New possibilities of using spin rigs to provide gas turbine engine strength reliability

The main tasks of using spin rigs for carrying out certification, engineering and technological tests of gas turbine engine parts and assemblies are formulated. Specific design features of spin rigs are described in the paper. The main characteristics of the spin rigs used at CIAM are presented. The peculiarities of carrying out different tests using spin rigs and the main requirements for rigs are discussed. Examples of using spin rigs for carrying out tests are given. Examples of using the rigs are given, among them are tests intended to confirm the rotor load capacity or technological hardening of the rotor material; equivalent-cyclic tests to confirm the rotor life; investigation of the  vibration properties of rotating parts (optimization of structural damping of vibrations and specifying high-cycle fatigue of rotating blades, etc.); tests carried out to confirm the containment of rotor fragments in the engine casing and to determine the  rotor integrity under the impact of bird or other foreign objects sucked in the engine gas-air flow duct. The necessity of combining spin rig tests with calculations and physical investigations is shown. The main directions of updating spin rigs are considered. In particular, the necessity of developing rigs for different tests of engine fans with high bypass ratios; perfecting rigs and testing procedures for high-cycle fatigue investigations of rotating blades; producing the equipment for thermal cycling tests of rotor parts, especially parts made of composite or ceramic materials; investigation of vibrations in the conditions of rotor-stator contact; improvement of hardware and methods.