The use of an optical data acquisition system for bladed disk vibration analysis

A new concept in instrumentation was developed by engineers at NASA Lewis Research Center to collect vibration data from multi-bladed rotors. This new concept, known as the optical data acquisition system, uses optical transducers to measure bladed tip deflections by reflection of light beams off the tips of the blades as they pass in front of the optical transducer. By using an array of transducers around the perimeter of the rotor, detailed vibration signals can be obtained. In this study, resonant frequencies and mode shapes were determined for a 56 bladed rotor using the optical system. Frequency data from the optical system was also compared to data obtained from strain gauge measurements and finite element analysis and was found to be in good agreement.