Solving the Optimal Mistuning Problem by Symmetry: A General Framework for Extending Flutter Boundaries in Turbomachines via Mistuning

Abstract

A general framework is presented for analyzing and optimizing stability increases due to mistuning. The framework given is model independent and is based primarily on symmetry arguments. Difficult practical issues are transformed to tractable mathematical questions. It is shown that mistuning analysis reduces to a block circular matrix eigenvalue/vector problem which can be solved efficiently even for large problems. Similarly, the optimization becomes a standard linear constraint quadratic programming problem and can be solved numerically. Since the methods given are model independent, they can be applied to various models and allow the researcher to easily conclude which models accurately capture mistuning, and which do not. A simple quasi-steady model for flutter in a cascade is used to illustrate and validate results in this paper.