A thermal flexible rotor dynamic modelling for rapid prediction of thermo-elastic coupling vibration characteristics in non-uniform temperature fields

• An accurate and simple thermal flexible rotor dynamic model is proposed. • Thermal stress and temperature-dependent materials under non-uniform temperature fields are considered. • This model enables rapid prediction of thermo-elastic coupling rotor vibration characteristics. • The influence of temperature on thermal stress, inherent characteristic, and speed-up response is discussed. The flexible rotors within aero-engines operate in complex thermal environments, where temperature influences both the vibration frequency and amplitude. This study establishes a simple thermal flexible rotor dynamics model to rapidly and precisely predict thermo-elastic coupling vibration characteristics within a non-uniform temperature field. The thermal potential energy of the thermal rotor element is derived for any temperature field, and the motion equation is obtained using the Euler-Lagrange equation. Specifically, the generalized vector of an arbitrary point and cross-sectional non-uniform thermal stress of the thermal rotor element are considered in the thermal potential energy. The model's frequency error is <1 % under identical boundary conditions. Numerical findings indicate that thermal stress, temperature-dependent material properties, and the coupling effect collectively reduce the natural frequency (NF), with thermal stress having a more pronounced impact under axial constraint. Additionally, thermal stress and material decrease the amplitude across a broad range of rotation speeds, contrasting with thermal bending. This model will play a key role in the iterative calculation of thermo-elastic coupling vibration control due to its accuracy and simplicity.