Dr. R Tiwari

A Brief History and
State of the Art of Rotor Dynamics

By
Dr. Rajiv Tiwari

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati 781039
Under AICTE Sponsored QIP Short Term Course on

Theory & Practice of Rotor Dynamics
(15-19 Dec 2008)

IIT Guwahati
Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
Outline of the Presentation

Introduction and Definition
History
from Rakine (1869) to Jeffcott (1919)
from Stodola (1924) to Lund (1964)
from Dimentberg (1965) to till now
Development of Rotor Dynamics Analysis Tools
Softwares for Rotor Dynamics Analysis
Outline of the Presentation
Dynamic Balancing of Rotors

Condition Monitoring of Rotating Machineries
Conclusions & Recent Trends
Introduction
A brief history of rotor dynamics field has been documented
in the present review paper.
It reviews early development of simple rotor models,
analyses tools, and physical interpretations of various kind of
instabilities in rotor-bearing systems.
It also reviews developments of analysis methods for the
continuous and multi-degrees-of freedom systems that
allowed practicing engineers to apply these methods to real
turbo-machineries.
The paper also summaries work on dynamic balancing of
rotors, vibration based conditioning monitoring, and recent
trends in the area of rotor dynamics.
Introduction
A rotor is a body suspended through a set of cylindrical
hinges or bearings that allow it to rotate freely about an axis
fixed in space.
Engineering components concerned with the subject of rotor
dynamics are rotors in machines, especially of turbines,
generators, motors, compressors, blowers and the like.
The parts of the machine that do not rotate are referred to
with general definition of stator.
Rotors of machines have, while in operation, a great deal of
rotational energy, and a small amount of vibrational energy.
Introduction
It is very evident from the fact that a relatively small turbine
propels a huge aircraft.
The purpose of rotor dynamics as a subject is to keep the
vibrational energy as small as possible.
In operation rotors undergoes the bending, axial and
torsional vibrations.
Rotor
Bearing
Turbine
Stator
History of rotor dynamics

from Rakine (1869) to Jeffcott (1919)
Rotor dynamics has a remarkable history of developments,
largely due to the interplay between its theory and its practice.
Rotor dynamics has been driven more by its practice than by
its theory. This statement is particularly relevant to the early
history of rotor dynamics.
Research on rotor dynamics spans at least 14 decades of
history.
Single Mass Rotor Models
A flexible rotor mounted on

rigid bearings
nf =
A rigid rotor mounted

on flexible bearings
keff
F (t ) = F0 sin t
An equivalent single degree of freedom

spring-mass system
Rankine (1869) performed the first analysis of a spinning

shaft. He chose a two-degrees-of-freedom model consisted of
a rigid mass whirling in a orbit, with an elastic spring acting in
the radial diection.
He predicted that beyond a certain spin speed ". . . the shaft
is considerably bent and whirls around in this bent form."
He defined this certain speed as the whirling speed of the
shaft. In fact, it can be shown that beyond this whirling speed
the radial deflection of Rankine's model increases without
limit.
Today, this speed would be called the threshold speed for
divergent instability. However, Rankine did add the term
whirling to the rotor dynamics
vocabulary.
Fr
G(x,y)
Rankine rotor model (Two degree

of freedom spring-mass rotor
model)
Circular motion
Free body diagram of the model
Elliptical motion
Straight-line motion
Motion of the shaft center during whirling motion

Rankines neglect of Coriolis acceleration led to erroneous

conclusions that confused engineers for one-half century.
Whirling refers to the movement of the center of mass of the
rotor in a plane perpendicular to the shaft.
A critical speed occurs when the excitation frequency (e.g.,
the spin speed of unbalnced shaft) coincides with a natural
frequency, and can lead to excessive vibration amplitudes.
= nf =
keff
M
A Jeffcott (or Laval) rotor model in general whirling motion

The turbine built by Parsons in 1884 (Parsons, 1948)

operated at speeds of around 18,000 rpm, which was fifty
times faster than the existing reciprocating engine.
In 1883 Swedish engineer de Laval developed a single-stage
steam impulse turbine (named after him) for marine
applications and succeeded in its operation at 42,000 rpm.
He aimed at the self-centering of the disc above the critical
speed, a phenomenon which he intuitively recognized.
He first used a rigid rotor, but latter used a flexible rotor and
showed that it was possible to operate above critical speed by
operating at a rotational speed about seven times the critical
speed (Stodola, 1924).
It thus became recognized that a shaft has several critical

speeds and that under certain circumstances these were the
same as natural frequencies of a non-rotating shaft.
Dunkerley (1895) found, as a result of numerous
measurements, the relationship known today by that of
Southwell, by which the fundamental critical speed can be
calculated, even for complicated cases.
The first sentence of Dunkerleys paper reads, "It is well

known that every shaft, however nearly balanced, when driven
at a particular speed, bends, and, unless the amount of
deflection be limited, might even break, although at higher
speeds the shaft again runs true. This particular speed or
critical speed depends on the manner in which the shaft is
supported, its size and modulus of elasticity, and the sizes,
weights, and positions of any pulleys it carries.
This was the first use of the term critical speed for the
resonance rotational speed.
Even with the general knowledge of critical speeds, the shaft
behaviour at any general speed was still unclear but more was
learnt from the calculation of unbalance vibrations, as given by
Fppl (1895).
Fppl used an undamped model to show that an unbalanced

disc would whirl synchronously with the heavy side flying out
when the rotation was subcritical and with the heavy side flying
in when the rotation was supercritical.
Also the behaviour of Laval rotors (1889) at high speed was
confirmed by his theory.
It is regrettable that what Dunkerley regarded as well known
was actually little known.
Also practitioners of that day were not aware of the 1895
analysis by the German civil engineer Fppl who showed that a
rotor model exhibited a stable solution above Rankine's whirling
speed.
Shaft whirling
direction
Shaft whirling
direction
Shaft
Shaft
Shaft spin
direction
Shaft spin
direction
Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying out)
Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying in)
Shaft whirling
direction
Shaft whirling
direction
Shaft
Shaft spin
direction
Shaft
Shaft spin
direction
Synchronous whirl (Heavy sideDr.

flying
in
Anti-synchronous whirl
R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
direction of motion of the shaft)
(Heavy side flying in and out)
Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying out)
Synchronous
whirl
(Heavy side flying in)
Dr. R. Tiwari
(rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
Anti-synchronous (backward) whirl (Heavy side flying in and out)
The change in phase between the force and the response is also shown
in Figure below for three difference spin speeds i.e. below the critical
speed, at the critical speed and above the critical speed.
Phase angles between the

force and response vectors
below critical speed

at critical speed

above critical speed
We cannot blame them too much since Fppl published his

analysis in Der Civilingenieur, a journal that was probably not
well known by contemporary rotor dynamicists.
More telling was about the apparent indifference to the
practical work of the Swedish engineer, De Laval, who in 1889
ran a single stage steam turbine at a supercritical speed.
One can speculate that engineers of the day laboured under a

confusion of concepts - equating Rankine's whirling speed (for
present day it is the threshold speed for divergent instability) with
Dunkerley's critical speed.
This was particularly unfortunate since Rankine was far more
eminent than Dunkerley and, as a result, his dire predictions were
widely accepted and became responsible for discouraging the
development of high speed rotors for almost 50 years (18691916).
It was in England in 1916 that things came to the end. Kerr
published experimental evidence that a second critical speed
existed, and it was obvious to all that a second critical speed
could only be attained by the safe traversal of the first critical
speed.
The Royal Society of London then commissioned Jeffcott to

resolve this conflict between Rankine's theory and the practice
of Kerr and de Laval.
The first recorded fundamental theory of rotor dynamics can be
found in a classic paper of Jeffcott in 1919, in a place where it
was more likely to be read by those interested in rotor dynamics.
Jeffcott confirmed Fppl's prediction that a stable supercritical
solution existed and he extended Foppl's analysis by including
external damping (i.e., damping to ground) and showed that the
phase of the heavy spot varies continuously as the rotation rate
passes through the critical speed.
There is no evidence that Jeffcott was aware of Fppl's prior
work; in fact, Jeffcott's paper does not contain a single
reference.
Experimental and estimated amplitude and phase responses

We can appreciate Jeffcotts great contributions if we recall

that a flexible shaft of negligible mass with a rigid disc at the
midspan is called a Jeffcott rotor (some times it is called the
Laval-Fppl-Jeffcott rotor).
The bearings are rigidly supported, and viscous damping
acts to oppose absolute motion of the disc. This simplified
model is also called the Laval rotor, named after de Laval.
Jeffcott Rotor
A Jeffcott rotor model in y-z plane
Free body diagram of the disc in x-y plane

A Jeffcott rotor in general
motion
Stodola (1924) to Lund (1964)

Developments made in rotor dynamics up to the beginning of
the twentieth century are detailed in the masterpiece book
written by Stodola (1924).
Among other things, this book includes the dynamics of
elastic shaft with discs, the dynamics of continuous rotors
without considering gyroscopic moment, the secondary
resonance phenomenon due to gravity effect, the balancing of
rotors, and methods of determining approximate values of
critical speeds of rotors with variable cross sections.
He presented a graphical procedure to calculate critical
speeds, which was widely used. He showed that these
supercritical solutions were stabilized by Coriolis accelerations
(which eventually gives gyroscopic effects).
The unwitting constraint of these accelerations was the defect

in Rankine's model. It is interesting to note that Rankine's model
is a sensible one for a rotor whose stiffness in one direction is
much greater than its stiffness in the quadrature direction.
Indeed, it is now well known that such a rotor will have regions
of divergent instability.
It is less well known that Prandtl (1918) was the first to study a
Jeffcott rotor with a non-circular cross-section (i.e., elastic
asymmetry in the rotor).
In Jeffcott's analytical model the disk did not wobble. As a
result, the angular velocity vector and the angular momentum
vector were colinear and no gyroscopic moments were
generated.
(a) A simply supported shaft with a

disc at the mid-span
(c) A cantilever shaft with a point

disc at the free end
(b) A simply supported shaft with

a disc near the bearing
(d) A cantilever shaft with a rigid disc

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in) at the free end
Gyroscopic effects
A Jeffcott rotor with a disc offset

from the midspan in the y-z plane
This restriction was removed by Stodola (1924). Natanzon

(1948, 1952), Bogdanoff (1947), Green (1948) and Fppl
(1948) studied effect of gyroscopic moment on natural
frequencies and critical speeds.
The gyroscopic moment has the effect of making the
natural frequencies dependence on rotor speed, while the
same time doubling their number.
Along with other parameters, the ratio of diametral to polar
moment of inertia plays an important role.
Campbell Diagram
1500
Synchronous Whirl
4F
4B
Natural Whirl Frequency

(rad/sec)
1000
3F
3B
500
2F
2B
1F
1B
500
1000
1500
2000
Spin Speed (rad/sec)
2500
3000
About a decade latter (1933), the study of asymmetrical

shaft systems and asymmetrical rotor systems began.
The former are systems with a directional in the shaft
stiffness and the latter are those with a directional difference
in rotor inertia.
Two-pole generator rotors and propeller rotors are
examples of such systems. As these directional differences
rotate with the shaft, terms with time-varying coefficients
appear in the governing equations.
These systems therefore fall into the category of
parameterically excited systems, which leads to instability in
the rotor system.
Two Pole Generator Rotor
Instability in rotating machines
Plot of equation (27) for n = 1
n=1
n=1
n=1
Instability
zone
B
A two-bladed propeller
A three-bladed propeller
The most characteristic property of asymmetrical systems is

the appearance of unstable vibrations in some rotational
speed ranges.
In 1933, Smith obtained a poineer work in the form of simple
formulas that predicted the threshold spin speed for supercritical instability varied with bearing stiffness and with the
ratio of external to internal viscous damping.
To quote from Smith's paper " . . . [the] increase of
dissymmetry of the bearing stiffness and in the intensity of
[external] damping relative to [internal] damping raises the
[threshold] speed . . . and [this threshold] speed is always
higher than either critical speed."
The formula for damping was obtained independently by

Crandall (1961) some 30 years later. Dick (1948) also studied
behaviour of shaft having sections with unequal principal
modulii.
The system is stable provided
cv
< 1+
n
cH
c H + cv > 0
= k /m
2
n
Thereafter, rotor dynamics expanded to consider various other

effects.
As the rotational speed increased above the first critical
speed, the huge amount of kinetic energy stored in the rigidbody rotational mode of a high speed rotor is available to fuel
a wide variety of possible self-excited vibration mechanisms.
However, the rotor dynamicist's respite from worrying about
instability was brief.
In the early 1920s a supercritical instability in built-up rotors
was encountered and, shortly thereafter, first shown by
Newkirk (1924) and Kimball (1924) to be a manifestation of
rotor internal damping (i.e., damping between rotor
components).
Then, Newkirk and Taylor (1925) described an instability

caused by the nonlinear action of the oil wedge in a journal
bearing, which was named as oil whip.
Robertson (1932, 1934, 1935a and 1935b ) also studied
certain problems of vibratory motion and stability of rotors.
Baker (1933) described self-excited vibrations due to
contact between rotor and stator.
Kapitsa (1939) ponited out that a flexible shaft could become
unstable due to friction conditions in its sliding (bush)
bearings.
Instability in Rotating Machines
Resonant whip
When the shaft rotates at about twice the speed associated
with the system
2x
Journal vibration frequency

spectra showing the oil-whirl and oil-whip
Instability in Rotating Machines

For stable condition with unbalance in the system the path of
the journal (journal orbit) for momentary disturbance will settle
down to a elliptical shape after sufficient iterations.
y
xx
Journal path due to a perturbation

R. Tiwari
SteadyDr.state
shaft
orbit
Stable shaft motion even with disturbances
Stable shaft motion even with disturbances
Unstable shaft motion for even a small disturbance
Natural whirl frequency map and stability of rotorbearing system

supported on speed independent bearings (LD: - stable, + unstable)
Other instabilities have since been discovered. Prominent

among these are those due to cross-coupling stiffnesses in
bearings and seals and steam whirl (flow in shrouds & shaft
seals, and blades), which can also occur in gas turbines.
These phenomena, in which friction that ordinary damped
vibration causes self-excited vibration, attracted the attention
of many researchers.
In the middle of the twentieth century, Hori (1959)
succeeded in explaining various fundamental characteristics
of oil whip by investigating the stability of shaft motion and
considering pressure forces due to oil films.
The mechanism of vibrations due to the steam whirl in
turbines was explained by Thomas (1958) and that in
compressors was explained
by Alford (1965).
The vibration of hollow rotor containing fluid is a relatively

new problem of flow-induced vibrations.
Instability due to liquids partially filling interior cavities of
rootors was demonstrated by Kollmann (1962) and in 1967
Ehrich reported that fluid trapped in engine-shafts induced
asynchronus vibration and also changed the shape of
resonance curves.
Kuipers (1964) and Wolf (1968) independently successed in
explaining the appearance of an unstable speed range in a
postcritical region of a rotor system containing inviscid fluid.
In 1980s the rotor dynamic effects of seals in fluid handling
machines received a great deal of attention. Rotor
destabilization due to seals was predicted and demonstrated
in an operational compressor
by Jenny (1980).
As rotors became lighter and rotational speeds higher, the

occurance of nonlinear resonances such as subharmonics
(1/2X, 1/3X, etc.) became a serious problem.
Yamamoto (1955, 1957) studied various kinds of nonlinear
resonances after he reported on subharmonic resonance due
to ball bearings in 1955. He also investigated combination
resonances.
Tondl (1965) studied nonlinear resonances due to oil films in
journal bearings.
Ehrich (1966) reported subharmonic resonances observed in
an aircraft gas turbine due to strong nonlinearity produced by
the radial clearance of squeeze-film dampers. Ehrich (1988,
1992) reported the occurance of various types of subharmonic
resonances up to very
high order and chaotic vibrations in
practical engines.
A
/2
-2
-1
Spectrum
b
-2
Backward
-1
A
f
Forward
Dr. the
R. Tiwari
Spectrum of
combination
resonance (complex FFT method)
Non-stationary phenomena during passage through critical

speeds have been studied since Lewis (1932) reported his
investigation on the Jeffcott rotor.
Non-stationary phenomena that occur are one in a process
with a constant acceleration and another with variable
acceleration (limited driving toque). As the theoretical
analysis of such transition problems is far more difficult than
of stationary oscillations, many of the researchers adopted
numerical integrations.
Natanzon (1952) studied shaft vibrations at critical speeds.
Grobov (1953, 1955) investigated in general form the shaft
vibrations resulting from varying rotational speeds. The
development of asymptotic method (analytical) by
Mitropolskii (1965) considerably boosted the research on
this subject.
Fig. 2.33(g) Overlap of transient and steady state responses

with frequency
There is an extremely comprehensive literature on the role of

fluid-film bearings in rotor dynamics.
Developments up to 1957 were largely due to Newkirk who
explained them in very detailed and graphic way.
Then, beginning in the early 1960s, most attention focused
on hydrodynamic bearings, this was largely stimulated by
Lund and Sternlicht (1962) and Lund (1964).
Gunters work (1966) related to rotor dynamic stability
problems, combined with Ruhl and Bookers (1972) and
Lunds (1974) methods for calculating damped critical speeds,
stimulated a great deal of interest in rotor-bearing stability
problems.
Lund (1987) gave anDr.overview
of the fluid film bearings.
R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
In the mid 1970s, rotor dynamic instability experiences with

various high-pressure compressors and the high-pressure fuel
turbo-pump of the Space Shuttle main engine focused a great
deal of attention on the influence of fluid-structure-interaction
forces, particularly forces due to liquid and gas seals,
impellers and turbine.
Someya (1989) and Tiwari et al. (2004) complied extensive
numerical and experimental results and literatures of dynamic
parameters of fluid film bearings, respectively.
Shaft seals have similar effect as fluid-film bearings. They
influence the critical speeds, can provide damping or on the
other hand cause instability. Some of the first investigations
were carried out in 1965 by Lomakin. Since then shaft seals
have acquired a significant role in their effect on rotor
dynamics, as the extensive
literature shows (Childs, 1993;
Tiwari et al., 2005).
Instability from fluid-film bearings and shaft seals arises from

the fact that, during radial displacement of a rotor, a restoring
force is produced, which has a component at right angles to
this displacement (i.e., a phase of 90 degree).
Such a mechanism is possible for a rotor with blades, as a
result of variable leakage around the blade tips. The
phenomenon of instability was described in detail by Newkirk
(1924), whose interest was in turbomachineries.
At first it was thought that the cause was internal friction due
to shrink fits on the shaft and a theory was developed to
explain this also, together with experimental verification
(Newkirk, 1924; Kimball, 1924 and 1925).
Summary of Various Rotor Dynamic Phenomena

S.N.
Phenomena
Caused by
Reported/
Interpreted
by
Remarks
Whirling
unbalance
Rankine
(1869)
General motion
(Th)
Self centering of
rotor
unbalance
De Laval
(1983)
Unbalance
response (Exp)
Synchronous
whirling
unbalance
Fppl (1895) Unbalance

response (Th)
Critical speed
unbalance
Dunkerley
(1895)
Resonance (Th)
Second critical speed unbalance
Kerr (1916)
Resonance (Exp)
Stable supercritical
response
Jeffcott
(1919)
Damped unbalance
response (Th)
Secondary resonance
gravity
Stodola
Dr. R. Tiwari
(1924)
unbalance
Unbalance
response (Th)

S.N. Phenomena/effects
Caused by
Reported/
Interpreted by
Remarks
Instability
Shaft
asymmetry
Prandtl (1918)
Instability
analysis (Th)
Gyroscopic effect
Rotor
wobbling
Stodola (1924)
Free vibrations
(Th)
10
Threshold spin
speed for instability
Internal
damping
Newkirk (1924),
Kimball (1924),
Smith (1933),
Crandall (1961)
Instability
analysis (Th)
11
Threshold spin
speed for instability
Dissymmetry
of bearing
stiffness
Smith
(1933)
Instability
analysis (Th)
12
Oil whip
Nonlinear
Newkirk and
action of the
Taylor (1925)
oil wedge in a
journal
bearing
Dr.
R. Tiwari
Instability
analysis (Th)

S.N.
Phenomena/effects
Caused by
Reported/
Interpreted by
Remarks
13
Self-excited
vibration
Contact between
rotor and stator
Baker
(1933)
(Th)
14
Oil whip
Hydrodynamic
bearing
Hori (1959)
(Th)
15
Steam whirl
Steam injection
on turbine blades
Thomas (1958)
(Th)
16
Flow induced
vibrations
Hollow rotor
containing fluid
Kollmann (1962),
Ehrich (1965),
Kuipers (1964),
Wolf (1968)
(Exp),
(Exp),
(Th),
(Th)
17
Instability
Seals
Jenny (1980)
(Exp)
18
Subharmonics/
combination
resonance
Nonlinearity (ball Yamamoto (1955,

bearing)
1957)
(Exp), (Th)

S.N.
Phenomena/effects
Caused by
Reported/
Interpreted by
Remarks
19
Nonlinear
resonance
Oil films in
journal bearings
Tondl (1965)
(Th)
20
Subhamonic
resonances
Squeeze film
dampers
Ehrich (1966)
(Exp)
21
Nonstationary
response
Constant/variable
accelerations of
rotor speed
Lewis (1932)
(Th)
22
Shaft vibrations at
critical speeds
Varying spin
speeds
Natanzon (1952)
(Th)
23
Shaft general
motion
Varying spin
speeds
Grobov (1953,
1955)
(Th)
24
Damped critical
speeds
Hydrodynamic
bearings
Ruhl and Bookers FEM,

(1972), and
Lunds (1974)
TMM , (Th)
Development of Rotor Dynamics Analysis Tools

In rotor dynamics a remarkable amount can be explained by
the dynamics of a single mass Jeffcott rotor model.
This model, introduced in 1895 by Fppl, was named after
Jeffcott, because in 1919 he explained the science of rotor
dynamics in a graphic and illuminating way.
Gradually, the Jeffcott rotor model, in its many variations,
came closer to the practical needs of the rotor dynamicists of
the day. But, not close enough.
Vibrations of rotors with continuously distributed mass were
studied. The simplest continuous rotor model corresponding
to the Euler beam was first studied in the book by Stodola
(1924).
Skoda Power, Czech Republic

The critical speeds of shafts with distributed mass were also

examined by Grammel (1920, 1929).
In the 1950s and 1960s , Bishop (1959), Bishop and Gladwell
(1959), Bishop and Parkinson (1965), Dimentberg (1961) and
Tondl (1965) reported a series of papers and books on the
unbalance response and the balancing of a continous rotor.
Eshleman and Eubanks (1969) derived more general
equations of motion considering the effects of rotary inerta,
shear deformation and gyroscopic moment and investigated
these effects.
Many practical rotors, especially those being designed for

aircraft gas turbines, were not suitable for a Jeffcott model. For
one thing, the distinction between disk and shaft is blurred in
the typical aircraft gas turbine.
In the practical design of rotating machinery, it is necessary to
know accurately the natural frequencies, mode shapes and
forced responses to unbalances in complex-shaped rotor
systems.
The first systematic procedures for analysizing realistic
rotordynamic models, however, gave as much importance to
internal forces and moments as they did to displacements.
The method of Holzer (1921) for torsional vibrations was of
this type. Engineers could apply this method using only a slide
rule. A more general modeling technique was needed. This
the (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
late 1930s and published in 1945
was supplied by ProhlDr.inR. Tiwari
for crtical speed evaluation of turbine shaft.
It is similar to the method published about the same time by

Myklestad (1944) for the natural frequencies of aircraft wings
but was developed independently. Of course, Prohl's method
was designed for a rotating structure rather than a stationary
one.
Together, Prohl's and Myklestad's work led to a broader
method, now called the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM). This
method is particular useful for multi-rotor-bearing systems and
has developed rapidily since 1960s by the contribution of
many researchers such as Lund et al. (1965, 1967, 1974),
Goodwin (1989), and Rao (1996).
The TMM for rotors remains viable; indeed, it seems still to be
the method of choice for most industrial rotor dynamic
analyses. The another representative technique used for this
purpose is the finite element
Dr. R. Tiwarimethod.
Although most of the concepts used in finite element

analysis were described by Courant (1943) the real
development of the finite element method as engineering tool
occurred a decade later with the introduction of digital
computers and the formulation of structural analysis in matrix
format (Langefors, 1952; Argyris, 1954; Turner et al., 1956)
and then used in various technological fields.
The name Finite Element Method first appeared in the title
of a paper by Clough (1960). The first application of the finte
element method to a rotor system was made by Ruhl and
Booker (1972).
Then Nelson and McVaugh (1976) generalised it by
considering rotary inertia, gyroscopic moment and axial force.
It was soon recognised that the large number of nodes
necessary to provide accurate stress distribution created
dynamic systems too large
for economical calculation in 3-D.
Softwares for Rotor Dynamics Analayis
World War II can be considered as the demarcation between

the early stages of rotor dynamics and what might be called
modern rotor dynamics.
This was the consequence of two factors. First, there was a
growing awareness of the contributions of rotor dynamicists
from non-English speaking countries, e.g., Dimentberg in
Russia, Tondl in Czechoslovakia, Kramer in Germany, and
Yamamoto in Japan, among many others.
Clearly, after WWII, rotor dynamics had become an
international endeavor, a fact that was recognized by the
founding of the Rotor Dynamics Committee of the International
Federation of the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms
(IFToMM). Beginning in 1982, international conferences have
been organized by this committee in Rome (1982),
Tokyo(1986), Lyon, Chicago,
Darmstadt, Sydney and Vienna
(2006).
Second, there was a revolution in solution capability; a

transition from somewhat simplified models to almost actual
geometry.
In the 1960s there was a coalescence of numerical methods
applied to structural dynamics and of digital computer capacity
that fostered the development of a series of general purpose
computer codes.
The initial application of these codes to rotor dynamics was
based on the TMM method but in the 1970s another
underlying algorithm, the FEM, became available for the
solution of the prevailing beam-based models.
Now, in the beginning of the 21st century, rotor dynamicists
are combining the FEM and solids modeling techniques to
generate simulations that accommodate the coupled behavior
of flexible disks, flexible shafts, and flexible support structures
into a single, massive, multidimensional model.
Rieger (1974) was first to review the rotor dynamic software

on the market at that time. He concluded that the
development of rotor dynamics programs has lacked the
support afforded to other areas of structural mechanics.
Crandall (1992) gave an overview of the rotordynamic
compluter codes (e.g. ANSYS, CADENSE, MADYN, RODYN,
ROMAC, SAMCEF, VT-FAST, etc.). The classical Jeffcott
rotor with four degrees of freedon was used to illustrate free,
forced and self-excited vibration problems for rotordynamic
systems. He also concluded that with regards to quality and
quantity of software the specialised area of rotor dynamics
still lags behind the broader field of non-rotating structural
dynamics. He gave two main reasons for this that the rotor
dynamics market is smaller and the technical problems are
more difficult.
Dynamic Balancing of Rotors

The most important and fundamental procedure to reduce
unfavourable vibrations is to eliminate geometric imbalance in
the rotor. The balancing procedure for a rigid rotor was
established relatively early.
A practical balancing machine based on this technique was
invented in 1907 (Miwa and Simomura, 1976). The arrival of
high-speed rotating machins made it necessary to develop a
balancing technique for flexible rotors.
Two representative theories were proposed. One was the
modal balancing method proposed in the 1950s by Federn
(1957) and Bishop and Gladwell (1959). The other is the
influence coefficient method proposed in late 1930s by
Rathbone (1929) and later by Thearle (1932) and developed
mainly in the Unites States along with the progress of
computers and instruments
for(rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
vibration measurements (Wowk,
Dr. R. Tiwari
1995).
(a) Perfectly balance (No force and moment)
(c) Dynamic unbalance (pure moment)
(b) Static unbalance (pure radial force)
(d) Dynamic unbalance (both force and moment)
Fig 1.5 Classification

of unbalances for a short rigid rotor
Unbalance in a continuous rotor
First flexible mode

Second flexible mode
Condition Monitoring of Rotating Machineries

In the 1960s, cracks were found in rotors of some steam
turbines. To prevent serious accidents and to develop a
vibration diagnostis system detecting cracks, research on
vibrations of cracked shafts begun.
In the 1970s, Gasch (1976) and Henry and Okah-Avae (1976)
investigated vibrations giving consideration to nonlinearity in
stiffness due to open-close mechanisms. They showed that an
unstable region appeared or disappeared at the critical speed,
depeending on the direction of the unbalance.
An other area in which lot of development took place is on

assessment of turbomachinery condition monitoring and failure
prognosis technology.
High-performance turbomachines are now extremely important
elements of worldwide industry. The electric power,
petrochemical, mining, marine, and aircraft industries are prime
examples for which turbomachinery is crucial to business
success.
Failure and resulting downtime can be very costly to the
industry involved (Rieger et al., 1990).
According to Eshleman (1990), over the past several years,
instrumentation and monitoring capabilities have increased
dramatically, but techniques for fault diagnosis have evolved
slowly.
Expert monitors the

condition of several power
plants using Java applets
on a Web Browser
Expert System
New Delhi
Power Plant
Web Server
Web Browser
Internet
The power plant data is collected

and analyzed by the expert
system. The Web server
provides Java applets to the user
over the Internet for visualization
of the power plant data and
interaction with the expert
system software..
Data
Expert System
Bangalore
Power Plant
Web Server
On-site model of a condition

monitoring system
Data
The tools are therefore still more advanced than the

techniques, and there are three technical areas that must be
addressed for effective fault diagnosis using vibration:
condition and fault mechanism, modification of signal
trasmission paths, and signal analysis.
Edward et al. (1998) provided a broad review of the state of
the art in fault diagnosis techniques, with particular regard to
rotating machinery. A detailed review of the subject of fault
diagnosis in rotating machinery was then presented. Special
treatment was given to the areas of mass unbalance, bowed
shafts and cracked shafts, these being amongst the most
common rotor-dynamic faults.
Vibration response measurements yield a great deal of

information concerning any faults within a rotating machine,
and many of the methods utilising this technique are reviewed.
Pusey and Roemer (1999) provided a broad overview of
developments and progress in condition monitoring, diagnostic
and failure prognosis technology applicable to highperformance turbomachineries.
Cracks in shafts have long been identified as factors limiting

the safe and reliable operation of turbomachines.
They can sometimes result in catastrophic failure of
equipment (rotor bursts) and, more often, in costly process
upsets, repairs and premature scrapping and replacement of
equipment. In the past three decades, much research and
many resources have gone into developing various on-line
and off-line diagnostic techniques to effectively detect cracks
before they cause serious damage.
Sabnavis et al. (2004) reviewed literature on cracked shaft
detection and diagnostics published after 1990.
One of the earliest documented applications of acoustic
emission technology (AET) to rotating machinery monitoring
was in the late 1960s. Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)
Since then, there has been an explosion in research- and

application-based studies covering bearings, pumps,
gearboxes, engines, and rotating structures.
Mba and Rao (2006) presented a comprehensive and critical
review on the application of AET to condition monitoring and
diagnostics of rotating machinery.
Recent Trends
The latest topic in rotor dynamics is a study of magnetic
bearings (a mechtronics product) (Schweitzer et al., 2003;
Chiba, et al., 2005), which support a rotor without contacting it
and active dampers.
This study has received considerbale attention since
Schweitzer reported his work in 1975. We are now a long way
from the approaches of Jeffcott and Prohl, a journey that
deserves its own history sometime.
Oil feed groove
Rotor
Bearing bush
Outer raceway of
rolling bearing (can
displace radially and
constraint not to
rotate.
Squeeze film
Schematic diagram of squeeze film (passive) dampers
Electrodes
Rolling bearing
Rotor
Teflon
Smart (active) fluid-film dampers

Electro magnet
Power
Amplifier
f
Rotor
Sensor
Controller
Working principle of active magnetic bearing

Main Advantages Active Magnetic Bearings

Magnetic bearings allow contact-free motions, which
results in
Absence of lubrication and seals.
Low bearing frictional losses.
Absence of mechanical wear.
High speeds whose limit is the strength of the material of
the rotor.
Online balancing is possible.

Adaptable stiffness and damping properties and this
characteristic can be utilized in vibration isolation:
Passing critical speeds with less vibration amplitudes.
Stabilization of the rotor systems when they are exposed
to excitations such as earth quakes etc.
Eliminating stability zones.
Conclusions
Research in rotor dynamics is aimed at improving the
understanding of rotor dynamic phenomena and improving
the performance of rotating machinery.
In most rotor dynamic systems the vibratory amplitudes are
sufficiently small that linear analysis of rotor and stator
deformations are satisfactory.
In rotor dynamics structural modelling is generally adequate
and most research is centered on fluid-structure interactions:
bearings, seals, blade forces, squeeze-film dampers etc. It is
here that the nonlinearities are concentrated.
Conclusions
The equations of motion of such systems consist of a great
many linear equations coupled to a small handful of nonlinear
equations (Yamamoto and Ishida, 2001).
The most promising area of research for performance
improvement is active control.
I believe that it is not an easy matter to present a good and
enough complete history of rotor dynamics because there
exists an enormous number of publications in different nonEnglish languages (European, Russian, Japanese, etc.) .
Conclusions
Of course, it would be possible to mention some problems
and phenomena not commonly occurring in rotor systems,
e.g. special stability problems (e.g. investigation the stability
in the large domains of attraction), the effect of the tuning
the system into the internal resonance, mutual effect of lateral
with torsional/axial vibrations, effect of the limited source of
energy, etc.
Thank you.

Dr. R Tiwari

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A Brief History and

State of the Art of Rotor Dynamics

Dr. Rajiv Tiwari

Under AICTE Sponsored QIP Short Term Course on

(15-19 Dec 2008)

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Outline of the Presentation

Outline of the Presentation

Dynamic Balancing of Rotors

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

History of rotor dynamics

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Single Mass Rotor Models

A flexible rotor mounted on

A rigid rotor mounted

An equivalent single degree of freedom

Rankine (1869) performed the first analysis of a spinning

Rankine rotor model (Two degree

Free body diagram of the model

Motion of the shaft center during whirling motion

Rankines neglect of Coriolis acceleration led to erroneous

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

A Jeffcott (or Laval) rotor model in general whirling motion

The turbine built by Parsons in 1884 (Parsons, 1948)

It thus became recognized that a shaft has several critical

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

The first sentence of Dunkerleys paper reads, "It is well

Fppl used an undamped model to show that an unbalanced

Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying out)

Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying in)

Synchronous whirl (Heavy sideDr.

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Synchronous whirl (Heavy side flying out)

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Anti-synchronous (backward) whirl (Heavy side flying in and out)

Phase angles between the

Phase angles between the

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Phase angles between the

We cannot blame them too much since Fppl published his

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

One can speculate that engineers of the day laboured under a

The Royal Society of London then commissioned Jeffcott to

Experimental and estimated amplitude and phase responses

We can appreciate Jeffcotts great contributions if we recall

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

A Jeffcott rotor model in y-z plane

Free body diagram of the disc in x-y plane

Stodola (1924) to Lund (1964)

The unwitting constraint of these accelerations was the defect

(a) A simply supported shaft with a

(c) A cantilever shaft with a point

(b) A simply supported shaft with

(d) A cantilever shaft with a rigid disc

A Jeffcott rotor with a disc offset

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

This restriction was removed by Stodola (1924). Natanzon

Dr. R. Tiwari (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)