Experimental and numerical research of the dynamic response of composite outlet guide vane for aircraft jet engine

The object of this research is composite outlet guide vane (OGV) for advanced aircraft engine. The weight reduction due to using of polymer composite materials (PCM) instead of the metal in OGV can reach 40 %. The vane is exposed to intense aerodynamic loads during operation. The modal analysis is needed for the detuning a structure’s resonance frequency. The results of such analysis are presented in this work. Experimental technique of modal analysis for composite OGV in frequency range up to 6,4 kHz is described in paper. Experimental study was carried out for three full-scale OGV samples with the help of three-component scanning laser vibrometer using PSV-400-3D hardware. As the results the mean values and coefficients of variation of natural frequencies were obtained and the main natural modes were shown. The numerical simulation of this problem was carried out by finite element method (FEM) with ANSYS Workbench software using high-performance computing complex. The technological scheme of laying out of anisotropic plies was taken into account in the developed OGV model. The results of numerical simulations of natural frequencies and modes were compared with the test data. Good correlation was found. This fact confirmed that the stiffness of a full-scale OGV, manufactured with various possible fluctuations of process parameters and mechanical properties of materials, meets the required conditions. For further researches the developed numerical model allows to study the effect of reinforcing scheme and other design parameters changing on OGV frequency response. Laboratory modal analysis can be used to control the dimensional stability and material mechanical properties.