Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
A knowledge-based computer system has been developed to automatically scan and interpret graphical displays of vibration data taken from strain gauges mounted on the blades of gas turbines performing acceleration tests. The various characteristic lines which appear on these displays are recognised and classified and the lines representing modes of vibration are examined to determine which mode is being excited and the severity of the excitation. All lines are compared, by a “blackboard” technique, against those predicted by the system working from the engine specification, laboratory tests and finite element analyses. Any unexpected features are reported for manual inspection.
Several series of tests have now been made on the system. In the first test on 130 diagrams, every one of over 3000 features visible to the human eye was detected and then classified.