Finite Element Simulation of Randomly Oriented DiscontinuousFiber Composite Rotor Blade with Variable Thickness

Rotor blades fabricated from composites have traditionally been a costly alternative to aluminum constructions. New interest is being generated toward low-cost composites called randomly oriented discontinuous fibercomposites (RODFC). The presented article investigates static analysis of RODFC rotor blades with variable thickness. The micromechanics of RODFC thin blade is obtained based on the Akasaka formulation and is compared with otherhomogenization methods. The RODFC blade is simulated in the commercial FE code, ABAQUS. The aero-dynamical pressure distribution due to centrifugal load is obtained by the CFD analysis in FLUENT software. Moreover ofcentrifugal load effect, the effect of variable thickness and geometry of fibers and resins as well as homogenization method are investigated on the stress-displacement distribution of blade, too. It is shown that, using RODFC materialleads to obtain uniform stress distribution through the blade. Apparently, the reduction of stress is observed in blade compared with aluminum blades.

Keywords:

RODFC , Finite element simulation , rotor blade , Homogenization method