Numerical study of damping methods for dynamic analysis of aeronautical transmission systems

In the aeronautical engine field, the demand for higher performances and lighter components increases by the day: accomplishing both those improvements is anything but a simple task. In fact, complexity in the study of innovative components sharply arises when their dynamics is involved. Vibrations, as well as resonance phenomena, represent a crucial aspect that must be investigated. Prevention is better than cure: in the design process, the ability to detect any anomalous working condition and thus preventing them to happen would be an incredibly useful tool. This is easier said than done, as modeling the dynamic behavior of such complex components has always been a hard task for engineers. Finite Element model creation is the mandatory first step in every computational analysis of structures. Capturing geometrical features, peculiar material properties for the previously mentioned components requires a very precise mathematical approximation, leading to large models which quickly become prohibitive in terms of computational cost for dynamic analysis. Reduction is the key to success, and currently the best – if not the only – method that permits those highly computational costs simulations to be performed. In this project, two ways present in literature to perform the reduction will be studied, showing pros and cons of both. One of the reasons that further raises the difficulty is the implementation of damping models into the analysis: the aim of this thesis project is to find a suitable way to include damping effects into reduced systems. Starting from the analysis of two test cases, effects on damping modeling will be analyzed and discussed. Then, a practical application on a commercial aircraft component will be shown.