Published on: 2026-10-14
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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Professor at Novosibirsk State University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Sukhinin received a patent for a method of detecting and localizing rotating stall in gas turbine installations and engines. The development is designed for the early detection of a dangerous unsteady gas-dynamic process that can lead to increased loads on blades, shafts, bearings, and other equipment components, and in some cases — to damage to parts. The work is carried out with the financial support of the NTI Fund and Center for New Functional Materials at NSU.
The patent resulted from many years of research conducted by scientists from NSU and the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the SB RAS. Sergey Sukhinin noted that researchers had not encountered similar solutions in open sources. In case of successful testing, the technology may complement existing diagnostic systems and help developers more accurately identify regimes in which dangerous resonance phenomena arise in the compressor — self-oscillations of the main gas flow.
The method is based on analyzing the vibroacoustic vibrations of the gas-air duct wall. The scientist proposes to monitor the amplitude-frequency characteristics of such vibrations and compare them with the resonant natural frequencies of acoustic oscillations near the impellers or guide vanes. If the frequencies of vibration of the rotor or stator and the acoustic oscillations coincide, this phenomenon may indicate the emergence of rotating stall, caused by the interaction of two close resonant aeroacoustic oscillations, which arise even before the development of a dangerous regime, as they essentially serve as a precursor (a mandatory sign) of a hazardous phenomenon.
Rotating stall occurs in the axial compressor — the unit that compresses air before the subsequent stages of the gas turbine plant or gas turbine engine operate. When stable flow is disrupted in the compressor, stall zones appear and move around the circumference. This changes the load distribution and can cause intense vibrations of the structural elements.
— Such events lead not just to wear, but to an emergency situation, — noted Sergei Sukhinin.
According to him, in such modes, individual blades can be damaged if the engine or installation does not quickly pass through the dangerous operating mode segment.
Usually, the condition monitoring of gas turbine devices involves measuring the main flow parameters or analyzing vibrations. However, local measurements of gas parameters at all compressor stages require a distributed sensor network, which complicates the design and increases the equipment reliability demands. A new patent proposes using a different principle: recording vibrations of the casing and identifying the problem source by characteristic frequencies.
— We take all measurements from a single sensor, and as a rule, such sensors are already installed, so no additional equipment installation is required, which significantly simplifies the technical implementation of the diagnostics, — Suhinin explained.
And since the impellers and the guide vanes differ in geometry and number of blades, their resonance frequencies differ. According to the patent description, this allows not only detecting an early sign of the onset of rotating stall but also indicating the specific stage or vane row near which it develops.
It is assumed that the analysis will be performed by specialized software configured for a specific type of engine or installation. The system should output a conclusion understandable to technical staff indicating where a dangerous process is likely developing.
The development is still at the stage of computational justification: the algorithms need to be adapted to the parameters of each specific engine or installation, and then validated on real equipment. The next step should be negotiations with potential industrial partners from aviation and energy sectors interested in testing the method.
The importance of the invention is due to the development needs of gas turbine units (GTU), designed to convert the thermal energy of solid, liquid, gaseous, and atomic fuels into mechanical energy.
The figure shows the velocity and pressure fields in the inter-blade channel for three modes of the natural acoustic vibrations near the blade grid.
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