Comparison of damping treatments for gas turbine blades

High frequency vibration of gas turbine fan blades is a high cycle fatigue concern. Friction damping devices are ineffective in suppressing high frequency vibration modes and external damping treatments are plagued by creep concerns. An alternative approach is to apply viscoelastic material internally in the blades. In this paper, an analytical comparison of internal damping treatments for fan blades is presented. The fan blade is modeled as a solid, flat, cantilevered titanium plate. Internal portions are removed producing cavities that are filled with viscoelastic material. Configurations with one, two, and three cavities are modeled using the modal strain energy method in conjunction with finite element analysis to estimate damping. Results show that appreciable damping levels for high frequency modes are possible with stiff viscoelastic material. Other design criteria are also considered. Results indicate that the hydrostatic load from the viscoelastic material on the cavity walls may be a concern.