IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-16, NO.

6,

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1980

837

Controlling Two-Pole Induction Motor System Vibration

EDWARD C. LABRUSH Abstract-3600 r/min motors are particularly susceptible to involvement in a certain category of system vibration problems. Properly designed and manufactured two-pole motors, when mounted on flexible supports, can exhibit excessive vibration as a result of resonance. The system may be complex and difficult to analyze. Many of the problems can be avoided. When problems do arise, they are often easily corrected when the proper approach is used.

SCOPE OF PAPER
There
are

components of a motor tend to act in concert with some associated equipment to fomi a dynamic system. One of the better known categories is the "reed" vibration of vertical motors. References [1] and [21 address this particular problem and give recommendations for the control of vertical motor systenm vibration. Inductioni motors have been known INTRODUCTION to experience shaft fatigue failures througl participation in SQUIRREL-CAGE induction motors have earned a repu- shaft system torsional resonance. This is especially true if tation for ruggedness and reliability. Motor design methods the load torque fluctuates so as to produce harmiionic torques, have been refined so that the accurate prediction of motor as in a reciprocating colnpressor. Den Hartog [3] presents an performance has becomiie routine. We have come to expect analysis of this type of system in detail. The intent of this notors to go about the task of converting energy smoothly paper is to discuss the type of systemii problemn that tends and quietly witlh very little attention. Problems do occasion- to show up more frequently in horizontally mounted two-pole ally arise that will prevent a drive from going on stream as motors than other configurations. sclheduled or unexpectedly take a motor out of service. One such problem is excessive vibration or its conisequences. MOTORS AS A MECHANICAL SYSTEM As a result of normal manufacturing tolerances, all motors As was mentioned previously, vibration control is essengenerate somiie undesirable mechanical and magnetic forces. These forces are time-varying so they can act as sources of tially the management of natural frequencies and magnitudes vibrationi. The forces are well understood and not difficult of the driving forces. As it turns out, controlling the exciting to maniage, so their peak magnitudes can be held to low levels. forces has been the easier task of the two, and motors are When excessive vibrationi does occur, it is likely that the routinely maniufactured withl satisfactorily low levels. Prediction of the natural frequencies and modes of vibration problemn is due to resonant amplificationl. has been one of the more perplexing probleimis facing the Resonance, of course, is thie consequence of having a natural frequency of an element, or perhaps a system of motor designer. The traditional approachi has been to tlieoelements, close to the frequency of a force that acts on the retically isolate somiie portion of the motor so that the equasystem. Since all motors have natural frequencies and exciting tions of inotion can be written for that element. The soluforces, controlling vibration is essentially a matter of managing tion of those equations yields the natural frequencies and the mode shapes. With that informiiationi available to him, the the natural frequenicies. designer can proportion the element so as to avoid having the It is impractical to place all the natural frequencies safely above the exciting force frequencies. The goal generally is to natural frequencies coincide withl the frequencies of forces proportion the motor so that the natural frequencies are that may act on it. Examples of this approach might be the treatment of a properly spaced between the driving force frequenicies. It will be seen fartlher on that soine of the natural frequencies may fan blade or a stator tooth as a cantilever beam. In a similar not be under the control of the motor designer. These natural way, a stator core may be modeled as a ring. Solutions to the frequencies are often the source of field problems. The pur- equations of motion for those elements have been available pose of this paper is to present somne approaches to thie pre- for over a cenitury. Deni Hartog [4] modeled frames of electric vention of that category of motor system problem as well as machinery as a circular arc. The fixity at the ends of the arc corresponds to the flexibility of the motor feet. He found sotmie solutions should the problem inadvertently arise. this model useful for the calculatioin of the first natural frequency in the "rocking" mode. The rocking mode is that Paper PCI 79-42, approved by the Petroleum and Chenmical Industry Imlotion of the mnotor such that when viewed from the end, it Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation appears to be swaying from side to side. That mode of vibraat the 1979 Petroleum and Chemical Industry Technical Conference, San Diego, CA, September 10-12. Manuscript released for publication tion typically has the lowest natural frequency and is often involved when a vibration problem does exist. Ellison and April 25, 1980. The autthor is withl Reliance Electric Company, Cleveland, OH 44 1 10. Yang [5] investigated radial vibration of the stator core. They
some

some motor applications where the nmotor

or

0093-9994/80/1100-0837$00.75 1980 IEEE

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8EEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY

API'LICATIONS. VOL. IA- I t.', NO. 6, NtoVLMB131R/DFCFMlBI-R

1980

modeled the structure as a pair of concenitricrings linked by quenicies of' the mo1del StmuLcture are Hu tite samie ranige as the a ribs. The core was treated as tlhick ring. Stator core vibra- fUll-SuCe truc PList [1 2 reported oni the tse of s thoughlt of as a vibration problem because it scale miiodels for thie investigation ot' the behiavior ot tumbotion is not always n is usually perceived as excessive oise rather than excessive generatoms on r tlexiblefounlidationis. Hlis esults inidicated good motion. Otlher treatments of the stator core problemn cain be correlationi (approximiiately five pertcnt) betweeni the niatural found in [61 and [71. i frequel ies oftihemiodelsanidthle full-scale structures. BamiThe field of rotor dynamics has evolved very rapidly inister [131 also founld in) i lhis work withi plastic models following the development of the digitalcomnputer. The flexibly supported rotating imiachiniery that niatural frequelncies m m shaft critical speeds of ost otors are calculated with a of the full-size could be predicted witin five pe cetnt. rotor dynaimiics model." The elem ents of the d ont miiodels oft large "'single-level AltloughIimodal atnalyses systenm are generally the rotor-shaft assem bly and the bear- imiachiines cani offer several advantages, it hias beeni a timiieh ings. The Prohl method is most often used to predict the un- consuLmig procedure. Traditionally . this work as been m dam ped critical speeds and the corresponding odeshapes. byUSig a device to apply a siniusoidal exciting force In that analysis the rotor-shaft assembly is represented by a variable frequenicy to the struicture. Vibratioln tranis(luers are set of stations connected by sections of shafting. The stations used to sweep is miiade to imeasure the responises. A coincide with diameter changes. concentrated masses, and locate the natural frequenicies by identifying the response bearings. The stiffnesses of the oilfilmll s, perhaps in com bina- peaks. When tthe natural frequencieshave beeni l the tion with the bearing support pedestal stiffinesses, are calcu- exciter frequency is set. one at a timie, to the inatLural frelated separately. It has been that the oil fin be- quenicies of interest, while tranisverses arem ade the haves as an elastic element in a rotor system for over 50 years. vibrationi tranisducems to determiine the dyniamiiic shlape of the The dynamic characteristics of the oil film are obtained from structure at that frequency. an approximate solution to the Reynolds' lubrication equaRecent developiimenits in instl lhave allowed tion. A number of thesesolutionshave been published [81. other techniliques to becotmle viable alternatives. The currenit [91. imiost prom-nising etlhod is the impulse technique [141. Its The Prohlmethodhas been extended to include unbalanice primnary advanitages are speed and simiiplicity. The inistrumiient a force response calculations by Lund and Orcutt [11]. That is, the systemn cosists basically of alhammiiiier equipped amouint anid location of unbalance are specified at stations trainsducer to apply a mlieasured traisieint force, a vibration along the rotor. The bearing oil filmii representation must transducer to ineasure the responises. and a digital Fourier include the damping coefficients. The unibalance responise analyzer. It appears that thlis type of systemii used in calculation then is used to predict the amount of shaft tion witlh ani appropriately scaled miiodel imiay be the vibration (magnitude of whirl orbit) at a particular station economical way of realistically predictinig thle performiiance and speed given an initial unbalance distribution. of the full-scale systemii. It has been known for many years that the dynamic beIt was miientioned previously that the critical speeds ot of a rotating machine can be seriously influenced many kinds of rotating inachiinery cani be satisfactorily prelhavior by its supporting structure. That is to say. critical speedsmay dicted witlh a single-level rotor dynainics imiodel. This is esappear in the installation that are too close to the operating pecially true if the rotor is relatively light withi respect to speed. These critical speeds generally are not predicted in a thie stator and if the stator is rigidly anclhored to a large condesign analysis, nor are they presenit durimig thie shop tests. crete founidationi. Tlis. of course, is not the case for aircraft The critical speeds may in fact be unique to a particular eingines or for that matter two-pole squirrel-cage imiotors that installationi. are flexibly supported. Multilevel coimiputer programiis have work that hielps to explain this beeni developed [151. [161 to lantidle those cases where there Somne early experimental Altlhough hiis work are concentric rotors or wlhere the stator participates withi behavior was carried out by Hull was directed at understandinig the influenice of foundation rotor in the vibrationi. types of motors lenid stiffness on the resonant speeds of large 3600 r/min alterna- more readily to the application of this kind of analysis than tors, the charactistic behavior applies to medium-size two-pole others. For examiiple. a motor witlh a cast ironi framiie that is In motors as well. His laboratory models were simple, flexible essentially a cyliindrical slhell fits nicely into the rotor, rigid stator representations with essentially imnassless this type of imodel the slhaft anid bearinigs are represenited as stator support springs. The ratio of stator mass to rotor in the single-level model. The framiie is also represetnted as a mass was similar in some cases to modern 3600 r/min motors. set of stations joinied by unifornm rintgs. Concentrated Iiasses, Models of considerably more detail have been employed to bearings, and supports are located at the statioins. Thie stator investigate the dynamic behavior of rotating machinery on support flexibility anid damiiping are represented as a set of flexible foundations. Plastic models, properly scaled, have massless sprinigs in parallel withi a set of damiipers. Referenice and mode shapes [17] gives the results of this kind of an anialysis been found to yield natural having good agreement withl the full-scale systeiim. Acrylic a favorable conmparisoin witlh the actual imiotor-base has physical properties that make it especially good mnateAinother mnetlhod that is beinig used to calculate the niatural rial for the scale model studies. The natural fre- frequencies and mode shlapes of coinplex structures is finiite-

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LaBRUSH: CONTROLLING MOTOR SYSTEM VIBRATION

839

element analysis. To properly represent a large motor so that realistic results will be obtained, a inodel with considerable detail is required. At this time the finite-elemlent Irnetlhod is not likely to be the most economical for obtaining the dynamic characteristics of a mnotor-support system. The field is rapidly developing, lowever, so it is likely that the costs associated with this mnethlod will be lower in the future.

support for the motor and the driven equipment. An effort should be made to design bases to be as rigid as is practical. The more rigid the base the smaller will be the change in the motor's critical speeds fromii the original loca-

DISCUSSION OF PROBLEM Normnally when a 3600 r/min motor is designed, a singlelevel undamped critical speed calculation is used to predict distortion. Provision is sometimes made for the addition of the location of the critical speeds. When properly handled, concrete to a fabricated base to bring about a change in the this method yields sufficiently accurate results so that the system natural frequencies. In the event of excessive vibration at startup, a vibration critical speeds can be located away from the operating speed. One conditioni that must be met, however, is that the motor analyst experienced in modal analysis should be called in. framne be rigidly supported. Experience has slhown that a When properly approached, the problemiis can usually be large concrete foundation usually satisfies that requiremnent. quickly resolved. Often a relatively simple change to the Vibration problems are more often encountered when a two- stiffness of the structure is all that is needed to miiove a natural pole imotor is inounted on a fabricated steel base, as these frequency and reduce the vibration. Unfortunately, in many bases tend to be muclh more flexible. cases somne false starts are made, resulting in wasted resources. The presence of the flexible base appears to have the efCONCLUSION fect of lowering some of the original critical speeds and introducing somiie new ones. The vibratory systemn becomes vastly The critical speeds of the rotor-shaft-bearing system of inore comnplex and is no longer amenable to a simple single- a 1) 3600 r/min motor can be predicted with good accuracy using level analysis. The use of a flexible support does not necesthe Prohl method, if the motor is rigidly supported. sarily bring about a vibration problem. It principally depends 2) If a two-pole motor is supported on a flexible base, the upon whethler onie of the new critical speeds approaches 60 critical speeds will depend on the characteristics of the flexible or 120 Hz. The inajor consideration in most motor-base designs seems support. 3) The very simiplest useful analytical models of flexibly to be the strenigthl of the structure. Consequently,bases gensupported motors are very comuplex and may not be justierally have more than ainple strength to carry the loads without collapsing. The difficulties arise because little thlought is fiable today in the case of mediumii-sized equipment. The given to the rigidity of the structure. It is this characteristic use of scale models may be a better approach to predicting that influences the critical speeds and determnines whetlher a the dynamic behavior of motor-support systems. 4) In practice it often is not difficult to correct a vibraimiotor will run smnootlhly in a particular installationi. When the tioIn problemii by clhanging the stiffness of a fabricated steel base designi is approaclhed in this way the result is little more base. A modal analysis of the systemn will often make the than a gamiible. solution quite clear. There are several alternatives. If for some reason a flexible 5) Many of the probleims can be avoided if the motor is support is desirable, an investigation should be made into the supported on a large concrete foundation. dynamic behavior of the systein. Dietz [181 reports the increasing use of flexible supports REFERENCES for turbogenerators. The structures have been used as vibraand L. A. tion isolators to Ininimize the transmiiission of vibration into Ill J. H. McKenendreeA.I.E.E. paperMarch. "Vibration in vertical pumping systems, CP56-713. the soil where the vibration inight interfere with a neighbor's 121 J. M. Shulman, "Vibratory systems in vertical motor mountings,' A.l.1.l. paper CP56-648. operationi. One of the previously mentioned multilevel tech131 J. P. Den Hartog. Mechanical Vibrationis, 4th ed. New York: niques might be applied to estimate the natural frequencies McGraw-Hill, 1956, ch. 5. aind imiode shapes of a proposed mnotor-support system so 141 J. P. Den Hartog., 'Vibration of frames of electrical machines,'" A.S.M.E. Trans. APM-50-6 and APM-50-1 1. as to avoid resonance problems. A. J. Ellison and S. J. In this discussion, concrete bases have been described as 151 small electric machines, Yang. ''Natural frequencies of stators of in Proc. Inst. Elec. Eng., vol. 118, no. 1, rigid supports and fabricated steel bases as flexible supports. Jan. 197 1. This generalization tends to be valid because of the way the 161 E. Erdelyi and G. Horvay. "Vibration modes of stators of induction motors.' A.S.M.E. J. Appl. Mech., vol. 79, 1957. imaterials have been traditionally applied. If imore attention 171 S. P. Verma and R. S. Girgis. "Considerations in the choice of were given to the matter of rigidity, many fabricated steel main dimensions of stators of electrical machines in relation to their vibration characteristics,"' IEEE Trans. Power App. Sst_., vol. base designs could be made a great deal stiffer with little PAS-94, no. 6, Nov./Dec. 1975. cost increase or sacrifice in any other practical aspect. There B. Sternlicht, "Elastic and of are cases wlhere a fabricated steel base provides a common 181 journal bearings,' A.S.M.E. J.damping properties1959. cylindrical Basic Enig., June

Somne thought should be given to making the base stiffadjustable if there is much doubt about the outcome of the initial design. This feature may be in the form of gussets or hold-down bolts that can be added or removed to change the stiffness without sacrificing needed strength or causing
ness

tion.

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-16, NO. 6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1980

[91 R. G. Kirk and E. J. Gunter, "Short bearing analysis applied to rotor dynamics," A.S.M.E. paper 75-LUB-30. [101 J. W. Lund and F. K. Orcutt, "Calculations and experiments on the unbalance response of a flexible rotor," A.S.M.E. paper 67-VIBR27. [11] E. H. Hull, "The effect of foundation stiffness on the resonant frequencies of rotating machines determined by nonrotating models," A.S.M.E. J. Appl. Mech., Sept. 1941. [12] L. Pust, "Determining the resonance frequencies of forces vibrations of turbogenerators with foundations," presented at the Second SESA Int. Congress on Exp. Mech., Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 1965. [13] R. L. Bannister, "Structural models for vibration control," Noise Control Eng., vol. 4, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 1975. [14] W. G. Halvorsen and D. L. Brown, "Impulse technique for structural frequency response testing," Sound and Vibration, Nov. 1977. [15] D. F. Li and E. J. Gunter, "Unbalance response analysis of dualrotor systems,"' Dept. Mech. Aerosp. Eng., School Eng. and AppI. Sci., Univ. Virginia. [16] Computer Aided Design Engineering Services, "Unbalance response of a multi-level rotor," Prog. No. 27, Mechanical Technology Inc., Latham, NY.

[17] H. M. Carbone, J. D. Edick, and E. C. LaBrush, "Is a 25% margin

[18] for critical speed satisfactory?" IEEE paper PCI-78-6. H. Dietz, "Steel foundations are becoming popular for steam turbines," Power, May 1970.

degree from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, and the M.E. degree from the University of
* 5k! 31

Edward C. LaBrush received the B.S.M.E.

He is Chief Mechanical Engineer, Large Motors, with the Reliance Electric Company, Cleveland, OH. Mr. LaBrush is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Sigma Xi.

rgraduate engineering studies at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH.

Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

He also completed

A User's Experience with Electric Heat Tracing

LARRY W. MYERS,
MEMBER, IEEE

Abstract-The use of electrical heat tracing systems can provide excellent flexibility in piping systems of chemical manufacturing plants located in areas subjected to subzero weather. However, eight years of experience with various types of systems in an Indiana pharmaceutical manufacturing plant has resulted in an annual concentrated effort to insure maximum performance. Challenges have arisen due to engineering design oversights, the improper installation of material, and unanticipated production techniques and "immediate action" procedures. Details of some of each of these challenges have been included as well as programs which have been initiated to overcome the problems. These programs have greatly improved the reliability of the heat tracing systems as well as allowing continued production operations regardless of the weather conditions throughout winter months.

result was the installation of approximately 26 000 ft of electrical tracing on process and water lines. Since that time plant expansions and production changes have caused the initial footage to be more than tripled. Both parallel and series resistance heating systems (see Fig. 1) were used originally and are presently in existence. The following information is a compilation of experience from the continued use of these systems during the past eight years. It includes the design considerations, installation problems, and maintenance programs which have evolved from working with these systems "in the field." No evaluations or recommendation of specific manufacturers' products will be included.

THE USE of heat tracing becomes a necessity when thousands of feet of process and water piping are installed between buildings for chemical manufacturing in a midwestern location subjected to subzero weather annually. Prior to construction in 1969 an evaluation of alternatives resulted in the decision to install electrical heat tracing on all lines requiring protection from freezing temperatures. The
Paper PCI 79-23, approved by the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1979 Petroleum and Chemical Industry Technical Conference, San Diego, CA, September 10-12. Manuscript released for publication April 24, 1980. The author is with Clinton Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Clinton, IN 47842.

DESIGN ASPECTS OF PROPER SYSTEMS To insure that a system will function as required, the design engineer needs to adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations. The electrical technology involved certainly is basic; however, the attention to detail which is required is definitely not reduced because of this. The design engineer must consider not only the size and types of tracing and insulation, but also the circuit lengths and future flexibility. Close scrutiny of proper components for temperature and operating conditions must be made, and one must also consider any peculiarities of the area in which the system is to be used. It is imperative that all the factors involved in the design be verified with process engineers or

0093-9994/80/1100-0840$00.75 ( 1980 IEEE

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