title: Tip-Clearance Measurement in the First Stage of the Compressor of an Aircraft Engine.
abstract: In this article, we report the design of a reflective intensity-modulated optical fiber sensor for blade tip-clearance measurement, and the experimental results for the first stage of a compressor of an aircraft engine operating in real conditions. The tests were performed in a ground test cell, where the engine completed four cycles from idling state to takeoff and back to idling state. During these tests, the rotational speed of the compressor ranged between 7000 and 15,600 rpm. The main component of the sensor is a tetrafurcated bundle of optical fibers, with which the resulting precision of the experimental measurements was 12 µm for a measurement range from 2 to 4 mm. To get this precision the effect of temperature on the optoelectronic components of the sensor was compensated by calibrating the sensor in a climate chamber. A custom-designed MATLAB program was employed to simulate the behavior of the sensor prior to its manufacture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communications Engineering, Engineering School of Bilbao, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Alda. Urquijo s/n E-48013 Bilbao, Spain. iker.garciae@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Iker
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Air Force Institute of Technology (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych), ul. Ksiecia Boleslawa 6 01-494 Warszawa, Poland. radoslaw.przysowa@itwl.pl.
authors.forename: Radosław
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Przysowa
authors.affiliation: Department of Communications Engineering, Engineering School of Bilbao, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Alda. Urquijo s/n E-48013 Bilbao, Spain. jamorebieta001@ikasle.ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Josu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amorebieta
authors.affiliation: Department of Communications Engineering, Engineering School of Bilbao, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Alda. Urquijo s/n E-48013 Bilbao, Spain. joseba.zubia@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Joseba
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zubia
keywords: aircraft engine; compressor; optical fiber bundle; optical fiber sensor; tip clearance