In this study, a multi-pad bump-type foil thrust bearing with a taper-land height profile is investigated. A detailed thermo-elastohydrodynamic (TEHD) finite element (FE) model is used comprising all bearing pads instead of only a single pad. Although the single-pad reduction approach is commonly applied, it can not accurately account for the different temperatures, loads, and power losses for individual pads in the case of misalignment. The model accounts for the deformations of the foils on each pad via a Reissner-Mindlin-type shell model. Deformations of the rotor are calculated via the Navier-Lamé equations with thermoelastic stresses and centrifugal effects. The temperature of the top foil and the rotor are calculated with the use of heat diffusion equations. The temperature of each lubricating air film is obtained through a 3D energy equation. Film pressures are calculated with the 2D compressible Reynolds equation. Moreover, the surrounding of the bearing and runner disk is part of the thermodynamic model. Results indicate that the thermal bending of the runner disk as well as top foil sagging are key factors in performance reduction. Due to the bump-type understructure, the top foil sagging effect is observed in simulation results. The study at hand showcases the influence of misalignment between the rotor and the bearing on the bearing performance.

A new approach to calculations based on the modal synthesis method is proposed for the evaluation of structural and dry-friction damping effects on self-excited vibrations due to aeroelastic instability in bladed turbine wheels. The method described herein is used to study dry-friction damping of self-excited vibration of an industrial turbine wheel with 66 blades. For evaluating damping effects, the blade couplings are applied to this particular turbine wheel. Therefore, neighbouring blades are interconnected by rigid arms that are fixed on one side to one blade and are in frictional contact on their free side with the other blade. Due to relatively normal motions in contacts, the prescribed contact forces vary over time. The aerodynamic excitation arises from the spatially periodical flow of steam through the stator blade cascade. In this paper, we attempt to model flow-induced instabilities with the Van der Pol model linked to relative motion between neighbouring blades. The proposed modal synthesis method as ROM is a computationally efficient solution allowing substantial parametrization. The effect of the angles of contact surfaces on the wheel dynamics and on the level of the self-excitation suppression will be discussed herein.

The presented work focuses on the experimental investigation of a vibroacoustic metamaterial integrated into a spinning circular saw blade. Vibroacoustic metamaterials are a novel technology for broadband vibration reduction. Built from an array of local resonators, a broadband vibration reduction characteristic in the frequency domain (a so-called stop band) can be achieved. A design of a vibroacoustic metamaterial suitable for integration into a circular saw blade is developed and a numerical stop band prediction is performed. The resonators of the vibroacoustic metamaterial are integrated into the saw blade with a water jet cutting machine to create slots, forming flaps that are free to oscillate. The structural dynamic behavior of the saw blade with integrated vibroacoustic metamaterial is experimentally investigated on a rotor dynamic test bench and compared to that of a standard saw blade. The saw blades are excited by an automatic impulse hammer and the resulting out-of-plane vibrations are measured with a laser vibrometer at two different radii. Measurements are conducted at different rotational speeds up to 1800 rpm. Up to rotational speeds of 1000 rpm a stop band characteristic in the frequency range of 1900–2500 Hz is observed.

For the proper operation of intelligent lighting, the precise detection of a human silhouette on the scene is necessary. Correctly adjusting the light beam divergence requires locating the detected figure in virtual three-dimensional coordinates in real time. The market is currently dominated by the markers systems. This paper is focused on the advanced solution of the markerless system of identifying and tracking characters based on deep learning methods. Analyses of the selected pose detection, holistic detection (including BalzePose and MoveNet models), and body segmentation (BlazePose and tfbodypix) algorithms are presented. The BlazePose model was implemented for both pose tracking and body segmentation in the markerless dynamic lighting and mapping system. This article presents the results of the accuracy analysis of matching the displayed content to a moving silhouette. An assessment of the illumination precision was done as the function of the movement speed for the system with and without delay compensation.

The current practice of reconstruction of oxidized turbine parts (due to hot corrosion) using arc welding methods facilitates restoration of the nominal shapes and dimensions, as well as other attributes and features. Intense development of 3D additive methods and techniques contributes to the repair/modification of different parts including gas turbine (GT) hardware. The article proves the viability of the concept of using a robotized additive arc welding metal active gas (MAG) process to repair and modify gas turbine diaphragms using different filler materials from the substrate. The industrialized robotic additive process (hybrid repair) shows that very good results were achieved if the diaphragm is cast of nickel-iron and the filler material for welding the passes is austenitic stainless steel (for instance 308 LSi). This is one of the novelties introduced to the repair process that was granted a patent (US11148235B2) and is already implemented in General Electric Service Centers.