Dynamic analysis of double-row self-aligning ball bearings due to applied loads,internal clearance,surface waviness and number of balls

In this paper, a three degrees of freedom (dof) model was established for a double-row self-aligning ball bearing (SABB) system, and was applied to study the dynamic behavior of the system during starting process and constant speed rotating process. A mathematical model was developed concerning stiffness and damping characteristics of the bearing, as well as three-dimensional applied load, rotor centrifugal force, etc. Balls and races were all considered as nonlinear springs, and the contact force between ball and race was calculated based on classic Hertzian elastic contact deformation theory and deformation compatibility theory. The changes of each ball?s contact force and loaded angle of each row were taken into account. In order to solve the nonlinear dynamical equilibrium equations of the system, these equations were rewritten as differential equations and the fourth order Runge–Kutta method was used to solve the equations iteratively. In order to verify accuracy of the dynamical model and correctness of the numerical solution method, a kind of SABB-BRF30 was chosen for case studies. The effects of several important governing parameters, such as radial and axial applied loads, normal internal, inner and outer races waviness, and number of balls were investigated. These parametric studies led to a complete characterization of the shaft-bearing system vibration transmission. The research provided a theoretical reference for new type bearing design, shaft-bearing system kinetic analysis, optimal design, etc.     

Rolling bearing vibrations—The effects of geometrical imperfections and wear

The geometrical shape and surface properties of the components of rolling bearings will always deviate to some extent from their theoretical design. For bearings of standard tolerances these deviations are large enough to cause measurable levels of vibrations when the bearing is in operation. The purpose of this paper is to show in some detail how these surface irregularities are related to the vibration characteristics of the bearing. The study is restricted to radial bearings, having a radial load and a positive clearance. The approximate methods used render the results useful mainly for lightly loaded bearings operating at low and moderate speeds. Attention has been focused on the effects of inner ring waviness and non-uniform diameters of the rolling elements. A mixed theoretical and experimental impedance approach has been used to treat the bearing when fitted in a simple machine structure, thereby showing how resulting vibrations of the bearing pedestal can be calculated, with account taken of the effects of bearing, rotor and foundation properties. During operation bearings undergo progressive surface and subsurface deterioration. These alterations of geometrical and surface properties of bearing components will always be accompanied by some degree of change of the vibrations characteristics of the bearing. Two common modes of surface deterioration—spalling fatigue and abrasive wear—have been studied, the practical objective being to highlight some possible methods of condition monitoring and prediction of impending bearing failure.     

INFLUENCE OF A LEVELNESS DEFECT IN A THRUST BEARING ON THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF AN ELASTIC SHAFT

This paper examines the non-linear dynamic behaviour of a flexible shaft. The shaft is mounted on two journal bearings and the axial load is supported by a defective hydrodynamic thrust bearing at one end. The defect is a levelness defect of the rotor. The thrust bearing behaviour must be considered to be non-linear because of the effects of the defect. The shaft is modelled with typical beam finite elements including effects such as the gyroscopic effects. A modal technique is used to reduce the number of degrees of freedom. Results show that the thrust bearing defects introduce supplementary critical speeds. The linear approach is unable to show the supplementary critical speeds which are obtained only by using non-linear analysis.     

Dynamic stability of rotor-bearing systems subjected to random axial forces

This paper investigates the lateral vibration of a spinning disk-shaft system supported by a pair of ball bearings and subjected to a pair of random axial forces at both ends. The axial forces are assumed as the sum of a static force and a random process with a zero mean. Due to the random axial forces, the rotor-bearing system may experience parametric random instability under certain situations. In this work, the finite element method is applied to yield a set of discretized system equations first. The set of discretized system equations is partially uncoupled by the modal analysis procedure suitable for gyroscopic systems. The stochastic averaging method is then adopted to obtain Ito's equations for the response amplitudes of the system. Finally the first- and second-moment stability criteria are utilized to determine the stability boundaries of the system. Numerical results show that the rotor-bearing system is always stable in the sense of the first-moment stability, and the effects of the average axial compressive force and the disk mass, which will lower all frequencies of the system, tend to destabilize the second-moment stability of the system.     

DYNAMIC RESPONSE AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF AN AUTOMATIC BALL BALANCER FOR A FLEXIBLE ROTOR

Dynamic stability and time responses are studied for an automatic ball balancer of a rotor with a flexible shaft. The Stodola-Green rotor model, of which the shaft is flexible, is selected for analysis. This rotor model is able to include the influence of rigid-body rotations due to the shaft flexibility on dynamic responses. Applying Lagrange's equation to the rotor with the ball balancer, the non-linear equations of motion are derived. Based on the linearized equations, the stability of the ball balancer around the balanced equilibrium position is analyzed. On the other hand, the time responses computed from the non-linear equations are investigated. This study shows that the automatic ball balancer can achieve the balancing of a rotor with a flexible shaft if the system parameters of the balancer satisfy the stability conditions for the balanced equilibrium position.     

A study on waviness induced vibration of ball bearings based on signal coherence theory

This paper focuses on the effects of waviness on vibration of ball bearings. An experimental analysis method is developed by adopting signal coherence theory of multiple-inputs/single-output (MISO) system. The inputs are waviness excitations of the inner and outer races, and the output is vibration response of the outer ring. Waviness excitation signals are first derived from the manufacturing deviations, and found to be strongly coherent in low frequency range. Virtual input signals are then introduced by the method of orthogonalization. In both cases of vibration acceleration and speed responses, the cumulated virtual input–output coherence function verifies that the first peak region of vibration spectrum is mainly induced by the waviness excitations. In order to distinguish the contributions of the inner and outer races, coherence functions of the virtual inputs with real inputs are calculated, and the results indicate that the outer race waviness contributes more to vibration than the inner race waviness does in the example. Further, a multi-body dynamic model is constructed and employed to frequency response analyses. It is discovered that the waviness induced spectral peak frequency is close to the natural frequency of bearing.     

Vibrations of balanced fault-free ball bearings

This paper investigates the vibrations of balanced fault-free ball bearings. A lumped mass-damper-spring model is adopted including the use of the Hertzian contact theory to represent the stiffness of the bearing rolling elements. We found that the equilibrium point of the bearing undergoes a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation as the bearing internal clearance increases. We developed closed-form expressions for the frequency-response functions of the horizontal and vertical motions of bearings with small internal clearance (below the bifurcation point). We also developed a chaos map to describe the locations and intensity of chaos in the internal clearance-shaft speed parameter space for bearings with larger internal clearance (beyond the bifurcation point).     

Improved model of a ball bearing for the simulation of vibration signals due to faults during run-up

In this paper an improved bearing model is developed in order to investigate the vibrations of a ball bearing during run-up. The numerical bearing model was developed with the assumptions that the inner race has only 2 DOF and that the outer race is deformable in the radial direction, and is modelled with finite elements. The centrifugal load effect and the radial clearance are taken into account. The contact force for the balls is described by a nonlinear Hertzian contact deformation. Various surface defects due to local deformations are introduced into the developed model. The detailed geometry of the local defects is modelled as an impressed ellipsoid on the races and as a flattened sphere for the rolling balls. With the developed bearing model the transmission path of the bearing housing can be taken into account, since the outer ring can be coupled with the FE model of the housing. The obtained equations of motion were solved numerically with a modified Newmark time-integration method for the increasing rotational frequency of the shaft. The simulated vibrational response of the bearing with different local faults was used to test the suitability of the envelope analysis technique and the continuous wavelet transformation was used for the bearing-fault identification and classification.     

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of a rotor-bearing-seal system under two loading conditions

The operating speed of the rotating machinery often exceeds the second or even higher order critical speeds to pursue higher efficiency. Thus, how to restrain the higher order mode instability caused by the nonlinear oil-film force and seal force at high speed as far as possible has become more and more important. In this study, a lumped mass model of a rotor-bearing-seal system considering the gyroscopic effect is established. The graphite self-lubricating bearing and the sliding bearing are simulated by a spring-damping model and a nonlinear oil-film force model based on the assumption of short bearings, respectively. The seal is simulated by Muszynska nonlinear seal force model. Effects of the seal force and oil-film force on the first and second mode instabilities are investigated under two loading conditions which are determined by API Standard 617 (Axial and Centrifugal Compressors and Expander-compressors for Petroleum, Chemical and Gas Industry Services, Seventh Edition). The research focuses on the effects of exciting force forms and their magnitudes on the first and second mode whips in a rotor-bearing-seal system by using the spectrum cascades, vibration waveforms, orbits and Poincaré maps. The first and second mode instability laws are compared by including and excluding the seal effect in a rotor system with single-diameter shaft and two same discs. Meanwhile, the instability laws are also verified in a rotor system with multi-diameter shaft and two different discs. The results show that the second loading condition (out-of-phase unbalances of two discs) and the nonlinear seal force can mainly restrain the first mode instability and have slight effects on the second mode instability. This study may contribute to a further understanding about the higher order mode instability of such a rotor system with fluid-induced forces from the oil-film bearings and seals.     

Analyses of contact forces and vibration response for a defective rolling element bearing using an explicit dynamics finite element model

This paper provides insights into the physical mechanism by which defect-related impulsive forces, and consequently, vibrations are generated in defective rolling element bearings. A dynamic nonlinear finite element model of a rolling element bearing with an outer raceway defect was numerically solved using the explicit dynamics finite element software package, LS-DYNA. A hypothesis was developed to explain the numerical noise observed in the predicted vibrations and contact forces, and the noise frequencies were analytically estimated. In-depth analyses of the numerically estimated dynamic contact forces between the rolling elements and the raceways of a bearing, which are not measured in practice, and have not been reported previously, are presented in this paper. Several events associated with the traverse of the rolling elements through the outer raceway defect are elaborated, and the impulsive force generating mechanism is explained. It was found that the re-stressing of the rolling elements that occurs near the end of a raceway defect generates a burst of multiple short-duration force impulses. The modelling results also highlight that much higher contact forces and accelerations are generated on the exit of the rolling elements out of defect compared to when they strike the defective surface. A bearing with a machined outer raceway defect was tested in a controlled experiment; the measured acceleration response compared favourably with the numerically modelled acceleration results, thereby, validating the low- and high-frequency characteristics of the de-stressing and re-stressing of the rolling elements, respectively.     

Optimum support characteristics for rotor-shaft system with preloaded rolling element bearings

Preloading of rolling element bearings is often used to avoid clearance in the bearings and achieve precise dynamic requirement. Preloading gives rise to an expression of the restoring force, which is a non-linear function of the deformation of the rolling elements. In this paper, frequency-dependent optimum support characteristics have been found out by simultaneously minimizing the unbalance response (UBR) of the rotor and maximizing the stability limit speed (SLS) of a flexible horizontal rotor-shaft system comprising an unsymmetrically placed rotor disc placed on an elastic shaft mounted on preloaded rolling element bearings at the ends supported on viscoelastic polymeric supports. A sensitivity study of the UBR and SLS with respect to the support characteristics has been presented to have an idea about the permissible deviation of the support characteristics from the respective optimum, at any frequency. Thus, the sensitivity study helps the quality control man as well as the manufacturer of such supports to estimate the permissible deviation in the most sensitive frequency zones. The results presented in this work are in terms of non-dimensional parameters of the system and are, therefore, valid for any system under consideration.     

Nonlinear dynamic modeling of surface defects in rolling element bearing systems

In this paper an analytical model is proposed to study the nonlinear dynamic behavior of rolling element bearing systems including surface defects. Various surface defects due to local imperfections on raceways and rolling elements are introduced to the proposed model. The contact force of each rolling element described according to nonlinear Hertzian contact deformation and the effect of internal radial clearance has been taken into account. Mathematical expressions were derived for inner race, outer race and rolling element local defects. To overcome the strong nonlinearity of the governing equations of motion, a modified Newmark time integration technique was used to solve the equations of motion numerically. The results were obtained in the form of time series, frequency responses and phase trajectories. The validity of the proposed model verified by comparison of frequency components of the system response with those obtained from experiments. The classical Floquet theory has been applied to the proposed model to investigate the linear stability of the defective bearing rotor systems as the parameters of the system changes. The peak-to-peak frequency response of the system for each case is obtained and the basic routes to periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic motions for different internal radial clearances are determined. The current study provides a powerful tool for design and health monitoring of machine systems.     

A method to determine dynamic loads on spur gear teeth and on bearings

A method is described which can be used to calculate dynamic gear tooth force and bearing forces. The model includes elastic bearings. The gear mesh stiffness and the path of contact are determined using the deformations of the gears and the bearings. This gives contact outside the plane-of-action and a time-varying working pressure angle. In a numerical example it is found that the only important vibration mode for the gear contact is the one where the gear tooth deformation is dominant. The bearing force variation, however, will be much more affected by the other vibration modes. The influence of the friction force is also studied. The friction has no dynamic influence on the gear contact force or on the bearing force in the gear mesh line-of-action direction. On the other hand, the changing of sliding directions in the pitch point is a source for critical oscillations of the bearings in the gear tooth frictional direction. These bearing force oscillations in the frictional direction appear unaffected by the dynamic response along the gear mesh line-of-action direction.     

An approach for including the stiffness and damping of elastohydrodynamic point contacts in deep groove ball bearing equilibrium models

This work presents a methodology for including the Elastohydrodynamic (EHD) film effects to a lateral vibration model of a deep groove ball bearing by using a novel approximation for the EHD contacts by a set of equivalent nonlinear spring and viscous damper. The fitting of the equivalent contact model used the results of a transient multi-level finite difference EHD algorithm to adjust the dynamic parameters. The comparison between the approximated model and the finite difference simulated results showed a suitable representation of the stationary and dynamic contact behaviors. The linear damping hypothesis could be shown as a rough representation of the actual hysteretic behavior of the EHD contact. Nevertheless, the overall accuracy of the model was not impaired by the use of such approximation. Further on, the inclusion of the equivalent EHD contact model is equated for both the restoring and the dissipative components of the bearing?s lateral dynamics. The derived model was used to investigate the effects of the rolling element bearing lubrication on the vibration response of a rotor?s lumped parameter model. The fluid film stiffening effect, previously only observable by experimentation, could be quantified using the proposed model, as well as the portion of the bearing damping provided by the EHD fluid film. Results from a laboratory rotor–bearing test rig were used to indirectly validate the proposed contact approximation. A finite element model of the rotor accounting for the lubricated bearing formulation adequately portrayed the frequency content of the bearing orbits observed on the test rig.     

Effect of grease type on abnormal vibration of ball bearing

The abnormal vibration of ball bearings lubricated with grease was studied. The test bearings were lubricated with three types of grease: Li soap/silicone oil grease, Na soap/mineral oil grease and Li soap/mineral oil grease. In the experiments, the axial-loaded ball bearings were operated at a constant rotational speed, and the vibration and the outer ring temperatures of the test bearings were measured. In addition, the shear stress and shear rate of the greases were measured by a rheometer. The experimental results showed that the abnormal vibration occurs on the test bearings lubricated with all three types of grease. Based on the experimental results, the generating mechanisms of the abnormal vibrations were discussed. From the discussions, it seems reasonable to conclude: (1) Li soap/silicone oil grease and Na soap/mineral oil grease both have a negative damping moment characteristic. The abnormal vibrations of the ball bearings lubricated with these greases are generated by the negative damping moment. (2) The abnormal vibration of the ball bearings lubricated with Li soap/mineral oil grease is generated by the decreasing positive damping moment of the grease due to the rising temperature.     

Linear and non-linear control techniques applied to actively lubricated journal bearings

The main objectives of actively lubricated bearings are the simultaneous reduction of wear and vibration between rotating and stationary machinery parts. For reducing wear and dissipating vibration energy until certain limits, one can use the conventional hydrodynamic lubrication. For further reduction of shaft vibrations one can use the active lubrication action, which is based on injecting pressurized oil into the bearing gap through orifices machined in the bearing sliding surface. The design and efficiency of some linear (PD, PI and PID) and a non-linear controller, applied to a tilting-pad journal bearing, are analysed and discussed. Important conclusions about the application of integral controllers, responsible for changing the rotor-bearing equilibrium position and consequently the “passive” oil film damping coefficients, are achieved. Numerical results show an effective vibration reduction of unbalance response of a rigid rotor, where the PD and the non-linear P controllers show better performance for the frequency range of study (0-80 Hz). The feasibility of eliminating rotor-bearing instabilities (phenomena of whirl) by using active lubrication is also investigated, illustrating clearly one of its most promising applications.     

Detailed ball bearing model for magnetic suspension auxiliary service

Catcher bearings (CBs) provide backup protection for rotating machines with active magnetic bearings (AMBs). The CBs are required in the event of an AMB failure or high transient loads. Numerical simulations of a rotor drop on CBs in flywheel energy storage system are conducted with a detailed CB model which includes a Hertzian load–deflection relationship between mechanical contacts, speed-and-preload-dependent bearing stiffness due to centrifugal force, and a Palmgren's drag friction torque. The transient simulation results show the rotor shaft response variations with the design parameters: shaft/bearing friction coefficients, axial preload, support damping of damper liner, and side loads from magnetic bearings. The results reveal that friction coefficients, support damping, and side loads are critical parameters to satisfy CB design objectives and prevent backward (super) whirl.     

Indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition (IRR-WD) for effective determination of bearing-induced vibration

Bearings are often the limiting factors for performance of rotor systems. There are various sources that contribute to rotor vibration due to bearing elements. These include the variable compliance effect, spinning and sliding motions of rolling elements, manufacturing anomalies in the form and finish of bearing elements and the out-of-centre assembly of shafts on bearing supports. Therefore, the signature of vibration is quite complex and its decomposition into its constituent contributory factors can be significant in fault diagnosis and for remedial actions. This paper highlights a novel method for acquisition of real-time vibration signature of rotor systems, based upon the decomposition of the indicated repeatable runout for synchronous components of vibration. It is shown that wavelet analysis can be employed to reduce the burden of long-record data manipulation. The methodology is termed “indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition”.     

Rotor–stator contact dynamics using a non-ideal drive—Theoretical and experimental aspects

The possible contact between rotor and stator is considered a serious malfunction that may lead to catastrophic failure. Rotor rub is seen as a secondary phenomenon caused by a primary source, i.e. sudden mass unbalance, instabilities generated by aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces in seals and bearings among others. The contact event gives rise to normal and friction forces exerted on the rotor at impact events. The friction force plays a significant role by transferring some rotational energy of the rotor to lateral motion. A mathematical model has been developed to capture this for a conventional backup annular guide setup. It is reasonable to superpose an impact condition to the rub, where the rotor spin energy can be fully transformed into rotor lateral movements. Using a nonideal drive, i.e. an electric motor without any kind of velocity feedback control, it is even possible to stop the rotor spin under rubbing conditions. All the rotational energy will be transformed in a kind of “self-excited” rotor lateral vibration with repeated impacts against the housing. This paper studies the impact motion of a rotor impacting a conventional backup annular guide for the case of dry and lubricated inner surface of the guide. For the dry surface case, the experimental and numerical analysis shows that the rotational energy is fully transformed into lateral motion and the rotor spin is stopped. Based on this study this paper proposes a new unconventional backup bearing design in order to reduce the rub related severity in friction and center the rotor at impact events. The analysis shows that the rotor at impacts is forced to the center of the backup bearing and the lateral motion is mitigated. As a result of this, the rotor spin is kept constant.     

Non-linear dynamics of flexible multi-bearing rotors

A general analysis has been developed to computer simulate steady state and transient vibration phenomena of complex rotor-bearing-support systems. A central feature of this analysis is a proper handling of various highly non-linear effects (most notably journal bearings) which dominate the dynamic phenoména encountered during large amplitude rotor-bearing vibrations. There are a number of potential causes of large amplitude rotor vibration, such as high rotor imbalance (e.g., loss of turbine blades at running speed), critical speed operation, journal bearing dynamic instability (oil whip), earthquakes, and shock. Failure mode analysis requires the evaluation and understanding of such potentially large dynamic forces and displacements. The paper presents development of the analysis, comparison with experiment and examples of its use in industrial applications.