A simultaneous blade tip timing (BTT) and blade tip clearance (BTC) measurement system enables the determination of turbomachinery blade vibrations and ensures the monitoring of the existing running gaps between the blade tip and the casing. This contactless instrumentation presents several advantages compared to the well-known telemetry system with strain gauges, at the cost of a more complex data processing procedure. The probes used can be optical, capacitive, eddy current as well as microwaves, everyone with its dedicated electronics and many existing different signal processing algorithms. Every company working in this field has developed its own processing method and sensor technology. Hence, repeating the same test with different instrumentations, the answer is often different. Moreover, rarely it is possible to achieve reliability for in-service measurements. Developments are focused on innovative instrumentations and a common standard. This paper focuses on the results achieved using a novel magnetoresistive sensor for simultaneous tip timing and tip clearance measurements. The sensor measurement principle is described. The sensitivity to gap variation is investigated. In terms of measurement of vibrations, experimental investigations were performed at the Air Force Institute of Technology (ITWL, Warsaw, Poland) in a real aeroengine and in the von Karman Institute (VKI) R2 compressor rig. The advantages and limitations of the magnetoresistive probe for turbomachinery testing are highlighted.

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This paper deals with a particular magnetic nondestructive technique applied to the control of the position of the steel blades in rotating parts of turbines and engines. The working principle is based on a bridge of four identical magneto-resistive sensors. One sensor is placed near the blades, and the change in magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet and deviated by the change in position of the blade is detected by the sensor bridge. The position of the sensor is indicated, via dedicated FEM simulations, in order to have high sensitivity to the position change and high output signal. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method are shown by experimental tests carried out in our laboratories. In particular, the tests indicate that the proposed magnetic nondestructive technique can be used in an almost large velocity range, and for quite different values of blade tip. The method seems also promising for the detection of blade vibrations.

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