube Channel

Update January 2021

Firstly the Batista rotor is being assembled at Rotadata with the strain gauging lead out and clipped ready for the fitting of the Telemetry unit.

Secondly, The High bandwidth Rotacap X probes being assembled and tested for Batista BTT comparisons. A 10 Channel system has been loaned to the project by Rotadata with a view to validating the use of these 1MHz bandwidth probes in BTT applications.

Update February 10th 2021

EMTD Telemetry

The Telemetry unit has been fitted to the rotor and is being wired ready for testing. When this stage is complete the rotor will be transferred to the rig for fitting. Dates for testing are still subject to lockdown in both the UK and the Czech Republic.

Rotadata’s Rotacap X

Preliminary trials of Rotadata’s Rotacap X sensors have been conducted at Rotadata this week. The trials used EMTD equipment connected to a Rotacap system. The probes were fitted to Rotadata’s spinning rig and trials done on signal quality versus clearance. The results were nothing short of impressive with noise floor comparable to optical sensors while having a high tolerance to contamination. Batista will further evaluate this system using a number of sensor combinations.

Preliminary results summary.

Update 6th April 2021

EMTD Telemetry

The rotor assembly is complete along with calibration of all measurement systems and is being shipped to ITASCR to start the rig testing phase.

Update 27th April 2021

Rotor and EMTD Telemetry fitted.

The rotor assembly including EMTD Telemetry, has been fitted to the rig at ITASCR. The various probes will be dispatched this week or early next week so that they can be mounted into the casing of the rig. Once this phase is complete then we will be in a position to define and execute a test plan. Covid 19 restrictions permitting.

The Institute of Thermomechanics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IT ASCR)

Update 22nd May 2021

The rotor is now balanced and mounted with probe holders and magnets ready for the tip sensors to be fitted.

The Institute of Thermomechanics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IT ASCR)

Update 12th August 2021

Due to the restrictions on visiting the Czech Republic we have built and shipped a system that can be controlled remotely from EMTD in the UK with the help of the team at IT ASCR. This system has been powered at the site and passed all system checks.

The probe holders are now manufactured and construction of the cable assemblies has begun. Once all probes are fitted and connected we can move on to system testing and begin the test in earnest.

Some of the Capacitance probes are already fitted into the rig.

The probes have been positioned taking into account all of the fixed hardware present on the rig. Our software has determined the best locations given these restrictions to maximise sensitivity to the blades expected modes of vibration.

Further Update

The probes are fitted and awaiting final adjustment. We are connecting the Telemetry unit and preparing for the first check run in the next few days.

Update 26th August 2021

The rig has been run to 3000RPM by the team at IT ASCR and with all of the instrumentation controlled by EMTD at Derby UK.

The Telemetry system and Optical BTT Systems have performed as expected and have both recorded data. We are currently analysing the data but from the screenshot below we can already see that the expected modes have been excited.

The Capacitance system installation will be finished today and we will be running tomorrow repeating today’s testing with the addition of the Capacitance system.

We have footage of the first run on our YouTube page. Thanks to Mekhalfia Lamine and the local team at IT ASR for today.

YouTube Channel

Update 27th August 2021

We have run the system successfully again today. We performed two Accel\Decel manoeuvres to 3000RPM at two different rates. The data was again high quality and both the Blade Tip Timing (BTT) and Telemetry system showed activity in the expected ranges.

Initial data analysis from yesterdays running looks very good. We will be publishing a full report in due course as part of our final deliverable.

We have also captured the entire sessions in TeamViewer and will be demonstrating real time monitoring using our dynamic stack display. We have seen activity on the BTT system match the Telemetry system in real time.

No more running is planned now until Tuesday when we will be running to max speed inside the vacuum chamber and using the electromagnets to excite the blades.

Update 30th August 2021

The rig has run to 6000 RPM and we have acquired and identified a 4EO mode 1 response as seen below. The response levels are in line with expectations and we now have a significant amount of data. This is sufficient to complete the correlation work.

We will continue to run to gather information on mode shape using the LDV system from IT ASCR.

Update 1st November 2021

The experimental phase of the project has been completed successfully and our equipment is on its way back to the UK. We continue to process data and prepare the final reports. The results have been very good showing high correlation between telemetry and BTT. Also the measured stress to deflection ratios have been within 5% of predictions.

This is the BTT displacement repeatability over 4 different runs.

This is the measured stress to deflection ratio on a single blade. Each graph is one element of a single strain gauge rosette.