US Patent 7861592 Blade shroud vibration monitor

A method for predicting a blade structure failure within a coupled blade structure including a plurality of blades supported for rotation on a rotor and a shroud structure coupling the blades. The method includes the steps of determining displacements of a plurality of predetermined circumferential locations on the shroud structure during rotation of the blade row, where the displacements are provided as a function of time relative to the periodic rotation of the shroud structure for time intervals that are integer multiples of rotor rotation. A signal characteristic related to vibrational mode and a nodal diameter of the shroud structure is derived based on the displacements of the circumferential locations on the shroud structure.