Failure Analysis and Remedy Procedure for Cracking of Fuel Nozzles in a Gas Turbine

A common failure in a certain type of gas turbine, observed during the first periodic inspection, is radial cracks in the tip plate of gas fuel nozzles. Here, each gas turbine has 18 nozzles. In all nozzles and in all similar units, these cracks of lengths ranging from 1 mm to a maximum of 14.5 mm are observed. As prescribed by the manufacturer, the defective part must be removed and replaced by welding and machining of a new one. But this problem is repeated and observed in the next periodic visits, and in all units. Depending on the number of nozzles in each gas turbine unit and the number of units in total, these repairs are very expensive and time-consuming. In this paper, the failure is analyzed and the causes of the cracks in the nozzles are investigated. Studies show that the main causes of nozzle failure are residual stresses caused by welding and thermal stresses caused by the start-up and shutdown processes. According to results, a solution has been proposed to release these residual and thermal stresses. After the implementation of this method in 1998, no more failure has been reported by the repair team, which proves the effectiveness of this solution. Since this paper has been prepared based on technical reports from the years between 1996 and 1998, the cited references of this paper are these technical reports.     

Effect of Porosity on free and forced vibration characteristics of the GPL reinforcement composite nanostructures

This article investigates the influence of porosity on free and forced vibration characteristics of a nanoshell reinforced by graphene platelets (GPL). The material properties of piece-wise graphene-reinforced composites (GPLRCs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction of a cylindrical nanoshell and estimated using a nanomechanical model. In addition, because of imperfection of the current structure, three kinds of porosity distributions are considered. The nanostructure is modeled using modified strain gradient theory (MSGT) which is a size-dependent theory with three length scale parameters. The novelty of the current study is to consider the effects of porosity, GPLRC and MSGT on dynamic and static behaviors of the nanostructure. Considering three length scale parameters ( $l_0=5h$, $l_1=3h$, $l_2=5h$ ) in MSGT leads to a better agreement with MD simulation in comparison by other theories. Finally, effects of different factors on static and dynamic behaviors of the porous nanostructure are examined in detail.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Chaotic simulation of the multi-phase reinforced thermo-elastic disk using GDQM

In this research, a mathematical derivation is made to develop a nonlinear dynamic model for the nonlinear frequency and chaotic responses of the multi-scale hybrid nano-composite reinforced disk in the thermal environment and subject to a harmonic external load. Using Hamilton’s principle and the von Karman nonlinear theory, the nonlinear governing equation is derived. For developing an accurate solution approach, generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) and perturbation approach (PA) are finally employed. Various geometrically parameters are taken into account to investigate the chaotic motion of the viscoelastic disk subject to harmonic excitation. The fundamental and golden results of this paper could be that in the lower value of the external harmonic force, different FG patterns do not have any effects on the motion response of the structure. But, for the higher value of external harmonic force and all FG patterns, the chaos motion could be seen and for the FG-X pattern, the chaosity is more significant than other patterns of the FG. As a practical designing tip, it is recommended to choose plates with lower thickness relative to the outer radius to achieve better vibration performance.

     

On modeling of wave propagation in a thermally affected GNP-reinforced imperfect nanocomposite shell

Due to rapid development of process manufacturing, composite materials with porosity have attracted commercial attention in promoting engineering applications. For this regard, in this research wave propagation-thermal characteristics of a size-dependent graphene nanoplatelet-reinforced composite (GNPRC) porous cylindrical nanoshell in thermal environment are investigated. The effects of small scale are analyzed based on nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT). The governing equations of the laminated composite cylindrical nanoshell in thermal environment have been evolved using Hamilton’s principle and solved with the assistance of the analytical method. For the first time, wave propagation-thermal behavior of a GNPRC porous cylindrical nanoshell in thermal environment based on NSGT is examined. The results show that by increasing the thickness, the effect of porosity on the phase velocity decreases. Another important result is that by increasing the value of the radius, the difference between the minimum and maximum values of the phase velocity increases. Finally, influence of temperature change, wave number, angular velocity and different types of porosity distribution on phase velocity are investigated using the mentioned continuum mechanics theory. As a useful suggestion, for designing of a GPLRC nanostructure should be attention to the GNP weight function and radius, simultaneously.

     

Optimal design of support parameters for minimum force transmissibility of a flexible rotor based on H∞ and H2 optimization methods

Rotating machinery support design with the aim of reducing the force transmitted to the foundation has significant importance regarding the various applications of this machinery. This article presents H_∞ and H₂ methods for calculating the optimum support flexibility and damping of flexible rotors to minimize force transmissibility in the vicinity of the rotor’s first critical speed. First, the governing equations for the Jeffcott rotor model mounted on flexible supports are derived and the optimal parameters for the supports are analytically achieved by H_∞ and H₂ optimization procedures. The proposed approach of the tuned damper support system is similar to that designed for dynamic vibration absorber optimization. The main objective of the H_∞ optimization is to minimize the force transmitted based on fixed-point theory and the mean square transmissibility of flexible rotor is minimized in the H₂ optimization design as analytical formulae. It is proven by numerical solution that the system optimization design can effectively minimize the force transmitted to the foundation. Comparison of two optimization than with H_∞.     

Thermal buckling and forced vibration characteristics of a porous GNP reinforced nanocomposite cylindrical shell

In this research, thermal buckling and forced vibration characteristics of the imperfect composite cylindrical nanoshell reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) in thermal environments are presented. Halpin–Tsai nanomechanical model is used to determine the material properties of each layer. The size-dependent effects of GNPRC nanoshell is analyzed using modified couple stress theory. For the first time, in the present study, porous functionally graded multilayer couple stress (FMCS) parameter which changes along the thickness is considered. The novelty of the current study is to consider the effects of porosity, GNPRC, FMCS and thermal environment on the resonance frequencies, thermal buckling and dynamic deflections of a nanoshell using FMCS parameter. The governing equations and boundary conditions are developed using Hamilton’s principle and solved by an analytical method. The results show that, porosity, GNP distribution pattern, modified couple stress parameter, length to radius ratio, mode number and the effect of thermal environment have an important role on the resonance frequencies, relative frequency change, thermal buckling, and dynamic deflections of the porous GNPRC cylindrical nanoshell using FMCS parameter. The results of current study can be useful in the field of materials science, micro-electro-mechanical systems and nano electromechanical systems such as microactuators and microsensors.

     

A size-dependent exact theory for thermal buckling,free and forced vibration analysis of temperature dependent FG multilayer GPLRC composite nanostructures restring on elastic foundation

International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design - In this paper, thermal buckling and free/forced vibration characteristics of size-dependent composite cylindrical nanoshell reinforced...     

Cellulose acetate membranes fabricated by a combined vapor-induced/wet phase separation method: morphology and performance evaluation

Iranian Polymer Journal - Cellulose acetate (CA) microfiltration membranes were fabricated by a combined vapor-induced and wet phase separation technique. A systematic morphology study was...     

Wave propagation simulation in an electrically open shell reinforced with multi-phase nanocomposites

Wave propagation simulation in a multi-hybrid nanocomposite (MHC)-reinforced doubly curved open shell covered with piezoelectric actuator is examined for the first time. The third-order shear deformation theory (third-order SDT) is applied to formulate the stress–strain relations. Rule of the mixture and modified Halpin–Tsai model are engaged to provide the effective material constants of the MHC-reinforced open shell. By employing Hamilton’s principle, the governing equations of the structure are derived. Via the compatibility rule, the bonding between the smart layer and sandwich open shell is modeled. Also, with the aid of Maxwell's equation, the mechanics of the piezoelectric layer are formulated. Afterward, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the effects of the CNTs’ weight fraction, various FG face sheet patterns, small radius to total thickness ratio, the thickness of the smart layer, externally applied voltage, and carbon fiber angle on the phase velocity of the MHC-reinforced open shell. Another necessary consequence is that as the externally applied voltage to the piezoelectric layer of the smart open shell increases, there will be seen an enhancement on the phase velocity or wave response of the system and without a doubt this issue is much more substantial at the lower wave number. It is also observed that when the applied voltage is more than zero, we can find a range for the fiber angle that these values are the critical fiber angle and this critical range will expand by increasing the external electrical load. The useful suggestion of this study is that for designing the structure, we should attention to the FG pattern and higher value of the wavenumber, simultaneously. The presented study outputs can be used in ultrasonic inspection techniques and structural health monitoring.