Effect of crowning ofdovetail joints on turbine blade root damping

Stresses due to resonant vibrations induce fatigue damage in turbomachinery blades jeopardizing their structural integrity. Damping plays a fundamental role in passive control of resonant stresses. In the present work the effect of ‘crowning’ of dovetail joints on blade-root friction damping is for the first time investigated. In detail, the damping of a simplified blade is measured under varying centrifugal load for two different joint geometries: a customary dovetail attachment and a ‘crowned’ one. A theoretical model is developed to quantify the damping generated at the contact surfaces. Experimental results and analytical predictions are compared.