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.