Test and numerical simulation study on the containment characteristic of an aeroengine turbine casing

Blade off events have always been a considerable risk to aircraft flight safety. To study the containment characteristics of aeroengine turbine casing, a series of containment tests and corresponding numerical simulation analyses are carried out in present paper. The containment tests on turbine casing specimens are performed using a high-speed rotor test rig under room and high temperature. Test results show that the turbine casing successfully contains the released blade. At high temperature, the pronounced curling deformation of the blade is observed, due to material thermal softening. A finite element model is performed using LS-DYNA software and its predictions exhibit good agreement with test results. The validated numerical simulation method is further applied to real aeroengine low-pressure turbine component to study the containment process between the released blade and casing. Parametric analyses are performed to study the effects of multiple blade interactions, numbers of released blades, and rotate speed on casing containment capability. It is shown that multiple-blade interactions can alter the trajectory of released blade compared to single-blade. During the impact process, the blade root has the most serve impact on the casing, which will affect the final deformation and failure of the casing. This effect becomes more serious with increasing release speed. Simultaneous release of three blades produces more debris and material failure, subjecting higher impact loads to the turbine containment structure. These findings can offer critical insights for the structural design of aeroengine turbine casing containment.