A new dynamic model of rotor–blade systems

A new dynamic model of rotor–blade systems is developed in this paper considering the lateral and torsional deformations of the shaft, gyroscopic effects of the rotor which consists of shaft and disk, and the centrifugal stiffening, spin softening and Coriolis force of the blades. In this model, the rotating flexible blades are represented by Timoshenko beams. The shaft and rigid disk are described by multiple lumped mass points (LMPs), and these points are connected by massless springs which have both lateral and torsional stiffness. LMPs are represented by the corresponding masses and mass moments of inertia in lateral and rotational directions, where each point has five degrees of freedom (dofs) excluding axial dof. Equations of motion of the rotor–blade system are derived using Hamilton׳s principle in conjunction with the assumed modes method to describe blade deformation. The proposed model is compared with both finite element (FE) model and real experiments. The proposed model is first validated by comparing the model natural frequencies and vibration responses with those obtained from an FE model. A further verification of the model is then performed by comparing the model natural frequencies at zero rotational speed with those obtained from experimental studies. The results shown a good agreement between the model predicted system characteristics and those obtained from the FE model and experimental tests. Moreover, the following interesting phenomena have been revealed from the new model based analysis: The torsional natural frequency of the system decreases with the increase of rotational speed, and the frequency veering phenomenon has been observed at high rotational speed; The complicated coupling modes, such as the blade–blade coupling mode (BB), the coupling mode between the rotor lateral vibration and blade bending (RBL), and the coupling mode between the rotor torsional vibration and blade bending (RBT), have also been observed when the number of blades increases. •A new dynamic model of rotor–blade systems is developed.•A test rig of a rotor–blade system is established.•The proposed model is validated using FE method and experiment.•Effects of blade numbers on natural frequencies are analyzed.