Devices and methods for balancing a high-pressure spool of a gas turbine engine
Devices and methods useful for balancing high-pressure spools of gas turbine engines are disclosed. An exemplary device may comprise: an input shaft configured to be coupled to an output of an accessory gear box driven by a high-pressure spool of a gas turbine engine; a first trigger rotatably coupled to the input shaft at a first speed ratio; and a sensor configured to detect the trigger at each revolution of the trigger. The first speed ratio may permit a rotational speed of the first trigger to be substantially the same as a rotational speed of the high-pressure spool. Upon detection of the trigger, the sensor may generate one or more signals representative of each associated revolution of the high-pressure spool of the gas turbine engine.
1. A method useful in balancing a high-pressure spool of a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
generating one or more vibration signals representative of vibration of the high-pressure spool during operation of the gas turbine engine;
using an output of an accessory gear box driven by the high-pressure spool during operation of the gas turbine engine, generating once-per-revolution signals representative of respective revolutions of the high-pressure spool; and
using the one or more vibration signals and the once-per-revolution signals, determining a balancing solution for the high-pressure spool;
determining a correlation between the once-per-revolution signals and an angular position of the high-pressure pool; and
using the correlation and the balancing solution to balance the high-pressure spool.
2. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein generating the once-per-revolution signals comprises converting a rotational speed of the output of the accessory gearbox to a rotational speed substantially identical to that of the high-pressure spool.
3. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein generating the once-per-revolution signals comprises detecting a trigger having substantially the same rotational speed as that of the high-pressure spool.
4. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein determining a correlation between the once-per-revolution signals and the angular position of the high-pressure spool comprises correlating an angular position of the trigger with the angular position of the high-pressure spool.
5. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the once-per-revolution signals are based on the detection of a single trigger having substantially the same rotational speed as that of the high-pressure spool.
6. The method as defined in claim 1 , comprising correlating the one or more vibration signals with the one or more once-per-revolution signals based on a common time scale.
7. The method as defined in claim 1 , comprising using a first correlation between the one or more vibration signals and the once-per-revolution signals and a second correlation between the once-per-revolution signals and angular positioning of the high-pressure spool to balance the high-pressure spool.
8. The method as defined in claim 7 , wherein the balancing solution is representative of a correction weight and an associated angular position on the high-pressure spool.
9. The method as defined in claim 1 , comprising:
driving a first rotatable trigger using the output of the accessory gear box at a first speed ratio;
driving a second rotatable trigger using the output of the accessory gear box at a second speed ratio; and
generating the once-per-revolution signals based on the detection of one of the first rotatable trigger and the second rotatable trigger.
10. The method as defined in claim 9 , wherein:
the first speed ratio is configured to permit a rotational speed of the first trigger to be substantially identical to a rotational speed of the high-pressure spool; and
the second speed ratio is configured to permit a rotational speed of the second trigger to be substantially identical to a rotational speed of a high-pressure spool of another gas turbine engine when used with the other gas turbine engine.