A shell analysis of turbine blade vibrations

Free vibrations of turbine blades are analysed numerically by means of a general shell theory. The effect of centrifugal force is taken into account, and it is found possible to examine a wide class of blades. The continuous shell problem is discretized through a finite difference energy method, working on a simple rectangular grid mapped onto the blade surface by parameter functions. Three examples are shown, all of which are compared with previous investigations. One example considers an actual blade from the last stage of a steam turbine, while another considers a compressor blade.