Simulation and experimental investigation on vibration of a radial turbine wheel using a two-way FSI approach

When turbine blades of a radial turbocharger are subjected to an unsteady aerodynamic load excitation force, high cycle fatigue of the turbine blades will occur when the excitation force reaches a certain level. The fatigue of the radial turbine wheel is affected by both static and dynamic stresses, and high cycle fatigue occurs when the dynamic stress reaches a certain amplitude. In this study, a two-way fluid–structure interaction (FSI) analysis method was used to predict the dynamic excitation force and dynamic response of the turbine wheel, which can precisely predict the forced vibration of the turbine wheel under the condition of rotor–stator interaction. A resonance intersection point was excited by the stator (turbine housing vortex tongue) of the radial turbocharger as the operating boundary condition, and the aerodynamic excitation caused by the rotor–stator interaction and the vibration amplitude of the turbine blade was predicted and analysed. A turbine blade dynamic measurement system (tip timing) was used to measure the dynamic deformation of turbine blades for turbochargers in real time. The simulation and measurement results showed that the errors of the predicted vibration displacements and measured mistuning blades were within the acceptable range, and the two-way FSI analysis method can precisely predict the forced vibration of the model.