On the stability of periodic motions of an unbalanced rigid rotor on lubricated journal bearings

A theoretical investigation is carried out on the orbital motions of a symmetrical, unbalanced, rigid rotor subjected to a constant vertical load and supported on two lubricated journal bearings. In order to determine the fluid film forces, the short bearing theory is adopted.A method is illustrated that makes it possible to determine the analytical equation of the orbit as an approximated solution of the system of non-linear differential equations of motion of the journal axis. A procedure is also described for evaluating the stability of the solution found. Diagrams of the curves delimiting, in the working plane of the rotor -m, the areas of stability of the various periodic solutions determined are provided.Finally, the results obtained are compared and combined with those provided by a direct integration of the motion equation made using the Runge-Kutta method.Nomenclature C radial clearance - D = 2R bearing diameter - E mass unbalance cecentricity - Fx, Fy fluid film force components - fi = Fi/W dimensionless fluid film force components - L bearing length - M one half rotor mass - % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbnL2yY9% 2CVzgDGmvyUnhitvMCPzgarmWu51MyVXgaruWqVvNCPvMCG4uz3bqe% fqvATv2CG4uz3bIuV1wyUbqee0evGueE0jxyaibaieYlf9irVeeu0d% Xdh9vqqj-hEeeu0xXdbba9frFf0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9% pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaaca% qabeaadaabauaaaOqaaiaad2gacqGH9aqpcaWGnbGaam4qaiabeM8a% 3naaCaaaleqabaGaaGOmaaaakiaac+cacqaHdpWCcaWGxbaaaa!471F!\[m = MC\omega ^2 /\sigma W\] dimensionless one half rotor mass - R bearing radius - T = 2 synchronous orbit period - t time - W load per bearing - X, Y, Z coordinates - x = X/C; y = y/C; z = Z/L dimensionless coordinates - oil dynamic viscosity - = E/C dimensionless mass unbalance eccentricity - = (RL/W)/(R/C) ² (L/D) ² modified Sommerfeld number - = t dimensionless time = periodic orbit frequency - = 2/ frequency ratio - journal angular velocity - (·) dimensionless time derivative     

Chaotic motions of a rigid rotor in short journal bearings

In the present paper the conditions that give rise to chaotic motions in a rigid rotor on short journal bearings are investigated and determined. A suitable symmetry was given to the rotor, to the supporting system, to the acting system of forces and to the system of initial conditions, in order to restrict the motions of the rotor to translatory whirl. For an assigned distance between the supports, the ratio between the transverse and the polar mass moments of the rotor was selected conveniently small, with the aim of avoiding conical instability. Since the theoretical analysis of a system's chaotic motions can only be carried out by means of numerical investigation, the procedure here adopted by the authors consists of numerical integration of the rotor's equations of motion, with trial and error regarding the three parameters that characterise the theoretical model of the system: m, the half non-dimensional mass of the rotor, , the modified Sommerfeld number relating to the lubricated bearings, and , the dimensionless value of rotor unbalance. In the rotor's equations of motion, the forces due to the lubricating film are written under the assumption of isothermal and laminar flow in short bearings. The number of numerical trials needed to find the system's chaotic responses has been greatly reduced by recognition of the fact that chaotic motions become possible when the value of the dimensionless static eccentricity % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbnL2yY9% 2CVzgDGmvyUnhitvMCPzgarmWu51MyVXgaruWqVvNCPvMCG4uz3bqe% fqvATv2CG4uz3bIuV1wyUbqee0evGueE0jxyaibaieYlf9irVeeu0d% Xdh9vqqj-hEeeu0xXdbba9frFf0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9% pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaaca% qabeaadaabauaaaOqaaiabew7aLnaaBaaaleaacaWGZbaabeaaaaa!4046!\[\varepsilon _s \] is greater than 0.4. In these conditions, non-periodic motions can be obtained even when rotor unbalance values are not particularly high (=0.05), whereas higher values (>0.4) make the rotor motion periodic and synchronous with the driving rotation. The present investigation has also identified the route that leads an assigned rotor to chaos when its angular speed is varied with prefixed values of the dimensionless unbalance . The theoretical results obtained have then been compared with experimental data. Both the theoretical and the experimental data have pointed out that in the circumstances investigated chaotic motions deserve more attention, from a technical point of view, than is normally ascribed to behaviours of this sort. This is mainly because such behaviours are usually considered of scarce practical significance owing to the typically bounded nature of chaotic evolution. The present analysis has shown that when the rotor exhibits chaotic motions, the centres of the journals describe orbits that alternate between small and large in an unpredictable and disordered manner. In these conditions the thickness of the lubricating film can assume values that are extremely low and such as to compromise the efficiency of the bearings, whereas the rotor is affected by inertia forces that are so high as to determine severe vibrations of the supports.Nomenclature C radial clearance of bearing (m) - D diameter of bearing (m) - e dimensional eccentricity of journal (m) - e _s value of e corresponding to the static position of the journal - E dimensional static unbalance of rotor (m) - f _x, f _y =F _x/(P), F _y/(P): non-dimensional components of fluid film force - F _x, F _y dimensional components of fluid film force (N) - g acceleration of gravity (m/s²) - L axial length of bearing (m) - m % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbnL2yY9% 2CVzgDGmvyUnhitvMCPzgarmWu51MyVXgaruWqVvNCPvMCG4uz3bqe% fqvATv2CG4uz3bIuV1wyUbqee0evGueE0jxyaibaieYlf9irVeeu0d% Xdh9vqqj-hEeeu0xXdbba9frFf0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9% pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaaca% qabeaadaabauaaaOqaaiabg2da9maalaaabaGaeqyYdC3aaWbaaSqa% beaacaaIYaaaaaGcbaGaeqyYdC3aa0baaSqaaGabciaa-bdaaeaaca% WFYaaaaaaakiabg2da9maalaaabaGaeqyYdC3aaWbaaSqabeaacaaI% YaaaaOGaam4qaaqaaiabeo8aZjaadEgaaaaaaa!4C14!\[ = \frac{{\omega ^2 }}{{\omega _0^2 }} = \frac{{\omega ^2 C}}{{\sigma g}}\]: half non-dimensional mass of rotor - M half mass of rotor (kg) - n angular speed of rotor (in r.p.m.=60/2) - t time     

Performance behaviour of elliptical-bore journal bearings lubricated with solid granular particulates

Journal bearings operating in hot environments and at high temperatures experience accelerated degradation of lubricating oils. In such situations, dry granular particulates have emerged as potential media for providing lubrication in journal bearings in place of lubricating oils. Granular particulates do not degrade thermally, even at considerably high temperatures. This work explores the static and dynamic performance characteristics of elliptical-bore journal bearings lubricated with granular particulates. It is found that a bearing lubricated with a larger size (2 μm) particles offers better performance compared with that using smaller size (1 μm) particles. Bore ellipticity reduces the load-carrying capacity and increases side leakage and the coefficient of friction; however, rotor stability is marginally improved at low eccentricity ratios (<0.6), followed by significant improvement at high eccentricity ratios (>0.6).     

Nonlinear dynamic responses of a rigid rotor supported by active bump-type foil bearings

Nonlinear Dynamics - Active bump-type foil bearings (ABFBs) enhance the rotordynamic characteristics of rotor–bearing systems with the advantage of controllable mechanical preloads. However,...     

Chaos in the unbalance response of journal bearings

The behaviour of non-linear systems often yield unexpected phenomena which are extremely sensitive to initial conditions. The hydrodynamic journal bearing is a common machine element which is strongly nonlinear for large excursions within the clearance space. A simple model of a rigid journal, supported hydrodynamically using a short bearing theory is shown to behave chaotically when the rotating unbalance force exceeds the gravitational load. At these values of the force ratio the time history of the response is very sensitive to initial conditions and a spectral analysis demonstrates a significant broadening from the expected peak at the rotational frequency. A once per revolution sampling of the time history (Poincaré plot) revealed an apparent aperiodic pattern. An estimate of the fractal dimension using the Grasberger-Procaccia algorithm resulted in a lower bound of 2.15, a typical result for low dimensional systems with significant dissipative action. The required levels of unbalance are only an order of magnitude greater than acceptable levels for rotating machinery and thus could be achieved with in-service erosion or minor damage. The subsequent non-synchronous response could result in fatigue and potential shaft failure.     

Evolutive and nonlinear vibrations of rotor on aerodynamic bearings

The use of air as a lubricant in aerodynamic bearings is advantageous, particularly in the food industry. Aerodynamic bearings with tilting pads have complicated stiffness and damping properties and need a very detailed theoretical and experimental research. Response curves of rigid rotor supported on aerodynamic bearings are presented for a linear but evolutive mathematical model. Due to non-monotone properties of stiffness and damping matrices at variable revolutions, a new resonance appears. The mathematical model of rotor vibrations in the whole area of bearing clearance is also developed in the consideration of strongly nonlinear properties of aerodynamic bearing.     

Preload effect on nonlinear dynamic behavior of a rigid rotor supported by noncircular gas-lubricated journal bearing systems

This paper presents the effect of preload, as one of the design parameters, on nonlinear dynamic behavior of a rigid rotor supported by gas-lubricated noncircular journal bearings. A finite element method has been employed to solve the Reynolds equation in static and dynamical states and the dynamical equations are solved using the Runge–Kutta method. To analyze the behavior of the rotor center in horizontal and vertical directions under different operating conditions, dynamic trajectory, power spectra, Poincare maps, and bifurcation diagrams are used. Results of this study reveal how the complex dynamic behavior of two types of noncircular bearing systems comprising periodic, KT-periodic, and quasi-periodic responses of the rotor center varies with changes in preload value.     

Bifurcation and nonlinear dynamic analysis of a rigid rotor supported by two-lobe noncircular gas-lubricated journal bearing system

This paper presents the study of the dynamic analysis of a rigid rotor supported by a two-lobe non-circular gas-lubricated journal bearing. A finite element method has been employed to solve the Reynolds equation in static and dynamical states and the dynamical equations have been solved using Runge–Kutta method. To analyze the behavior of the rotor center in horizontal and vertical directions under the different operating conditions, the dynamic trajectory, the power spectra, the Poincare maps, and the bifurcation diagrams are used. Results of this study indicates that by considering bearing number and rotor mass as the parameters of the system, complex dynamic behavior comprising periodic, KT-periodic, and quasi-periodic responses of the rotor center has occurred.     

Effects of nonlinear damping suspension on nonperiodic motions of a flexible rotor in journal bearings

Nonlinear damping suspension is a promising method to be used in a rotor-bearing system for vibration isolation between the bearing and environment. However, the nonlinearity of the suspension may influence the stability of the rotor-bearing system. In this paper, the motions of a flexible rotor in short journal bearings with nonlinear damping suspension are studied. A computational method is used to solve the equations of motion, and the bifurcation diagrams, orbits, Poincaré maps, and amplitude spectra are used to display the motions. The results show that the effect of the nonlinear damping suspension on the motions of the rotor-bearing system depends on the speed of rotor: (a) For low speeds, the rotor- bearing system presents the same motion pattern under the nonlinear damping ( \(p=0.5, 2, 3\) ) suspension as for the linear damping ( \(p=1\) ) suspension; (b) For high speeds, the effect of nonlinear damping depends on a combination of the damping exponent and damping coefficient. The square root damping model ( \(p=0.5\) ) shows a wider stable speed range than the linear damping for large damping coefficients. The quadratic damping ( \(p=2\) ) shows similar results to linear damping with some special damping coefficients. The cubic damping ( \(p=3\) ) shows more stable response than the linear damping in general.     

Improvement of rotor performance under rubbing conditions through active auxiliary bearings

This paper develops a new concept to enhance the adaptive capability of rotating machinery to the rubbing conditions through active auxiliary bearings. To demonstrate the feasibility of this idea, a model with a Jeffcott rotor and an active auxiliary bearing, which accounts for both the dynamics of the auxiliary bearing and the deformation on the contact surface, is investigated. The dynamics and the stability of the non-linear piecewise-smooth passive rotor/stator (auxiliary bearing) system are first studied. Then, two control approaches are proposed with the aim to reduce the rubbing severity during the rotor/stator rubbing. It is shown that by using an optimal controller, the harmful heavy rubbing between the rotor and the stator can be well stabilized to the mild light rub through the active auxiliary bearing, and the already established rotor-to-stator rubbing can even be released by using PD-controllers.     

Rotordynamic analysis of systems with a non-linear model of tilting pad bearings including turbulence effects

An analytical model of a tilting pad bearing was developed based on the short bearing assumption with the turbulence effect included. In order to determine its influence on the dynamic behavior of the rotor, this model was compared against one without the turbulence effect through a simulation of a Jeffcott/Laval rotor supported by a couple of bearings. Both models were also used to determine the influence of geometric parameters on tilting pad bearing making use of the aforementioned system at different rotor speeds. When analyzing the results, the parameters which presented the largest influence were: pad preload, number of segments, radial clearance, pad position, and pad pivoting angle. As the pad moment of inertia and the pivoting distance have changed the shaft motion only a few microns, their effects can be neglected. The bearing model with turbulent flow effect has generated higher hydrodynamic forces when compared to the one without this effect, which remarks the importance of considering such phenomenon during the analysis of the high speed hydrodynamic bearings.     

Bifurcation of limit cycles in fluid film bearings

Rotors supported by journal bearings may become unstable due to self-excited vibrations when a critical rotor speed is exceeded. Linearised analysis is usually used to determine the stability boundaries. Non-linear bifurcation theory or numerical integration is required to predict stable or unstable periodic oscillations close to the critical speed. In this paper, a dynamic model of a short journal bearing is used to analyse the bifurcation of the steady state equilibrium point of the journal centre. Numerical continuation is applied to determine stable or unstable limit cycles bifurcating from the equilibrium point at the critical speed. Under certain working conditions, limit cycles themselves are shown to disappear beyond a certain rotor speed and to exhibit a fold bifurcation giving birth to unstable limit cycles surrounding the stable supercritical limit cycles. Numerical integration of the system of equations is used to support the results obtained by numerical continuation. Numerical simulation permitted a partial validation of the analytical investigation.     

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of a rub-impact rotor supported by oil film bearings

A general model of a rub-impact rotor system is set up and supported by oil film journal bearings. The Jacobian matrix of the system response is used to calculate the Floquet multipliers, and the stability of periodic response is determined via the Floquet theory. The nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the system are investigated when the rotating speed and damping ratio is used as control parameter. The analysis methods are inclusive of bifurcation diagrams, Poincaré maps, phase plane portraits, power spectrums, and vibration responses of the rotor center and bearing center. The analysis reveals a complex dynamic behavior comprising periodic, multi-periodic, chaotic, and quasi-periodic response. The modeling results thus obtained by using the proposed method will contribute to understanding and controlling of the nonlinear dynamic behaviors of the rotor-bearing system.     

Reduction of subsynchronous vibrations in a single-disk rotor using an active magnetic damper

Rotor instabilities in turbomachinery often manifest themselves as a re-excitation of the first rotor critical speed resulting in lateral rotor vibrations at a frequency below the rotor operating frequency. Considerable work exists in the literature involving the analysis of destabilizing mechanisms and passive solutions for reducing subsynchronous vibrations. The authors propose here a novel active control solution utilizing active magnetic bearing (AMB) technology in conjunction with conventional support bearings. The AMB is utilized as an active magnetic damper (AMD) at rotor locations inboard of conventional support bearings. Presented here are initial proof-of-concept experimental results using an AMD for vibration control of subsynchronous rotor vibrations in a high-speed single-disk laboratory rotor. The study shows that subsynchronous vibrations are reducible with an AMD and up to a 93% reduction in the amplitude of subsynchronous vibrations is demonstrated. The study also shows that the AMD can significantly increase synchronous vibration response (up to 218% in one case) by increasing system stiffness and pushing a critical speed closer to an operating speed. The overall results from this work demonstrate that reduction in subsynchronous response is feasible and that full rotor dynamic analysis and design is critical for the successful application of this approach.     

Steady-state behaviour of flexible rotordynamic systems with oil journal bearings

This paper deals with the long term behaviour of flexible rotor systems, which are supported by nonlinear bearings. A system consisting of a rotor and a shaft which is supported by one oil journal bearing is investigated numerically. The shaft is modelled using finite elements and reduced using a component mode synthesis method. The bearings are modelled using the finite-length bearing theory. Branches of periodic solutions are calculated for three models of the system with an unbalance at the rotor. Also self-excited oscillations are calculated for the three models if no mass unbalance is present. The results show that a mass unbalance can stabilize rotor oscillations.     

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of a rotor system with fixed-tilting-pad self-acting gas-lubricated bearings support

Based on the nonlinear theory, the unbalanced responses of a fixed-tilting-pad gas-lubricated journal bearing-rigid rotor system are investigated. A?time-dependent mathematical model is established to describe the pressure distribution of gas-lubricated journal bearing with nonlinearity. The rigid rotor supported by a fixed-tilting-pad self-acting gas-lubricated journal bearing is modeled. The differential transformation method has been employed to solve the time-dependent gas-lubricated Reynolds equation, and the dynamic motion equation has been solved by the direct integral method. The unbalanced responses of the rotor system supported by fixed-tilting-pad gas-lubricated journal bearings are analyzed by the orbit diagram, Poincaré map, time series, and spectrum diagram. The numerical results reveal periodic, period-3, and quasiperiodic motions of nonlinear behaviors of the system. Finally, the effects of pivot ratio and preload coefficient on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the fixed-tilting-pad self-acting gas-lubricated journal bearing-rotor system are investigated.     

Nonlinear dynamic behaviors of a bolted joint rotor system supported by ball bearings

Archive of Applied Mechanics - A dynamic model of the rotor-bearing system with bolted joint structure is set up based on the Lagrange’s equations, which considers the bearing clearance, the...     

Investigations on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of a rotor supported by porous tilting pad bearings

Nonlinear Dynamics - Porous tilting pad bearings (PTPBs) combine the advantages of tilting pad and porous gas bearings and can be used in rotary motion and precision machine tools. This research...