1 5 The Short and the Long Rotor

Therefore an unbalance moment excites no resonance for a short rotor. For long
rotors a resonance exists, as Fig. 5.12 shows for a rotor with I j = 1.1 I p , 2I P and 57p.
From equations (5.26) the maximum of Vt is close to v\ — 1, that is at Q — on,
where from equations (5.10) and (5-21), ¿2 = J?4. The corresponding amplification
factor becomes

(5.27)

Fig. 5.12 shows that with constant damping ratio D— 0.05, the resonance curve
becomes flatter with decreasing Id/I P - The dotted line is the resonance curve for a
rotor with Id = 1.1 I p and zero damping. This shows that rotors with I ^ f v I p , where
Id > I p and with small damping have a rather flat resonance region.
The resonance described is excited by the rotating unbalance moment, that is by
the centrifugal moment of constant value. This resonance is at natural frequency u4
and is in the direction of shaft rotation. A harmonically varying moment, but of
constant direction can be separated into constant co-rotating and counter-rotating
terms, each of half the amplitude of the harmonic moment. Hence the resonance
consists of backward whirl at ,u>3 and of forward whirl at u>4. Similar relationships
exist to those described in Sect. 4.4 for a harmonic force. A moment excitation, with
constant direction occurs, for example, when a bearing is excited in one direction in a
harmonic fashion, with 180° phase difference from the excitation at another bearing.

n._____

Pig. 5.12. Amplification factor V t . — D = 0.05,--------D - 0.

6 Oil-Film Bearings

Most rotors are supported in oil-film bearings or in rolling-element bearings. For

maintenance free operation and to give high speeds, gas and magnetic bearings are
also increasingly being used. The bearings influence the rotor vibrations to a
greater or less degree by their dynamic properties in comparison to those of the
rotor and the remaining components of the assembly. This influence originates
essentially from the ratio of the rotor stiffness to the bearing stiffness. For a
relatively elastic rotor the influence of the bearings is small, while the dynamics of
a stiff rotor are determined in the main by the bearings.
This chapter will be concerned with the static and dynamic properties of oil-
film bearings. This subject is very complex and in the last four decades a large
number of significant contributions have appeared in the literature. To give these
here would be too space consuming. We confine ourselves therefore to the essential
theoretical fundamentals and consider especially the stiffness and damping
coefficients, through which the oil-film bearings will be considered using
conventional rotordynamic theory.

6.1 Hydrodynamic Bearing Theory

The components used in the theory of hydrodynamic bearings are the bearing-
journal, the lubricant and the bearing shell. The journal rotates with angular
velocity J? and is statically or dynamically loaded in the radial direction. The
bearing shell is rigidly supported. The relation between the force and the dis-
placement of the journal is required. The properties of the lubricant and the
geometry of the clearance will play a considerable part in this relationship. We
confine our consideration of the clearance geometry to the type of bearing shown in
Fig. 6.1: The bore should be constant along the axis in any radial direction, that is
consist of circular arcs. The cross-section should be approximately or exactly
circular. For a non-circular bore we establish a reference circle of radius R. Its
centre is at the midpoint of the bearing length:X and is denoted by C B - The point
C B is the origin of the coordinate system X , V, Z . The bearing journal has radius
r and centre C j in the A"Y-plane. It is assumed for simplicity that the journal is
parallel to the bearing bore and as well as rotation undergoes only translational
motion parallel to the XY-plane. In other words, any moments arising from
journal tilt are neglected.

The journal is unloaded when Cj and Cg are coincident. The radial distance
between the journal surface and the bearing bore for a central journal is termed
the oil-film thickness ko. In general ho differs around the circumference, that is h0
= h 0 ( i p ) . For a circular bearing bore f i Q ~ R — r, and is constant. This value is
here denoted by bearing clearance

S = R-r (6.1)

for an arbitrary bearing bore.

The position of the journal is denned by the eccentricity e and the angle 7 (Fig.
6.1). For an eccentric journal the oil-film thickness for e <£ r is given by

k{ip) = ho(<p) - ecos(^> - 7) (6.2)

and for a moving journal with e(t) and 7(f)

h{<p,t) = kQ{<p)-e{t)zoS[<P-1{t)} . (6.3)

The expression (6.3) is called the clearance function. Further, we assume,

1. The lubricant is massless, incompressible and adheres to the bearing sur-

faces.
 2. The lubricant is Newtonian and its viscosity is constant in the whole of the
oil-film.

3. The flow is laminar.

4. The pressure of the lubricant is constant in the radial direction.
5. Flow velocity in the radial direction is neglected.
6. Velocity gradients in the radial direction are large in relation to those in the
tangential and axial directions.

7. The oil-film thickness is small compared to the journal radius.

8. The curvature of the oil-film is negligible.
9. The bearing surfaces are smooth and stiff-
Using assumption eight the oil-film clearance is developed out into one plane
(Fig. 6.2). It is therefore defined by the coordinates x, y , z and the function
/i(z,t). The bearing shell is at rest and the journal has surface velocity U = f t r ,
for angular velocity f t . The lubricant has different velocities u , v , w in x — y -
z-directions and these will depend upon position in the oil-film.
For the fluid element dx, dy, dz the condition for force equilibrium is

d r ^y _ d p dr^ _ d p , .
{ }
dy dx ' dy dz '
with p the lubricant pressure and r x y , the shear stresses.
For the shear stresses from assumption two the following equations are valid,

du dw . .
Oy Oy

with 7/ the dynamic viscosity. Using equations (6.5) and (6.4) we have

d^u _ l dp d2w 1 dp
2 2
(6.6)
dy JJ dx ' dy TJ dz

and after integration,

u=
r f^2 + C^ + ^ ' w ^ ^ ^ y ' + Cy + C, . (6.7)
It] OX ¿71 O Z

U , i
www—*- w Journal
vW\ W\\\\ WW sw^
h(x.t] Oil film

ing x,u

V/////////;
L

Fig- 6.2. Coordinates of oil-film.

With the boundary conditions

u — 0, w = 0, for y = 0 u — U, iv = 0
fox y = h ,

Besides the condition of force equilibrium, the continuity equation must he fulfilled.
For this consider the elemental volume shown in Fig. 6.3. With

QX =J udy
o

as the fluid flow rate in the x-direction and

h
Qz - j VJ dy
o

as the fluid flow rate in the z-direction, the continuity condition is

^ d x d z dt + ^~ d z d x d t + ^ d t d z d x = 0,
ox oz at

that is

Using equations (6.8),

whose differentials with respect to z and z in equation (6.9) lead to

d_ „ TT dh n dh =
+ 6 U 7 - + 12 — ox (
dx V dx dz T) dz at
the so-called Reynolds Equation.
For further calculations we assume again the original geometry shown in Fig. 6.1.
With x = tpR and h(<p,t) from equation (6.3),
dh 1 dh
o 4- e sin (tp — 7)
dx ~ R d<
p sin {tp - 7) - ~ cos (<p - 7) . R
dh dl
dt —e dt and constant viscosity 77 the Reynolds Equation takes

the following

For r
form

+ h" (6.12)
R2 dip I dip dz2

6 7} dho
Q ^ E (J2 „ 2-y) sin (tp — 7) — 2e
cos (ip — 7)
dip
With this equation and the appropriate boundary conditions and initial conditions, the
pressure p in the oil-film is determined. Integration gives the pressure p(ip, z, t),
which depends upon the position cp, z in the oil-film. For a transversely moving
journal this pressure is also a function of time.
The right-hand side of equation (6.12) shows the required conditions for the
formation of this oil-film pressure. In any case the existence of viscosity is essential.
Furthermore, at least one term in the square brackets is required. Hence for a circular
bearing whose rotating journal is centrally positioned, the oil-film force is zero. For a
non-circular bore the term dh 0 /dip is responsible for pressure build up and hence an
oil-film force even for a centrally positioned journal. For translatory motion of the
journal, a dynamic oil-film pressure is in general produced. Only for e = 0 and 7 = Í2/2
can the pressure become zero for a circular bearing.
The oil-film pressure field gives the incremental oil-film force dF when integrated
over the length L and multiplied by R d tp. Thus
+L/2

dF = Rd.tp
l- L / 2
This has components

dFj — dF cos tp , dF 2 = dF sin tp ,

as shown in Fig. 6.4. Integration over the circumference gives the resulting force
components

F
J2x

dF, , F =
J 2x

dF . (6.13)
1= 2 2

The magnitude and angle ■O of the resultant oil-film force F„ are given by

F. = -JF? + FZ , tarn? - § . (6.14)

The oil-film force F 3 is applied on both the bearing shell and the journal. To ensure
equilibrium a corresponding force Fj must be applied externally on the journal, which
is equal in magnitude and direction to F„.
 For rotordynamic analysis the additional force is needed which arises due to
translatory motion of the journal. In general the relation between the force and the
motion is non-linear. For small displacements and velocities (Fig. 6.5) one may
however linearise. With X0, Yo as the displacements of the journal centre as a
result of the static load F0 = ( F I Q , F 2Q ), the journal force F j — ( F i , F 2 ) thus
has components

Fi =F 10 + x 1 + dF dF l .
1
ii + "XT" X 2 (6.15)
F2 — F 2 o dxi dx 2 x 2 + 0X2 + x l "i" ~~— X 2

+ ~T~ ¿1 ~f* ¿2 = ^20 +

dF dF dF 2 dF 2 .
AF 2
2 2
The partial dxi *1 + dx 2 x 2 + dxi ¿1 + "7TT~ X 2
differentials with
respect to 0X2
displacement and
velocity are the stiffness and
damping coefficients, respectively.
Fig. 6.5. x2
X FT Coordinates for stiffness and
damping
coefficients.
Y

/ V
 6.2 Short Bearing Theory

In order to solve the Reynolds Equation and to calculate the static and dynamic
displacements a great deal of numerical work has appeared in the literature. We
shall only mention here references [33, 34] due to Someya and the reviews [35] and
[9] by Lund and Mitsui in Sect. 4.1 of reference [10].
As a rule calculation has to be carried out numerically. A closed algebraic
solution by Dubois and Ocvirk [36], however, allows the following qualitative
conclusion: For a relatively short bearing the change in pressure in the circumfer-
ential direction is small in relation to the pressure change in the axial direction.
Hence, in the Reynolds Equation (6.12), one may, to a reasonable approximation
remove the first term. Comparison of calculated results and measurements of the
displacement of the journal under static load for bearings having circular bore
show pleasing agreement up to a ratio of length to diameter of unity.
The determination of stiffness and damping coefficients from this theory has
been carried out by Holmes [37] and Smith [38]. In the following, calculations will
be carried out with somewhat different notation and procedures from those
followed in references [37, 38].
For a circular bearing the oil-film thickness is the same as the bearing
clearance. Hence ho = S and thus dh 0 /d<p = 0, that is the clearance function (6.3)
is
h(<p,t)^6-e(t)<n&[tp-y[t)~\ . (6.16)
With dp/d<p = 0, the Reynolds Equation (6.12) takes the form

1^ " I^71)[ ^-2^)sin(^_ )-2 e cos

e
T - T)] . (6.17)

By integration one obtains the pressure function

Pfo *, 0 = 7?[]z
2
+ Cxz + C2
and "with, the conditions
dp L
~ = 0 for z - 0, v - 0 for z = ±—
dz ' * 2
it follows that
 p(<P, z, i) = ||[e(J? - 2 - r )Sin( ^ ~ 7 ) - 2 é cos (y-7)] (** ~
(6.18)

Integration over z gives the oil-film force per unit length in the circumferential
direction.

q(f,t)= J p(<p, z, t)dz^^-^~q((p, t ) ~£/2

with (6.19)

£(21_ \ 1 sin^ - 7) + ^ cos(^ - 7)

V
« (^ t) = ^ -----------------------—fir;------------------
[1 - e cos (y> - 7)J

and
e = -c (6.20)
0

as the eccentricity ratio.

In the static case, with ¿ , 7 = 0 and Cl ^ 0, g is constant with time. With cr = ip —
7 then

\ —£ sine .. 77 X3 J? . . .„ „ .
1
(1 - e coso-) 2 o'

Fig. 6.6 shows the behaviour of q(cr) for several values of e. In the region 0 < <r < %
q(<r) is negative. This corresponds to a tension force in the lubricant, which is
impossible to sustain. One therefore assumes in this region that q(<r) = 0. Hence one
obtains the pressure distribution shown in Fig. 6.7. Positive pressure occurs in the
lower half as a result of the eccentricity vector e in the plane X' Y'. The resultant of
forces dF — q Rd<r loads the bearing shell and the journal. The corresponding static
equilibrium force on the journal is shown as FQ in Fig. 6.7.
In the dynamic case, with ¿ , 7 ^ 0 the components of the oil-film force, that is of
the journal force in the X', Y'~system are

F[ = J q(<r t t)cos<r R d<r = F„ A(e, e, 7) F

2 =

S afo t)sincr Rdcr = Fv f 2 (e, £, 7)

with

(6.24)
 t) is obtained from equation (6.19) and <x = ip — 7. Integration gives

The force components relative to the X, Y"-system are

Fi = i^' cos 7 - F'2 sin 7 = (6.25)

F1'sin7-|-i '2C0S7 •
;

With equations (6.22) to (6.25) the explicit relations for the magnitude and direction of
the journal force are obtained as functions of position £, 7 and of velocities e, 7 of the
journal centre C j . In particular, equations are obtained for static loading and for
stiffness and damping coefficients for any journal position.
For a horizontally supported shaft with static loading the following are the
component forces

F 1 = 0 = f;cos7 - i^sin7 F -2 = -F0 =

(6.26)
F;sin7+ F^cos7

with
2e 2

(6.27)
2 (1 _ 2)3/2 •
£

The angle between force and eccentricity is obtained from Fig. 6.8
and equations (6.27) as
2 1/2
-rt tt (i-£ ) 4 (6.28)
F{ 4 e tana =
and the angle 7 in Fig. 6.7 is obtained from the first of equations (6.26) as

tan 7 (6.29)
Fi X (l- f i 2 )l/3

Finally, it follows from the second equation of (6.26) and from equations (6.27) and
(6.29), putting
 sin 7 = tan 7
cos 7 —
+ tan2 + tan2 7

-r> Fig. 6.8. Special case of a static load

that the relative static force FojFj, is given by

The reference force Fv can be identified as a friction force on the journal, in the
following way. The friction torque for a central journal is given by

M F = FF R ,

assuming r « i£, and the friction force Fp is given by

F F = r 2-k R L = 7}— 2t R L . (6.31)

o

The reference force Fn in equation (6.23) is thus identical to the friction force Fp
for a bearing with reduced clearance

f-^S , (6-32)

where

ijj — — , the clearance ratio

(6.33)
R
I L
(3 = = — , the length to diameter ratio.
 The force ratio F Q jF v on the left-hand side of equation (6.30) is a modified Som-
merfeld Number. In German literature, the Sommerfdd Number So is usually
given by
= (6 34}
2RL ~^ !& "
and so
'
(6 35)

The behaviour of S* with eccentricity £ is shown in Fig. 6.11.

To calculate the stiffness and damping coefficients one needs the differentials
of Fi and Fi with respect to X j and x2 and with respect to ¿1 and x2 (see equations
(6.15)). From equations (6.25) F\ and F-> are functions of £, 7 and £, 7. The
required differentials are thus,

8x k dc dxk 57 d x k . .

#£ d x k 57 Sijfc ' where i

and A: are equal to 1 and 2.
The displacements dxi, dx2 in the X , y*-system correspond to the displace-
ments de^ ed-y in the X', Y'-system. From Fig. 6.5 it follows that

de
(6.37)

from which
— d x i COS7 + d x 2 sin 7

(6.38)

)
edy — — dxi sin7 + d x z c o s - y
1 d'f d-y 1
dxi dii - cos 7 , — - -XT- -
— sin 7
e
0 OXi OXi
de 1. d~f dj 1
dx2 dx2 - sin 7 ,—=—=ô 0Z2 — cos
dx2 7e

With these relationships one finally obtains after transformation the following
relationships for the stiffness and damping coefficients of the short circular (or
cylindrical) bearing
_ = ^u = 7 a T
dF i F
° , dFi
a a fa—
F
° (6.39)
where
 711 - [2x2 + (16-x2)£2]A(£)

n r 2 - 2 7 r V -(16- T 2 ) e < Af ,
712 = m
4— —
x x2 + (32 + x2) e2 + (32 - 2x2) e 4 A , (6.40)
721 =
'4 s(l~e f*2 { £ )

722 = ---------------------~:r~---------------------A(e)

Ai - I (1 [x2 + (2x2-16) 2]A( )

£ £

PN = /32I--[2x2 + (4x2-32)£2]A(£) (6.41)

2 2 2
x x + (48-2x )E +xV ,
= A(£)
2-----------------------------------------

-------—i-----------^ - (6-*2)
[x + (16-x2)e2]
2

The non-dimensional stiffness and damping coefficients are functions of eccentricity e .

From equation (6.30) they can also be represented as functions of Sommerfeld
Number 5*. Their graphs and a discussion of their practical significance is given in
Sect. 6.3.
6.3 Static and Dynamic Properties

Journal bearings can have different lubricants and different clearance geometries.
Liquids are, in general, used for the lubricant and the following features relate only to
such bearings. The clearance can have a completely specified geometry or be formed
from movable segments. Fig. 6.9 shows some bearing types.
Bearings with prescribed clearance (Fig. 6.9 a-e) have, in principle, the same static
and dynamic behaviour as the short cylindrical bearing. If we load the rotating
journal with the static load Fo and the journal has an angular velocity Q = 2TTW, then
the journal centre C j will take up a position denned by eccentricity vector e from the
bearing centre Cs such that its direction relative to the load direction is a (Fig. 6.10).
For the short cylindrical bearing this
d 9
Fig. 6.9. Some bearing types
a) Segment bearing e) Unsymmetrical three-lobed bearing
b) Lemon bearing f) Unsymmetrical tilt-pad bearing
c) Pocket bearing g) Symmetrical tilt-pad bearing
d) Three-lobed bearing

Fig. 6.19. Short cylindrical bearing. Journal centre orbits for rotating force Fr = 0.5
F0.
and deformation of the bearing shell, that is variation of the clearance space due to
load and temperature differences. These and further influences have been investigated
and published as a result of much numerical and experimental research. Literature on
this topic, as well as many tables and diagrams of stiffness and damping coefficients
can be found in references [10] and [40].
7 Rotors with Oil-film Bearings

In Chap. 6 relationships were given, on the basis of certain assumptions, between radial
movement of the journal and the accompanying force. Accordingly, an oil-film bearing
can broadly be described as a spring-damper element, with the special property that the
displacement and the force in general do not occur in the same direction. In comparison
with rotors with rigid bearings, a rotor on oil-film bearings thus has different natural
frequencies, critical speeds and other resonance behaviour. As a result of the peculiar
force relationships, the possibility of instability arises, and a large number of theoretical
and experimental works appear in the literature. In the following, the essential
theoretical results will be given for simple rotor models with two bearings. They
correspond in the main to results obtained experimentally. In this chapter the rotor will
be assumed in general to be horizontal. For a vertical rotor, special considerations hold,
which will be discussed in Chap. 8. The influence of oil-film bearings on the vibration
of more realistic models will be considered in parts II and III.

7.1 Equations of Motion

We consider a symmetrical rotor with two equal bearings. The rotor can be rigid or
flexible and the bearings are rigidly supported. The model of the rigid rotor is shown in
Fig. 7.1. The shaft turns with constant angular velocity J? and undergoes translational
motion only, that is no tilt motion occurs. Thus the movement of the rotor centre W is
identical to that of the journal centres C j . Using X I , x 2 as the displacements from the
equilibrium position ey, ex. (Fig. 7.1)1, the equations of motion are

mx 1 + 2F n ( x u x 2 , iT, X 2 ) = F i ( t ) ^
J
mx 2 r2Fj 2 {xi, x 2 , X -j, x 2 ) = F 2 (t) .

-F/i, F j i are the components of journal force and Fi, F2 the exciting force. Equations
(7.1) are non-linear, as discussed in Chap. 6 and are linearised in the usual way. For
unbalance excitation these equations become, using stiffness

Wc denote here the journal eccentricity by c j to differentiate it from the mass

eccentricity.
and damping coefficients ^ and dik,
mi] + 2 { d n i i + diox2 + k u x 1 + ki 2 x 2 ) = cos fit
3
(7.2)
mx2 + 2 ((¿21^1 + ¿22^2 + k 21 xi -f h 22 x 2 ) = T7ieJ? sin >f?i .
The Jeffcott rotor will be taken as a model for the clastic rotor using the properties assumed
in Chap. 3 (Fig. 7.2). The equations of the rotor centre W and of the journal centres C j are
now different. They will be denoted by y\, y 2 and Xi, x 2 , respectively, and represent
displacements from an assumed equilibrium position. In Fig. 7.2, a static load in the negative
1/2-direct ion is assumed and so the two coordinate systems have their origins displaced by a
distance ys for static deflection of the rotor2. Thus the equations of motion are
myi + dyi + k [ y t — Xi) = meJ?2 cos J?£
(7.31
my 2 + dy 2 + k ( y 2 — x 2 ) = meJ?2 sin Qt

and, for a non-linear journal force,

k{yi ~ Xi) ~ 2Fji (xl5 x2, ¿1, ¿2) k {y2 -
(7.4)
x 2 ) = 2 F J 2 ( x l , x2, x:, i2) ,

c.

s
W y,
Fig. 7.2. Jeffcott rotor with oil-film bearings
 or for a linear journal force

k {x2 — 3/2) + 2(k2ixi + ¿2212) + 2 (¿3121 + ^¿2) = 0 .

7.2 Stability

Solution of the homogeneous linear equations requires the eigenvalues of the system to
be found. These are conjugate complex or real and characterise the natural vibration.
The imaginery part corresponds to the natural frequency in question and the real part
gives the stability of the natural vibration. Fot a negative real part the vibration decays
with time, and for positive real part it grows. The stability boundary of the system is
reached, when the real part of an eigenvalue is zero. Shafts with oil-film bearings can
become unstable due to the presence of coefficients ft12, k 2: , called cross coupling
stiffnesses. In practice instability must be avoided, and one must know as much as
possible about the conditions and about behaviour during instability. The subject is
rather complicated. We therefore first investigate the rigid rotor and then the Jeffcott
rotor. The understanding obtained in this way will be useful in the investigation of
large models in Parts II and III of this book.

7.2.1 Rigid Rotor

A shaft rotating at angular velocity Q is loaded in its central plane with a static force
2F 0 and e = 0. As a rule 2.Fo is the dead weight G = rag. It can, however, represent
other forces as for example steam force, gear tooth force or magnetic force. 2F 0 rnay
also be the resultant of a variety of these forces. Hence the equations

mi, + 2 { d n X i + d 12 x 2 -f k n x-i + k i2 X2) =0 ^^

mi2 + 2 (d 2 iii + d 22 x 2 + k 2 \Xi 4- k 22 x 2 ) — 0

are valid and their solutions x i ( t ) and x 2 ( t ) are obtained using the substitutions

xi = ( p i e X t , x 2 - tp 2 e X t . (7.7)

1Chap. 3, displacements y lt y2 relate to the position of the rotor centre, when the rotor is unloaded.

2Chap. 3, displacements y lt y2 relate to the position of the rotor centre, when the rotor is unloaded.
In order to obtain non-dimensional parameters, one uses the reference frequency

. or u, ~ ,/~ with 2Fa = G = mg (7.8)

am V0
> .
and non-dimensional time r ~ U S T Hence one obtains
from equations (7.6) and after transformation, the equation

A" + 0 n A+ 7 u /?i3 A+712

021 A+72, A* + 0 M A + 7„

with 7,7.., fiik obtained from equations (6.39) and

<
The condition for the existence of P I ? V; 's that the determinant of the matrix of
(7.9) is zero. This leads to the characteristic equation

a.iA + o3A + a2A + ûi A + a0 = 0

(7.11)

with the coefficients

a., = f? , a3 — .43/2 , o2 = -42 + A^Q' , a! = .4i.f? , a0 = A Q Q~ AQ = 7n 722 -

712721

Ai = 7U022 - 712/3=1 + 722011 - 721012 ,~ ^

¿2= 01202.

¿3 = 01! +022
•4-1 = 7 n + 722 -

The roots of equation (7.11) are non-dimensional eigenvalues Ar. They are in general
complex conjugate.

Ar, VT = a T ± j ZJ T r= l,2 (7.13)

/ ,
where ar = A T O J A the non-dimensional coefficient governing growth of vibration
and U J R = LOrfw*, the non-dimensional natural frequency.
The eigenvalues Ar depend upon Q and 7^, 0,-jt as can be seen from equations
(7.12). In turn the coefficients 7;*, 0;* depend on £, where £ is a function of S' =
Fc/Fr,. Using equation (6.23),

2Fq6
- w _ ' =
where

thus
a - V? ^rr? with 2 Jo - G - m5 .
Hence the eigenvalues Ar ultimately depend upon the non-dimensional angular velocity
Q and the parameter C.,, which is constant for a given system. C a i s approximately
proportional to the power 1.5 of the physical size of the system.
Fig. 7.3 shows against angular velocity the natural frequencies wr and values of a T
for a rigid rotor with C\, = 1 and 10.
For small values of J?, one natural frequency exists and after a certain value of Cl
there are two. Correspondingly there are the "growth coefficients" a t , a!2 and a% in the
first /2-region and and a % in the second J ?~region. For & > f t t k i & \ is positive and
the system is unstable. The angular velocity at the borderline Q t h has a value 2.7 w,
and 2.9 w,, for C_, ~ 1 and 10, respectively while the unstable natural vibration has
frequencies of 0.5 f 2 t h and 0.44 Q t h , respectively.
At the stability borderline, R e A = 0. If one puts X = j u j in equation (7.11), then
the following equation is obtained
 a.juT1 — J A UF^ *— a^w2 -f J A U { > + O.Q = 0

Fig. 7.3. Rigid rotor with short cylindrical bearings. Natural

frequencies and 'growth coefficients' for = I and 10.
for the stability borderline. Since its real and imaginery parts must each equal zero, the
following equations are obtained

a^uT1 — a2TD2 + ao — 0 (7.15)

and

(a3w2 - a j ) w = 0 . (7.16)
Solutions of equation (7.16) are u> — 0 and u> = oi/a3. The first solution is of no
2

interest as it occurs at Cl = 0, from Fig. 7.3. The second solution substituted into
equation (7.15) gives the condition

a^C^ — dx°2a3 *f 00^3 = 0

 or using equations (7.12)

(A2 - A^A.A, + A0A-) 7f - AXA2A3 ^0.

Hence the non-dimensional natural frequency at the stability borderline is
T) _ ^'ft / AiA2Az
,m .
Qlh
'~,'iAl-A^A^AQAl ■
From equations (7.12), A Q, . . . A a contain the coefficients 7^., /3^, which are functions of
journal eccentricity ratio e. Hence n t h is also a function of £. In Fig. 7.4 is shown this
function for a rotor with short cylindrical bearings. Angular velocity is shown as
abscissa and eccentricity ratio as ordinate directed downwards. This is to illustrate the
behaviour of the journal position as it would appear for a shaft under gravity load and as
it rises from startup.
For a system with given parameter C „ the journal centre has an eccentricity ratio
of unity for f l = 0 and proceeds towards e = 0 for Q —-> co. The stability borderline

1-*——i—■—i—■—i—■—i
—■—i—■—r-
0 2u._ Lu^
61A
Fig. 7.4. Rigid rotor with short cylindrical bearings. Borderline of
stability and startup curves.
Q t h = /(e) is obtained as the intersection of the startup curve with the borderline curve.
For the parameters C „ of Fig. 7.4, ,f2t/Ji«s between 2.7 u t and 3 u > a .
Using Fig. 7.4 the non-dimensional stability borderline f^fc/u/, can be shown as a
function of the parameter C „ . Such a figure is called a stability chart. Fig. 7.5 shows
such a stability chart, which was determined with data from many different types of
bearing.
The required coefficients 7,^, 0^ and the static load locus function were calculated
for the short cylindrical bearing from [35] and by series solution in [34]. The values
from [39] were obtained from measurements. It should be noted that in general, for the
same bearing shape, alternative output data exist, so that alternative results are possible
for the stability borderlines. Thus, from stability charts one can only obtain an idea of
 trends and relationships using such figures as Fig. 7.5 and generally one cannot expect
to get exact values. With this proviso the following can be concluded from Fig. 7.5:
— With regard to stability the following rank order applies:
Circular bearing, pocket bearing, lemon bore bearing, three-lobe bearing. From
[39], for C s < 0.7, the stability borderline of the lemon bearing is roughly the
same as that of the circular bearing.
— The curves from [39] each have a distinct minimum. Hence increase in C.,
can produce a change from stability to instability or vice-versa.
— The mass of the model and the bearing clearance have different exponents
in C „ and ws. Hence a discussion of the influence of these parameters on
stability is rather complicated. One can thus better judge a given case, with

Fig. 7.5. Rigid rotor with oil-film bearings. Stability chart for
different types of bearing, L / D = 0.5 [34, 35, 39] (sec
bibliography).
reference to an example.

Example 7/1 A model similar to that in Fig. 7.1 is given with mass m = 10,000 kg and
bearing data D - 2 R ~ 400 mm, I - 200 mm,i; - 1.5 7<,o> V ~ 0.030 Ns/m 2 .
We wish to find the stability onset speed and its change for a 10 % increase in
bearing clearance and for a 10 % increase in oil viscosity. It is first assumed to be a
cylindrical bearing, then to be a lemon-bore bearing.
With the given data and 2F 0 — mg,

C, = 1.017 and wa = 180.8 rad/s.

and from Fig. 7.5, with the curve for the cylindrical bearing [39]

Qth/<*>3 — 3.15, that is J?£/, = 569.5 rad/s,

or the borderline speed n til = 5438 rpm. For a
10 % larger bearing clearance

C, = 1.291 and w, = 172.4 rad/s

and hence n t h — 4807 rpm, that is a 12 % lower value.

The viscosity has an influence only on C„. For a 10 % greater viscosity we obtain
the borderline speed n t h = 5542 rpm, that is an increase of around 1.9 % above the
original value.
For lemon-bore bearings in the original condition n th = 7079 rpm.
For 10 % greater bearing clearancen ch =7688 rpm,an increase of 8.6 %, and for 10
% greater viscosity n t /, = 6820 rpm, a decrease of 3.7 % from 7079 rpm.
This example shows how different the behaviour can be. Observed borderline speed
changes occur for the two types of bearing, not onlj' to different degrees but even with
different tendencies ( L I S : -12 %, and +8.6 % and l.li; : +1.9 % and -3.7 %).

7.2.2 The Jeffcott Rotor

To calculate the eigenvalues and stability borderline for the Jeffcott rotor of Fig. 7.2,
one assumes as for the stiff rotor, that the shaft rotating with angular velocity J?, is
loaded statically with a force 2FQ in its mid plane and that the centre of mass S of the
disc is coincident with W, that is e ~ 0. In addition, it will be assumed for simplicity that
the disc experiences no external damping, that is d = 0. Hence from equations (7.3) the
following equations are obtained
mff1+ft(ffl-*0 = 0 (718)

my 2 + k [ y 2 - x 2 ) = 0 .
These, together with equations (7.5) determine the displacements x\, x 2 of the journal
centre C j and y i7 y 2 of the disc centre W , describing displacements from the static
equilibrium position due to 2F Q .
In the usual way substitution of expressions (7.7) for x \ , x 2 a.nd corresponding
solutions
yi- V 3 * A t , V i ^ ^ e x t (7.19)

lead to the characteristic equation for the eigenvalues. To obtain non-dimensional

parameters, the natural frequency of the rotor with rigid bearings is introduced as a
reference frequency namely,

m S

together with non-dimensional time r — w„i. Further we put 2F0

a=— , y
-r-
 y> « (7.20)

or a = or - with 2 Fa = G = mg .

(7.21)

Hence we obtain after some manipulation the characteristic equation

% H T 4- ... 4- 6i A 4- 60 = 0 ^ (7.22)

with the coefficients

K = A2 , &c - (Ai 4- a .43)7l b4 =

1A% 4- [ a 1
-f- Au + a A.i)7?"
7.23)
63 = (2A: 4- a -43)?} ,
62 = ,4, 4. (2A 0 4- a A ,)7f , 5, = .4j J? , i0 = .40 J?"

and .40, - - • A A from equations (7.12).

The characteristic equation is of sixth order and has, in general, the roots

X, %=% R ± J % , R - 1,2,3. (7.24)

In an analogous way to equations (7.14) we introduce

Fv r/LWR Q
FQ 2F a 8* Cn_

(7.25)
where Cn =
 7.2 Stability 28
Hence the eigenvalues Ar are obtained as functions of J? and the parameters C n and a.
As an example, the natural frequencies (the imaginary parts of the eigenvalues) are
presented in Fig- 7.6 together with the "growth coefficients" (the real parts of the
eigenvalues), when plotted against angular velocity of the rotor. For this purpose it was
assumed that the rotor was supported on cylindrical bearings, with parameters C n =
0.3125 and y a — 0.3 S , that is a = 3.3.
There exist three natural vibrations, of which the second and the third are stable in
the whole speed range considered. In contrast, the first natural vibration is unstable for
Q t h — 1.2 u j n . At the stability borderline it has a frequency u»i = 0.5 Q t ^ .
The parameters at the stability borderline can be ascertained in the same way as for
the rigid rotor. With A = j S, one obtains from equation (7.22) the following equations
1
- b6 ^ + &4 w - &2 5T2 + ¿0 = 0 (7.26)
[b^ - b 2 ^ 2 + b x ) v = 0 . (7.27)
From equation (7.27) the following solutions are obtained

5=0 and u2 = (b 3 ± yjh\- 4&A ) .

The second of these equations together with equations (7.23), gives

(7.28)

Fig. 7.6. Natural frequencies and growth coefficients for a Jeffcott rotor with short
cylindrical bearings. C n = 0.3125, y s = 0.3 6.
29 7 Rotors with Oil-film Bearings
The solutions w = 0 and uT ~ 1 occur for ¡7 = 0 and are therefore of no practical
importance. The solution (7.28) substituted into equation (7.26) gives, after some
manipulation, the following simple expression for the stability borderline
= k = = a* j A ^
uin w, V Ai + a -43
where Qth/^s is obtained from equation (7.17). It can be seen that the flexibility of the
rotor enters only through the factor a under the root sign in equation (7.29).
Equation (7.29) gives a stability chart for the Jeffcott rotor, Fig. 7.7, which
corresponds to Fig. 7.4 for the rigid rotor. Both figures relate to short cylindrical
bearing supports. The startup curves are here specified by the parameter C„ and the
intersection with a borderline curve gives the stability limit. By this means a stability
chart such as Fig. 7.8 is obtained. This shows the stability borderline for a Jeffcott
rotor with different values of y s J5 and oil-film bearing data from measurements by
Glienicke [39].

Fig. 7.7. Jeffcott rotor with short cylindrical bearings. Borderlines of stability and
startup curves.

Discussion of the influence of the model parameters on the stability borderline is

more complicated than for the rigid rotor because of the additional parameter y K /S, and
will not be attempted here. In the same way we will not pursue further the influence of
bearing type. As a rule the same procedure is valid as for the effect of bearing type on a
rigid rotor. One can investigate a particular case on Figs. 7.7 and 7.S or by calculation
with the given relationships.
Finally It should be mentioned that in practice differences between theoretical and
practical values of ( l t h will usually be noted, If realistic models are
 7.2 Stability 30
5
un 2
0
2
1

0.5-

0 .2

0.1 0.5 5
C,
Fig. 7.8. Stability chart for a Jeffcott rotor with cylincbrical bearings. Values for
7ffc, ß ik &om [39], L / D = 0.5-

analysed using these equations (see Parts II and III). For example, the minimum
clearance can decrease due to thermal distortion and hence the stability borderline can
be raised. A raised stability borderline can also depend on unknown damping within the
system. Also thrust bearings can be stabilising by virtue of axial loads. Destabilising
effects can arise due to magnetic attraction in the rotors of electrical machines or due to
clearance and sealing effects in turbomachines (Chapter 10).

7.3 Unbalance Vibrations

The equations of motion for unbalance vibration of rigid and flexible rotors are given in
Sect. 7.1. Solutions have been achieved by Glienicke [41], Merker [42] amongst
others. In the following the most important results will be given for the horizontally-
supported rotor. The behaviour of a vertical rotor will be described in Chap. S.
The unbalance forces cause the rotor axis to deflect from its equilibrium position
and to move in a closed orbit. The extent, shape and position of the orbit depend upon
the rotor speed. The orbit will be executed once every revolution and resonance occurs
when the running speed corresponds to a natural frequency.
For a rigid rotor as in Fig. 7.1 an example will be considered from [42] in Fig. 7.9.
The model is prescribed by the parameter
31 7 Rotors with Oil-film Bearings
7.3 Unbalance Vibrations 109

Fig. 7.9. Rigid rotor with short cylindrical bearings. S,w = 0.32, e
— 0.2 5. From J. Merkcr [42].
a j Eccentricity of the journal centre
b) Rotor orbits
c) Mean orbit radius

where So is the Sommtrfdd Number from equation (6.34) and the reference frequency
is given by
 7.2 Stability 32

„„ = M = 2£ . .
(7 31)
m^3 4m, V 8 J

Sm will be assumed to be 0.32 and the mass-eccentricity c to be 0.2 S.