Simulation methodology development for rotating blade containment analysis

An experimental and numerical investigation on the aeroengine blade/case containment analysis is presented. Blade out containment capability analysis is an essential step in the new aeroengine design, but containment tests are time-consuming and incur significant costs; thus, developing a short-period and low-cost numerical method is warranted. Using explicit nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis software, the present study numerically investigated the high-speed impact process for simulated blade containment tests which were carried out on high-speed spin testing facility. A number of simulations were conducted using finite element models with different mesh sizes and different values of both the contact penalty factor and the friction coefficient. Detailed comparisons between the experimental and numerical results reveal that the mesh size and the friction coefficient have a considerable impact on the results produced. It is shown that a finer mesh will predict lower containment capability of the case, which is closer to the test data. A larger value of the friction coefficient also predicts lower containment capability. However, the contact penalty factor has little effect on the simulation results if it is large enough to avoid false penetration.