Nonlinear Dyn (2017) 88:2531–2551
DOI 10.1007/s11071-017-3394-4
ORIGINAL PAPER
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary
resonance analysis of a dual-rotor system
Lei Hou · Yushu Chen · Yiqiang Fu · Huizheng Chen ·
Zhenyong Lu · Zhansheng Liu
Received: 23 October 2015 / Accepted: 2 February 2017 / Published online: 21 February 2017
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017
Abstract This paper focuses on the primary reso-
nance analysis of a dual-rotor system having two rotor
unbalance excitations of different rotating speeds and
being connected by an inter-shaft ball bearing. Due
to the complex excitation condition and the compli-
cated nonlinear bearing forces of the inter-shaft bear-
ing, the general analytical methods, e.g., the multi-
ple scales method or the harmonic balance method,
are failed to give the theoretical solutions. Thus, the
harmonic balance–alternating frequency/time domain
(HB–AFT) method is formulated to deal with this prob-
lem. The basic idea of the method is using the inverse
discrete Fourier transform and the discrete Fourier
transform, instead of the direct analytical relationship
between the supposed solutions of the system and the
nonlinear forces, to construct the harmonic expressions
of the nonlinear forces, which is the so-called alter-
nating frequency/time domain technique. By using the
HB–AFT method, therefore, a Newton– Raphson iter-
ation procedure can be performed to demonstrate the
approximate solutions of the system. Accordingly, the
frequency responses of the system affected by some
critical parameters, such as rotating speed ratio, unbal-
ances of both the inner and outer rotors, and clear-
L. Hou (B) · Y. Chen · Y. Fu · H. Chen · Z. Lu
School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology,
Harbin 150001, People’s Republic of China
e-mail: houlei@hit.edu.cn
L. Hou · Z. Liu
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of
Technology, Harbin 150001, People’s Republic of China
ance of the inter-shaft bearing, are analyzed, respec-
tively. A variety of phenomena including double reso-
nance peaks, biperiodic and quasi-periodic behaviors,
and resonance hysteresis phenomenon are obtained,
which are discussed in detail through diagrams for sep-
arated frequency responses with different frequency
components and rotors’ orbits for different combi-
nations of system parameters. Most prominently, for
a relatively small unbalance of rotor as well as a
relatively large clearance of the inter-shaft bearing,
the resonance hysteresis phenomena are more obvi-
ous. The results obtained are also compared with the
direct numerical simulation results, and the compar-
isons show good agreements. In addition, the method-
ology formulated in this paper is a general approach,
which can be applied to other engineering systems with
multi-frequency excitations.
Keywords Primary resonance analysis · Dual-rotor
system; HB–AFT method · Inter-shaft ball bearing ·
Resonance hysteresis phenomenon
1 Introduction
The harmonic balance (HB) method [1] is one of the
most commonly used methods for determining the fre-
quency response of nonlinear systems. However, the
conventional HB method cannot deal with some com-
plex and strong nonlinear problems, such as piecewise
linear, clearance, and fractional exponential problems
where the nonlinearity cannot be formulated by poly-
123
2532
nomial functions. In conjunction with an alternating
frequency/time domain (AFT) technique presented by
Cameron and Griffin [2] and Kim and Noah [3,4],
the HB method was modified to obtain the periodic
solutions of nonlinear dynamic systems with complex
forms of nonlinear forces. In the HB–AFT method, the
nonlinear forces as well as the displacements were rep-
resented by separate Fourier series. By using the phys-
ical relationships between the nonlinear forces and the
displacements, the coefficients of both expansions were
related through discrete Fourier and inverse Fourier
transforms. The coefficients would be finally obtained
through an iterating process. The method takes advan-
tage of the ease in evaluating nonlinearities rather than
analytically describing the nonlinear terms. Therefore,
the HB–AFT method can be used to deal with the com-
plex nonlinear problems.
The HB–AFT method was further developed by Kim
and Noah to obtain synchronous and subsynchronous
whirling responses [5,6], quasi-periodic responses [7],
and internal resonant steady-state vibrations [8] of rotor
systems. Xie and Lou [9] developed a HB–AFC (alter-
nating frequency/coefficient) technique for a nonlinear
equations system containing a convolution term. The
new technique showed great effectiveness in search-
ing for solutions of multi-valued nonlinear problems,
especially in the vicinity of a jump phenomenon. A
multi-term HB–AFT formulation was developed by Ma
and Kahraman [10] to determine steady-state period-1
motions of the system due to both parametric and exter-
nal excitations. The n-dimensional HB–AFT method
was extended to non-explicit nonlinearities by Legrand
et al. [11]. The concept of multi-dimensional FFT was
introduced into HB–AFT method by Guskov et al. [12]
in order to investigate the nonlinear responses of a mod-
ified Jeffcott rotor system subject to multiple unbal-
ances. Besides, the continuation methods for various
modified HB–AFT methods were discussed in [13–15].
The adaptive HB–AFT methods were also developed
by presenting a harmonic selection algorithm [16,17] in
order to save computational time. Some other modifica-
tions and improvements for HB–AFT method can also
be found in [15]. More recently, the HB–AFT method
with probabilistic collocation (AFTPC method) was
proposed by Didier et al. [18] to treat the dynamical
problems with non-regular nonlinearities in the pres-
ence of uncertainties. Valipour et al. [19,20] also con-
sidered how to reduce uncertainty in their investigations
about surface irrigation simulation.
123
L. Hou et al.
The applications of the HB–AFT method were
extended to not only ideal equation system, but also real
physical systems. Woo et al. [21] presented an appli-
cation of the HB–AFT method to an impact oscilla-
tor, in which a systematic way of determining peri-
odic responses of the impact oscillator was estab-
lished in order that it can be readily applied to the
design of vibro-impact moling systems. Chen et al. [22]
employed the HB–AFT method to predict the periodic
forced response of structures having 3-D frictional con-
straints. Sinou et al. [23] proposed an application of the
HB–AFT method combined with the center manifold
approach as well as the rational polynomial approx-
imants for a multi-degree-of-freedom system with a
nonlinear rotor/stator contact, which allows the order
reduction of the original system without losing the
dynamics of the system. With the aid of the HB–AFT
method, the effects of the presence of transverse cracks
in a rotating shaft on the dynamic responses of a rotor
were also analyzed by Sinou and Lees [24,25]. By
employing the multi-term HB–AFT method, Laxalde
et al. [26] and Saito et al. [27], respectively, carried out
qualitative analysis of the forced response of a friction
ring damped blisk system and a rotating cracked blade
system. Sinou [28], Villa et al. [29,30], and Zhang and
Chen [31] extended the application of the HB–AFT
method to rotor-ball bearing systems involving a com-
prehensive nonlinearity of the radial clearance and the
Herztian contact between races and rolling elements
as well as the stiffness of fractional exponential type.
The HB–AFT method shows great convenience and
effectiveness in dealing with these complex and strong
nonlinear problems.
The motivation of this paper is to extend the applica-
tion of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance
analysis of a dual-rotor system considering the differ-
ent frequency unbalance excitations of the two rotors
and the complex nonlinear forces of the inter-shaft
ball bearing. The system has formerly been studied
through directly numerical simulation method in Ref.
[32], but the dynamical mechanism for nonlinear phe-
nomena such as resonant hysteresis is not clear. In this
paper, however, the methodology formulated is a semi-
analytical method, which can be employed to carry out
mechanism investigations. In addition, this methodol-
ogy is a general approach, which can be applied to dif-
ferent engineering systems with multi-frequency exci-
tations and complex nonlinear forces, and the reso-
nant hysteresis phenomenon presented in this paper is a
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2533

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram (a) y1 y2

of a dual-rotor system. a For
the rotor system model. b
For vibration of the system m1 , s1
m2 , s2

z1 z2
y Outer shaft
z k2 , ξ 2
ω1
k1 , ξ1
x
o o1 o2
ω2
A Inner shaft B
C Inter-shaft
bearing

Inner rotor

L1
Outer
L2
L3 rotor
L4
L

y2
y1
θ2
(b) z1 θ1 z2
ψ1 ψ2

novel result in the field of dual-rotor system dynamics,
which will contribute to a better understanding of the
nonlinear dynamics of the system.
2 Mechanical model
2.1 Dual-rotor system
Figure 1a shows the schematic diagram of the dual-
rotor system discussed in this paper [32–34]. The inner
rotor is a lower pressure rotor supported by rigid sup-
ports, while the outer rotor is a higher pressure rotor
supported by a rigid support and an inter-shaft bear-
ing, in which ω1 and ω2 are the rotating speeds of
the inner and the outer shafts that are rotating in the
opposite directions, k1 and k2 , and ξ1 and ξ2 are the
stiffness and the damping coefficients of the inner and
the outer shafts, respectively, and m 1 and m 2 , and s1
and s2 are the masses and the eccentricities of the inner
and the outer rotors, respectively. Besides, L 1 = 13 L,
L 2 = 25 L, L 3 = 15 8
L, L 4 = 23 L. The motion of the
system is modeled by four degrees of freedom: the ver-
tical displacement y1 and the horizontal displacement
z 1 of the inner rotor, and the vertical displacement y2
and the horizontal displacement z 2 of the outer rotor.
Figure 1b shows the vibration of the dual-rotor sys-
tem, in which θ1 and ψ1 represent the rotating angles
of the inner rotor with respect to y-axis and z-axis and
θ2 and ψ2 refer to the rotating angles of the outer rotor.
2.2 Kinetic energy of inner rotor
Suppose that the inner rotor is a flexible one, then the
vertical and the horizontal displacements at x on the
inner shaft can be written as

123
2534 L. Hou et al.

f 1 (x) f 1 (x) 2.3 Kinetic energy of outer rotor

u 1 (x, t) = y1 (t) = y1 (t) , (1a)
f 1 (L 1 ) F1
f 1 (x) f 1 (x) Suppose that the outer rotor is a rigid one, then the
w1 (x, t) = z 1 (t) = z 1 (t) , (1b)
f 1 (L 1 ) F1 vertical and the horizontal displacements at x on the
outer shaft can be written as
where f 1 (x) = sin πLx is the modal shape function of f 2 (x) f 2 (x)
the inner shaft, F1 = f 1 (L 1 ). And the corresponding u 2 (x, t) = y2 (t) = y2 (t) , (4a)
f 2 (L 1 ) F2
rotating angles with respect to y-axis and z-axis (see
f 2 (x) f 2 (x)
Fig. 1b) can be denoted as w2 (x, t) = z 2 (t) = z 2 (t) , (4b)
f 2 (L 1 ) F2
∂w1 (x, t) d f 1 (x) where f 2 (x) = Lx−L 2
θ1 (x, t) ≈ = z 1 (t) 4 −L 2
is the modal shape function of
∂x F1 dx the outer shaft, F2 = f 2 (L 3 ). And the corresponding
= h 1 (x) z 1 (t) , (2a) rotating angles of that point with respect to y-axis and
∂u 1 (x, t) d f 1 (x) z-axis (see Fig. 1b) can be denoted as
ψ1 (x, t) ≈ − =− y1 (t)
∂x F1 dx ∂w2 (x, t) d f 2 (x)
= −h 1 (x) y1 (t) , (2b) θ2 (x, t) ≈ = z 2 (t)
∂x F2 dx
where it is supposed that θ1 and ψ1 are both very small, = h 2 (x) z 2 (t) , (5a)
h 1 (x) = dFf11d(x) ∂u 2 (x, t) d f 2 (x)
x . ψ2 (x, t) ≈ − =− y2 (t)
Then the kinetic energy of the disk and the shaft of ∂x F2 dx
the inner rotor can be obtained, respectively, as follows = −h 2 (x) y2 (t) , (5b)
where it is supposed that θ2 and ψ2 are both very small,
(x)
1   1   h 2 (x) = dFf22dx .
Td1 = m 1 u̇ 21 + ẇ12 + Jd1 θ̇12 + ψ̇12 Then the kinetic energy of the disk and the shaft of
2 2
1 the outer rotor can be obtained, respectively, as follows
+ Jp1 ω1 − Jd1 ω1 ψ̇1 θ1
2
1   1  
2 Td2 = m 2 u̇ 22 + ẇ22 + Jd2 θ̇22 + ψ̇22
1   1   2 2
= m 1 ẏ12 + ż 12 + Jd1 H12 ẏ12 + ż 12 1
+ Jp2 ω2 − Jd2 ω2 ψ̇2 θ2
2
2 2 2
1 1   1  
+ Jp1 ω1 − Jd1 ω1 H12 ẏ1 z 1 ,
2
(3a) = m 2 ẏ22 + ż 22 + Jd2 H22 ẏ22 + ż 22
2 2 2

ρ1 π R12 L  2  1
+ Jp2 ω2 − Jd2 ω1 H22 ẏ2 z 2 ,
2
(6a)
Ts1 = u̇ 1 + ẇ12 dx 2
2 0  2  L  
 L ρ2 π R 3 − R 2 2 4

ρ1 I1  Ts2 = u̇ 22 + ẇ22 dx
+ θ̇12 + ψ̇12 dx 2 L2

2 0 ρ2 I 2 L 4  2 
 L + θ̇2 + ψ̇22 dx + ρ2 I2 ω22 (L 4 − L 2 )
2 L2
+ ρ1 I1 ω1 L − 2ρ1 I1 ω1
2
ψ̇1 θ1 dx  L4
0
− 2ρ2 I2 ω2 ψ̇2 θ2 dx
ρ1 π R12   L L2
= ẏ12 + ż 12 f 12 dx   
2F12 ρ2 π R32 − R22  L4
0 = ẏ22 + ż 22 f 22 dx
ρ1 I1  2  L 2F22 L2
+ ẏ1 + ż 12 h 21 dx + ρ1 I1 ω12 L ρ2 I 2  2   L4
2 0 + ẏ2 + ż 22 h 22 dx + ρ2 I2 ω22 (L 4 − L 2 )
 L 2 L2
 L4
− 2ρ1 I1 ω1 ẏ1 z 1 h 21 dx, (3b) − 2ρ2 I2 ω2 ẏ2 z 2 h 22 dx, (6b)
0 L2

where H1 = h 1 (L 1 ), Jd1 and Jp1 are the diameter and
the polar rotational inertias of the inner rotor, respec-
tively, R1 and ρ1 are the radius and the density of the
inner shaft, respectively, and I1 is the moment of inertia
of the inner shaft.
where H2 = h 2 (L 3 ), Jd2 and Jp2 are the diameter and
the polar rotational inertias of the outer rotor, respec-
tively, R2 , R3 and ρ2 are, respectively, the inner and the
outer radiuses, and the density of the outer shaft, and
I2 is the moment of inertia of the outer shaft.

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2535

y 2.6 Equations of motion

ω bt

2π According to (1)–(9) and by using the Lagrange equa-

Nb tion, the equations of motion of the system can be
obtained as follows [33,34]
M1 ÿ1 + c1 ẏ1 − ω1 C1 ż 1 + k1 y1 = M1 s1 ω12 cos ω1 t
z
−K 1 Q y − M1 g,
(9a)
M1 z̈ 1 + c1 ż 1 + ω1 C1 ẏ1 + k1 z 1 = M1 s1 ω12 sin ω1 t
−K 1 Q z , (9b)
M2 ÿ2 + c2 ẏ2 + ω2 C2 ż 2 + k2 y2 = M2 s2 ω22 cos ω2 t
+K 2 Q y − M2 g,
Fig. 2 Ball bearing model (9c)
M2 z̈ 2 + c2 ż 2 − ω2 C2 ẏ2 + k2 z 2 = −M2 s2 ω22 sin ω2 t
+K 2 Q z , (9d)
2.4 Elastic potential energy
ρ1 π R12  L
where M1 = m 1 + H12 Jd1 + F 2 0 f 12 dx +
The elastic potential energy of the inner and outer rotors L 1
ρ1 I1 0 h 21 dx, c1 = 2ξ1 M1 ω1 , C1 = H12 Jp1 +
are denoted, respectively, as follows L
2ρ1 I1 0 h 21 dx, K 1 = ff11 (L 1)
(L 4 ) , M2 = m 2 + H2 Jd2 +
2
1    2 
 
V1 = k1 y12 + z 12 , (7a) ρ2 π R3 −R22
L4 2 L4 2
2 F22 L 2 f 2 dx +ρ2 I2 L 2 h 2 dx, c2 =2ξ2 M2 ω2 ,
1   L (L 3 )
V2 = k2 y22 + z 22 . (7b) C2 = H22 Jp1 + 2ρ2 I2 L 24 h 22 dx, K 2 = ff22 (L 4)
.
2 y1 y2
Letting Y1 = δ0 , Z 1 = δ0 , Y2 = δ0 , Z 2 = δz02 ,
z1

τ = ω1 t, the dimensionless equations of Eq. (9) can be

obtained as follows
2.5 Inter-shaft ball bearing forces
Y1 + α1 Y1 − α2 Z 1 + α3 Y1 = α4 cos Ω1 τ
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the ball bearing − α5 Q Y − α6 , (10a)
model with a clearance δ0 , in which Nb is the number Z 1 + α1 Z 1 + α2 Y1 + α3 Z 1 = α4 sin Ω1 τ − α5 Q Z ,
of balls, ωb = ω1 rrii +ω
+ro
2 ro
is the cage speed, where ri and (10b)
ro are the inner and the outer race curvature radiuses, Y2 + β1 Y2 + β2 Z 2 + β3 Y2 = β4 cos Ω2 τ
and ω1 and ω2 are the rotating speeds of the inner and + β5 Q Y − β6 , (10c)
the outer shafts. The ball bearing forces can be obtained
as follows [31,32] Z 2 + β1 Z 2 − β2 Y2 + β3 Z 2 = −β4 sin Ω2 τ + β5 Q Z ,
(10d)
 
Nb  
Qy cos θk where Ω1 = ω1
= 1, Ω2 = ω2
= λ where λ is the
= Kb δk1.5 H (δk ) , (8) ω1 ω1
Qz sin θk C1 k1
k=1 rotating speed ratio, α1 = 2ξ1 , α2 = M1 , α3 = M1 ω12
,
   s1 K1 g
where δk = ff11 (L 4)
− f 2 (L 4 )
θ + f 1 (L 4 ) α4 = δ0 , α5 = , α6 = , β1 = 2λξ2 , β2 =
(L 1 ) y1 f 2 (L 3 ) y2 cos k f 1 (L 1 ) z 1 − M1 δ0 ω12 δ0 ω12
 λC2 k2 λ2 s2 K2 g
f 2 (L 4 )
M2 , β3 = , β4 = , β5 = , β6 = ,
f 2 (L 3 ) z 2 sin θk −δ0 = (y1 − 2y2 ) cos θk +(z 1 − 2z 2 ) M2 ω12 δ0 M2 δ0 ω12 δ0 ω12
and Q Y and Q Z representing the dimensionless bearing
sin θk − δ0 , θk = 2πNb (k − 1) + ωb t, k = 1, . . . , Nb ,

forces are as follows
1, · > 0    
H (·) = represents the Heaviside function Qy
Nb
cos θk
0, · ≤ 0 = K b δ01.5 Δ1.5 H (Δ ) ,
k
which shows the contact situation of the balls and outer Qz k sin θk
k=1
ring of the bearing, and K b is the Hertzian contact stiff- 2π
ness. θk = (k − 1) + Ωb τ, k = 1, . . . , Nb , (11)
Nb

123
2536
where Δk = (Y1 − 2Y2 ) cos θk +(Z 1 − 2Z 2 ) sin θk −1,
Ωb = ωωb1 .
The values of parameters of the system are as follows
[33,34]
m 1 = 16.25 kg, Jp1 = 0.186 kg m2 ,
Jd1 = 0.093 kg m2 , s1 = 5 × 10−6 m,
m 2 = 4.3 kg, Jp2 = 0.0215 kg m2 ,
Jd2 = 0.0108 kg m2 , s2 = 5 × 10−6 m,
k1 = 1.193 × 107 N m−1 , k2 = 8 × 106 N m−1 ,
L. Hou et al.
Taking λ = 1.2 for instance, using a linear spring to
represent the inter-shaft bearing, we have
Q y = K s (Y1 − 2Y2 ), (13a)
Q z = K s (Z 1 − 2Z 2 ) (13b)
where K s is the stiffness of the spring.
Taking K s = 2 × 107 N m−1 , the frequency
responses of Eq. (1) and that of the linearized system are
obtained in Fig. 3 by using the Runge–Kutta method,
where the response amplitudes of the inner rotor and
the outer rotor are given by
ξ1 = ξ2 = 0.01, L = 0.4 m, 
 2K π  
−3 0 (Y1 (τ ) − a10 )2 + (Z 1 (τ ) − a20 )2 dτ
ρ1 = ρ2 = 7800 kg m , R1 = 0.02 m, R2 = 0.03 m, r1 =
2K π
R3 = 0.035 m,

 N  

Nb = 9, K 6 = 7.055 × 109 N m−1.5 , δ0 = 5μm,  − a10 )2 + (Z 1 (i) − a20 )2
 i=1 (Y1 (i)
ri = 21 mm, ro = 28.8 mm. (12) = , (14a)
N
2.7 Basic properties of the system
Equation (10) is a nonlinear dynamic system because it
contains terms of nonlinear bearing forces. But, some-
times, it is meaningful to discuss whether the nonlin-
ear bearing forces can be linearized or not, especially
when the responses of the system are stable and the
frequency response curves are not bended very much.
In this section, we make a comparison of the nonlinear
system’s frequency response with that of a linearized
one to show the basic properties of the nonlinear sys-
tem and to provide the Campbell diagram (a plot of
natural frequency versus rotor speed) of the system to
show the relationship of the natural frequencies with
the excitation frequency.
 2K π  
0 (Y2 (τ ) − a30 )2 + (Z 2 (τ ) − a40 )2 dτ
r2 =
2K π
 N  

 − a30 )2 + (Z 2 (i) − a40 )2
 i=1 (Y2 (i)
= , (14b)
N
where K = 5, a10 , a20 , a30 , and a40 are the average val-
ues of the relative responses. r1 and r2 are also known
as effective values of responses [35]. Using this def-
inition of amplitude, the intensity of vibration can be
properly reflected.
In Fig. 3, it can be observed that the first resonant fre-
quencies of the linearized system are almost the same
as that of the original system, but there is a large differ-
ence between the second resonant frequencies, because
the frequency response curve of the original nonlinear
system is a little bended in comparison with the lin-
earized system. The bending of the frequency response

Fig. 3 Comparison of (a) (b)

frequency responses 50 20
between the original orig. sys. orig. sys.
nonlinear system and the 40 lin. sys. lin. sys.
linearized system. a For the 15
inner rotor. b For the outer
30
rotor
r1

r2

10
20

5
10

0 0
600 700 800 900 1000 800 900 1000 1100 1200
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2537

3500
m
n

rotor 2 excit.
λ=1.2
Y2 = a30 + a3i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ
3000 rotor 1 excit. i=−m j=−n

2500 − b3i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ (15c)
ω 2 (rad/s)

m
n

2000 Z 2 = a40 + a4i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ
i=−m j=−n
1500 
− b4i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ (15d)
1000

m
n

Q Y = c10 + c1i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
i=−m j=−n
ω 1 (rad/s) 
− d1i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ (15e)
Fig. 4 Campbell diagram of the system
m
n

Q Z = c20 + c2i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ
i=−m j=−n
curve and the increasing of the resonant frequencies are 
− d2i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ (15f)
due to the nonlinear bearing forces of the original sys-
tem; thus, we call it essentially nonlinear system, which where i = −m, . . . , m, j = −n, . . . , n, excluding
can’t be accurately linearized in dynamic analysis. iΩ1 + jΩ2 ≤ 0, while the coefficients are unknowns
Therefore, we try to develop precise algorithm to solve to be determined. Herein, we considered the harmonic
these equations and carry out parameter analysis to terms of the unbalance excitation frequencies from both
investigate the mechanism of the nonlinear properties. the inner and the outer rotors and their combinations.
Moreover, the Campbell diagram [36,37] is pre- Substituting (15) in Eq. (10), and using the harmonic
sented in Fig. 4. It is shown that for a given rotating balance procedure, we have
ratio, e.g., λ = 1.2, there are two natural frequencies (i) constant terms
of each order for general cases. In other words, the
excitation from these two frequencies makes it more g10 = α3 a10 + α5 c10 + α6 , (16a)
challenging to carry out the investigation in compari- g20 = α3 a20 + α5 c20 , (16b)
son with the case of a single rotor. In this paper, we g30 = β3 a30 − β5 c30 + β6 , (16c)
extend the application of the HB–AFT method to the
g40 = β3 a40 − β5 c40 , (16d)
primary resonance analysis of the dual-rotor system.
(ii) cosine terms
 
3 Methodology formulation g1i j = α3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 a1i j
 
− (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) α1 b1i j − α2 b2i j
3.1 Harmonic balance method
+ α5 c1i j − γ α4 ,

γ = 1, i = 1 ∧ j = 0
Considering the primary resonance of the dual-rotor , (16e)
system, a steady-state solution of Eq. (10) and the cor- γ = 0, i = 1 ∨ j = 0
 
responding nonlinear inter-shaft bearing forces can be g2i j = α3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 a2i j
presented as follows  
− (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) α1 b2i j + α2 b1i j

m
n

Y1 = a10 + a1i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ + α5 c2i j , (16f)
 
i=−m j=−n
 g3i j = β3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 a3i j
− b1i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ (15a)  
− (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) β1 b3i j + β2 b4i j

m
n

Z 1 = a20 + a2i j cos (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ − β5 c1i j − γβ4 ,

i=−m j=−n
 γ = 1, i = 0 ∧ j = 1
− b2i j sin (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) τ , (16g)
(15b) γ = 0, i = 0 ∨ j = 1

123
 2538 L. Hou et al.

 
g4i j = β3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 a4i j domain technique is a possible method to deal with
  this problem.
− (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) β1 b4i j − β2 b3i j
− β5 c2i j , (16h)
(iii) sine terms 3.2 Alternating frequency/time domain procedure
 
g5i j = α3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 b1i j According to (11), the coefficients of the displacement
  and the forces in (15) can be related by using an inverse
+ (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) α1 a1i j − α2 a2i j
discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) and discrete Fourier
+ α5 d1i j , (16i) transform (DFT) procedure [3].
 
g6i j = α3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 b2i j For a given X, taking the transform (using the IDFT)
  for (15a)–(15d),
+ (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) α1 a2i j + α2 a1i j
2K πr
+ α5 d2i j + γ α4 , τ= , (20)

N
γ = 1, i = 1 ∧ j = 0
, (16j) then the responses Y1 , Z 1 , Y2 , and Z 2 at the r th discrete
γ = 0, i = 1 ∨ j = 0 time can be obtained as follows
 
g7i j = β3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 b3i j
m n 
2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
  Y1 (r ) = a10 + a1i j cos
+ (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) β1 a3i j − β2 a4i j N
i=−m j=−n

+ β5 d1i j , (16k) 2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
  − b1i j sin , (21a)
N
g8i j = β3 − (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )2 b4i j n 
  m 2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
+ (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) β1 a4i j + β2 a3i j Z 1 (r ) = a20 + a2i j cos
N
i=−m j=−n
+ β5 d2i j − γβ4 , 

2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
γ = 1, i = 1 ∧ j = 0 − b2i j sin , (21b)
. (16l) N
γ = 0, i = 1 ∨ j = 0 m n 
2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
Letting the right side of Eq. (16) be equal to zero, Y2 (r ) = a30 + a3i j cos
N
i=−m j=−n
the following matrix equation can be obtained 
2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
g = AX + B = 0, (17) − b3i j sin , (21c)
 N
where X = a10 , a20 , a30 , a40 , a1i j , a2i j , a3i j , m n 
2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
T Z 2 (r ) = a40 + a4i j cos
a4i j , b1i j , b2i j , b3i j , b4i j is the matrix of unknowns i=−m j=−n
N
for the solution, A is the coefficient matrix, and the rest 
2K πr (iΩ1 + jΩ2 )
terms including the unknowns for the nonlinear inter- − b4i j sin , (21d)
N
shaft bearing forces are contained in vector B.
To find a fixed point X for Eq. (17), a Newton– where r = 0, 1, . . . , N − 1.
Raphson iterative procedure can be performed as fol- In the formulation utilized by Kim and Noah [3],
lows τ = 2 Nπr is taken for the transform of (20), which
is effective for the dynamic systems forced by a sin-
X(k+1) = X(k) − J −1 g(k) , (18)
gle frequency excitation source. In the present study,
where J is the Jacobian matrix, i.e., however, we extend the application of the approach
∂g ∂B to a two frequencies excited system by introducing an
J= = A+ . (19)
∂X ∂X integer coefficient K into the transform of (20). Gen-
where A is a constant matrix, but vector B contains the erally, for a single frequency excited system, one can
unknown coefficients for the nonlinear forces. There- take K = 1 for the transform when the excitation fre-
fore, we have to construct the relations between the quency Ω = 1, and the corresponding total time length
coefficients of the nonlinear forces and that of the sup- is T = 2π . For a multi-frequency excited system, how-
∂B
posed solution to get ∂X . The alter frequency/time ever, the value of K should be properly selected to

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2539

ensure that the total length in time domain is an integer ∂B ∂B ∂Q

= . (24)
multiple of each period corresponded to the excitation ∂X ∂Q ∂X
frequencies. For the discussed dual-rotor system, e.g.,
when λ = 1.2, i.e., Ω1 = 1 and Ω2 = 1.2, the sep- Substituting (24) in (19), we can finally get the Jaco-
arated periodic responses with respect to Ω1 and Ω2 bian matrix J . Then substituting it in (18), the Newton–
are shown in Fig. 3. Accordingly, K = 5 is a proper Raphson iteration can be carried out. The iterative pro-
setting for the transform. cess is described as follows:
Substituting (20) and (21) in (11), the nonlinear
(i) With an initial guess X(0) , calculate the J matrix
forces Q Y and Q Z at the r th discrete time can be
and the g vector.
obtained as follows
  (ii) By utilizing (18), calculate X(1) .
Q Y (r ) Nb
(iii) Continue (i) and (ii) procedure until the iteration
= K b δ01.5
Δk (r )1.5 H (Δk (r ))
Q Z (r ) converges to a vector X(k) which is accurate within
k=1
  an allowed error tolerance, i.e., the norm of X(k) −
cos θk (r ) X(k−1) is less than the allowed error.
× ,
sin θk (r )
2π 2K πr
θk (r ) = (k − 1) + Ωb ,
Nb N
k = 1, . . . , Nb , (22) 4 Stability analysis

where Δk (r ) = (Y1 (r ) − Y2 (r )) cos θk (r )+2 (Z 1 (r ) In this section, the Floquet theory [38,39] is employed
−Z 2 (r )) sin θk (r ) − 1. to analyze the stability of the solutions obtained through
By using the DFT for (22), and by considering (15e) the HB–AFT method. Based on Hsu’s method [31,40],
and (15f), the corresponding coefficients of Q Y and Q Z a simplified strategy to get the Floquet index can be
in the frequency domain can be obtained as follows formulated as follows.
N −1
1 Letting
c10 = Q Y (r ), (23a)  T
N
r =0 U = Y1 Y1 Z 1 Z 1 Y2 Y2 Z 2 Z 2
−1  T
2
N
2K π (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) r = X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 X8 , (25)
c1i j = Q Y (r ) cos ,
N N
r =0 then according to Eq. (10), it can be obtained that
(23b)
U (τ )

N −1 ⎡ ⎤
2 2K π (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) r X2
d1i j = − Q Y (r ) sin , ⎢−α1 X 2 +α2 X 4 −α3 X 1 +α4 cos Ω1 τ −α5 Q Y (X 1 , X 3 , X 5 , X 7 ) −α6⎥
N N ⎢ ⎥
r =0 ⎢ X4 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ −α1 X 4 −α2 X 2 −α3 X 3 +α4 sin Ω1 τ −α5 Q Z (X 1 , X 3 , X 5 , X 7 ) ⎥
(23c) =⎢ ⎥
⎢ X6 ⎥
−1 ⎢−β X −β X −β X +β cos Ω τ +β Q (X , X , X , X ) −β ⎥
1
N ⎢ 1 6 2 8 3 5 4
⎣
2 5 Y 1 3 5 7 6⎥
⎦
c20 = Q Z (r ), (23d) X8
N −β1 X 8 +β2 X 6 −β3 X 7 −β4 sin Ω2 τ +β5 Q Z (X 1 , X 3 , X 5 , X 7 )
r =0
= F (τ, U (τ )) .

N −1
2 2K π (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) r (26)
c2i j = Q Z (r ) cos ,
N N
r =0 Suppose that U∗ is an equilibrium of Eq. (17), i.e., the
(23e) solution obtained through the HB–AFT method. Then
N −1
2 2K π (iΩ1 + jΩ2 ) r taking perturbation U to U∗ , it can be obtained that
d2i j =− Q Z (r ) sin .  
N
r =0
N U = F τ, U∗ + U
(23f) ∂F (τ, U∗ )  
 T ≈ U = A τ, U∗ (τ ) U. (27)
Letting Q = c10 , c20 , c1i j , c2i j , d1i j , d2i j , and ∂U∗
∂B
according to (21)–(23), we can calculate ∂X by using Thus, the stability of U∗ can be determined by matrix
the following formula A (τ, U∗ (τ )).

123
2540 L. Hou et al.

Fig. 5 Comparison of (b)

frequency responses. a For (a) 20
the inner rotor. b For the 40 HB-AFT HB-AFT
outer rotor R-K R-K
15
30

r1

r2
10
20

10 5

0 0
600 700 800 900 1000 800 900 1000 1100 1200
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

According to Hsu’s method [31], the approximate rotors make up the dominant vibrations in the pri-
monodromy matrix can be expressed as mary resonance responses of the system, while the
higher-order harmonic components and the combined

Nn
M =  (T ) = e An T frequency components contribute very little to the res-
n=1 onance responses. Thus, we take only the first-order
⎛ ⎞ harmonic components for (13) in the following analy-
Nj

Nn ( An T ) j
= ⎝I + ⎠, (28) sis. In addition, the error for every iteration process is
n=1 j=1
j! <10−14 .
Figure 5 shows the frequency response curves of
where T is the time period of the solution, I denotes the system for λ = 1.2 obtained through the HB–AFT
the identity matrix, and An is a constant matrix rep- method, and it is compared with the direct numerical
resenting the time-varying matrix A (τ, U∗ (τ )) in the simulation results using the Runge–Kutta method. The
nth time interval, which is response amplitudes of the inner rotor and the outer
 τn rotor are also defined by (14a) and (14b).
1  
An = A τ, U∗ (τ ) dτ , (29) In appearance, the frequency response curves for
T τn−1
the inner rotor (Fig. 5a) and the outer rotor (Fig. 5b)
are similar to each other, but the response amplitude
where τn = nT /Nn , n = 1, 2, . . . , Nn .
of the inner rotor is larger than that of the outer rotor
By combining with the HB–AFT procedure, we have
in magnitude. For each of the two curves, there exist
  two resonant peaks. The first one for ω1 = 750 rad/s
An ≈ A τn , U∗ (τn ) . (30)
(ω2 = 900 rad/s) is with respect to the resonance of
the outer rotor, and the second one for ω1 = 880 rad/s
Substituting (30) in (28), and calculating the eigenval-
(ω2 = 1056 rad/s) is corresponded to the resonance
ues (the Floquet index) of matrix M, then the stability
of the inner rotor. Accordingly, the critical speed for
of U∗ can be determined.
the inner rotor is ω1 = 880 rad/s, while that for the
outer rotor is ω2 = 900 rad/s. There is a small differ-
5 Results and discussion ence between them. In addition, the comparison shows
good agreement between the HB–AFT method and the
5.1 Vibration response of the dual-rotor system Runge–Kutta method, especially for the rotating speed
regions around the resonant peaks.
By using the HB–AFT method, numerical calculations In order to give an insight into the system motions
are carried out to detect the responses of Eq. 6 in the for the parameters with respect to the two resonant
following sections. Through several tests, it is found peaks in Fig. 5, the orbits of both the centers of the
that the first-order harmonic components for both of inner and outer rotors are shown in Figs. 6 and 7,
the excitation frequencies of the inner and the outer respectively, and the results are also compared with

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2541

Fig. 6 Comparison of (a) 30 (b) 30

rotors’ orbits for
ω1 = 750 rad/s 20 20
(ω2 = 900 rad/s). a, c For
the HB–AFT results of the 10 10
inner and outer rotors. b, d

Y1

Y1
For the corresponded 0 0
Runge–Kutta results
-10 -10

-20 -20

-30 -30
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Z1 Z1

(c) 15 (d) 15
10 10

5 5
Y2

Y2
0 0

-5 -5

-10 -10

-15 -15
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Z2 Z2

Fig. 7 Comparison of (a) 50 (b) 50

rotors’ orbits for
ω1 = 880 rad/s
(ω2 = 1056 rad/s). 25 25
a, c For the HB–AFT results
of the inner and outer rotors.
Y1

Y1

0 0
b, d For the corresponded
Runge–Kutta results
-25

-50 -50
-50 -25 0 25 50 -50 -25 0 25 50
Z1 Z1

(c) 20 (d) 20

10 10
Y2
Y2

0 0

-10 -10

-20 -20
-20 -10 0 10 20 -20 -10 0 10 20
Z2 Z2

123
2542
the Runge–Kutta results. All of these results are dis-
played for ten times of the period T = 10π. For the
Runge–Kutta results (Figs. 6b, d, 7b, d), it can be found
that the rotors’ orbits for different periods of time are
not exactly coincident with each other, even though
the difference is very small. This is due to the disad-
vantage of the Runge–Kutta method in dealing with
the complex nonlinear problem of ball bearing force.
This phenomenon can also be found in other rotor-ball
bearing systems [41]. In comparison with the Runge–
Kutta results, the HB–AFT results (Figs. 6a, c, 7a, c)
look more regular and clear. Nevertheless, the HB–AFT
results agree well with the Runge–Kutta results. Thus,
it can be concluded that the HB–AFT method has great
advantages in predicting the regular responses of non-
linear dynamic systems.
The time histories of the four degrees of freedom for
parameters having the same values with Figs. 6 and 7
are, respectively, shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and the results
are also compared with the Runge–Kutta results. The
comparisons of the time histories show great agreement
between the HB–AFT and the Runge–Kutta method. In
Fig. 6, there are six response peaks during one period
(T = 10π for λ = 1.2), while in Fig. 5, the corre-
sponded number of response peaks is five. This is a
difference between the outer rotor resonance and the
inner rotor resonance.
Furthermore, since the exact expressions of (15a)–
(15d) can be obtained through the HB–AFT method,
the responses of the system can be decomposed sep-
arately into frequency and harmonic components by
using the following definitions of amplitudes
AY 11 = 2 + b2 ,
a110 110 AY 12 = 2 + b2 , (31a)
a101 101
A Z 11 = 2 + b2 ,
a210 210 A Z 12 = 2 + b2 ,(31b)
a201 201
AY 21 = 2 + b2 ,
a310 310 AY 22 = 2 + b2 , (31c)
a301 301
A Z 21 = 2 + b2 ,
a410 A Z 22 = 2 + b2 .(31d)
a401
410 401
Then the separated frequency responses of the system
with ω1 and ω2 components at the four degrees of free-
dom can be obtained, which are meaningful to know
exactly how much does the two unbalance excitations
contribute separately to the vibration responses of the
system.
The separated frequency responses of the system
for parameters having the same value with Fig. 5 are
shown in Fig. 10. In each one of the four subfigures in
123
L. Hou et al.
Fig. 10, there is one resonant peak for the amplitude–
frequency curve of ω1 component and another one for
that of ω2 component, and the combination of the two
components forms the two resonant peaks in the cor-
responding subfigure in Fig. 5. Accordingly, the outer
rotor’s resonance for ω2 = 900 rad/s (ω1 = 750 rad/s)
leads to the first resonant peak, and the inner rotor’s
resonance for ω1 = 880 rad/s (ω2 = 1056 rad/s) con-
tributes the second one. Thus, a better understanding of
the responses characteristics of the system is obtained,
which gives the HB–AFT method an advantage over
the Runge–Kutta method.
5.2 Effect of rotating speed ratio
The response characteristics affected by the rotating
speed ratio are discussed in this section. The frequency
responses of the system for different √ rotating speed
ratios, i.e., λ = 1.1, λ = 1.2, λ = 2 (in this case,
we take λ ≈ 1.414 in the calculation) and λ = 1.5,
are shown in Fig. 11. To the inner rotor’s response
in Fig. 11a, the amplitude value for the second reso-
nance peak with respect to the inner rotor’s unbalance
excitation gets a little smaller with the increase of λ,
while the corresponding resonant frequency is nearly
unchanged. For the first resonant peak, however, the
amplitude value gets a little larger, and the relevant
resonant frequency decreases a lot. To the outer rotor’s
response in Fig. 11b, with the increase of λ, the ampli-
tude value for the first resonant peak corresponded to
the outer rotor’s unbalance excitation gets a little larger,
and the corresponding resonant frequency increases a
little as well. For the second resonant peak, the ampli-
tude value gets a little smaller, and the relevant resonant
frequency increases a lot. In addition, with the increase
of λ, the rotating speed difference between the two res-
onance peaks gets larger and larger for both the inner
and the outer rotors.
For each of the frequency response curves of the
system, the first resonant peak is corresponded to the
resonance of the outer rotor, the second one is with
respect to that of the inner rotor, and the ratio of the
two resonant frequencies is approximately the same as
the rotating speed ratio of the two rotors. Therefore,
when the rotating speed ratio varies, the ratio of the
two resonant frequencies changes accordingly, which
makes the change of the distance between the two res-
onance peaks.
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2543

Fig. 8 Comparison of time (a) 30 (b) 30

history for ω1 = 750 rad/s
(ω2 = 900 rad/s). a, b For 20 20
the vertical and horizontal
displacement of the inner 10 10
rotor. c, d For the vertical

Y1

Z1
and horizontal displacement 0 0
of the outer rotor. (− for
HB–AFT results, ◦ for -10 -10
Runge–Kutta results)
-20 -20

-30 -30
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
τ (π) τ (π)

(c) 15 (d) 15

10 10

5 5
Y2

Z2
0 0

-5 -5

-10 -10

-15 -15
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
τ (π) τ (π)

Fig. 9 Comparison of time (a) 50 (b) 50

history for ω1 = 880 rad/s
(ω2 = 1056 rad/s). a, b For
the vertical and horizontal 25 25
displacement of the inner
rotor. c, d For the vertical
Y1

Z1

and horizontal displacement 0 0

of the outer rotor. (− for
HB–AFT results, ◦ for
Runge–Kutta results) -25 -25

-50 -50
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
τ (π) τ (π)

(c) (d)
20 20

10 10
Y2

Z2

0 0

-10 -10

-20 -20

0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
τ (π) τ (π)

123
2544 L. Hou et al.

Fig. 10 Separated (a) (b)

frequency responses. a For 40 A Y11 40 A Z11
Y1 . b for Z 1 . c For Y2 . d For
A Y12 A Z12
Z 2 . (black line for ω1

Amplitudes

Amplitudes
30 30
component, red line for ω2
component). (Color figure
online) 20 20

10 10

0 0
600 700 800 900 1000 600 700 800 900 1000
ω1 ω1

(c) 20 (d) 20
A Y21 A Z21

15 A Y22 15 A Z22
Amplitudes

Amplitudes
10 10

5 5

0 0
800 900 1000 1100 1200 800 900 1000 1100 1200
ω2 ω2

The orbits diagrams of rotors’ √ centers for the two
resonant peak frequencies for λ = 2 and λ = 1.5 are
also presented in Figs. 12 and 13 to show the influences
of the rotating speed ratio. In Fig. 12, the motions of
the system at the four degrees of freedom are all quasi-
periodic, because the unbalance forces of the two rotors
are combined into a quasi-periodic excitation for λ =
√ peak, however, keeps nearly unchanged. In addition, a
2. When λ gets larger, however, the motions of the
system are nearly periodic one, and the coupling effects
between the two rotors’ unbalance excitations become
not significant.
excitation, however, increases a lot with the increase of
s1 , and the corresponding resonant frequency increases
a little as well. In Fig. 15a, b for λ = 1.2 and s1 = 5 μm,
on the contrary, the first resonance peak increases a lot
with the increase of s2 , and the corresponding resonant
frequency also increases slightly. The second resonant
jump phenomenon may occur when the rotor unbalance
gets smaller; see Fig. 15a for s2 = 2 μm.
5.4 Effect of inter-shaft bearing clearance

5.3 Effect of rotors’ unbalances
The frequency responses of the system affected by the
inner and outer rotors’ unbalances are, respectively,
shown in Figs. 14 and 15. In both Fig. 14a, b for λ = 1.2
and s2 = 5 μm, for different magnitudes of inner rotor
unbalance, i.e., s1 = 2 μm, s1 = 3 μm, s1 = 5 μm,
and s1 = 8 μm, the first resonant peak with respect
to the outer rotor’s unbalance excitation keeps nearly
unchanged. The vibration amplitude for the second res-
onant peak corresponded to the inner rotor’s unbalance
The frequency responses of the system for various
magnitudes of inter-shaft bearing clearance, i.e., δ0 =
2 μm, δ0 = 5 μm, δ0 = 10 μm, δ0 = 15 μm, are shown
in Fig. 16. For both the inner rotor (see Fig. 16a) and
the outer rotor (see Fig. 16b), the vibration amplitude
for the first resonant peak as well as the corresponding
resonant frequency decreases when δ0 increases from
2 to 15 μm. In addition, when δ0 = 10 μm, a jump
phenomenon occurs, and when δ0 = 15 μm, a reso-
nance hysteresis phenomenon appears, which behaves
like a hard spring, and the unstable solutions can also

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance
Fig. 11 Frequency
responses for different
rotating speed ratios. a For
the inner rotor. b For the
outer rotor
be obtained through the HB–AFT method. For the sec-
ond resonant peak, with the increase of δ0 , the vibration
amplitude of the inner rotor (see Fig. 16a) increases, but
that of the outer rotor (see Fig. 16b) decreases, while the
corresponding resonant frequency decreases for both of
the two rotors.
In Ref. [32], the resonance hysteresis phenomenon
for the dual-rotor system was shown, but the mecha-
nism has not been discussed, since the numerical sim-
2545
ulation method used therein can’t give the unstable
solutions. In this paper, the unstable solutions as well
as the stable ones are obtained, therefore, the mecha-
nism for the hysteresis phenomenon can be revealed.
Through a Floquet index analysis, we found that the
largest Floquet multiplier crosses the unit circle from
positive real axis, which suggests the onset of saddle-
node bifurcation, the corresponding bifurcation points
are also called fold bifurcation point. The occurrence
123
2546 L. Hou et al.

Fig. 12 Orbits diagrams√ of (a) (b) 15

30
rotors’ centers for λ = 2.
a, b For ω1 = 635 rad/s 20 10
(ω2 ≈ 900 rad/s). c, d For
ω1 = 880 rad/s 10 5
(ω2 ≈ 1244 rad/s)

Y1

Y2
0 0

-10 -5

-20 -10
-30
-15
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Z1 Z2

(c) (d) 20
40

20 10
Y1

Y2
0 0

-20 -10

-40
-20
-40 -20 0 20 40 -20 -10 0 10 20
Z1 Z2

Fig. 13 Orbits diagrams of (a) 30 (b) 15

rotors centers for λ = 1.5.
a, b For ω1 = 600 rad/s 20 10
(ω2 = 900 rad/s). c, d For
ω1 = 880 rad/s 10 5
Y1

Y2

0 0

-10 -5

-20 -10

-30
-15
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15
Z1 Z2

(c) 40 (d) 20

20 10
Y2
Y1

0 0

-20 -10

-40 -20
-40 -20 0 20 40 -20 -10 0 10 20
Z1 Z2

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2547

Fig. 14 Frequency (a) 70 (b) 30

responses for different s 1=8μm s 1=8μm
magnitudes of inner rotor 60 25
unbalance for λ = 1.2 and s 1=5μm s 1=5μm
50
s2 = 5 μm. a For the inner s 1=3μm 20 s 1=3μm
rotor. b For the outer rotor 40
s 1=2μm
s 1=2μm

r1

r2
15
30
10
20

10 5

0 0
700 750 800 850 900 950 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

Fig. 15 Frequency (a) 50 (b) 20

responses for different s 2=8μm s 2=8μm
magnitudes of outer rotor 40 s 2=5μm s 2=5μm
unbalance for λ = 1.2 and 15
s1 = 5 μm. a For the inner s 2=3μm s 2=3μm
30
rotor. b For the outer rotor s 2=2μm s 2=2μm
r1

r2
10
20

5
10

0 0
700 750 800 850 900 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

of the bifurcation phenomenon is mainly due to the
increase of the clearance of the inter-shaft bearing,
which makes the dual-rotor system behaves like a Duff-
ing type rotor system with hardening characteristics
[42].
5.5 Resonance hysteresis phenomena analysis
Taking λ = 1.2, s1 = 3 μm, s2 = 4 μm, and
δ0 = 15 μm, the frequency responses of the sys-
tem for both the inner and the outer rotors are shown
in Fig. 17. There exists the resonance hysteresis phe-
nomenon not only for the resonance of the outer rotor
(the first resonance) which is similar to that in Fig. 16,
but also for the resonance of the inner rotor (the second
resonance) which is different from that in Fig. 16. In
Fig. 17a, both of the two resonance hysteresis phenom-
ena behave apparently like the hardening characteris-
tic. In Fig. 17b, the characteristics are similar to that in
Fig. 17a, except a circled phenomenon appears at the
bottom of the first resonance region.
Moreover, the separated frequency responses of
the system for the same parameters as in Fig. 17
are presented in Fig. 18 to give an insight into the
resonance hysteresis phenomenon and the coupling
effects of the resonances. In Fig. 18a, b, the resonance
hysteresis phenomenon of hardening characteristic is
shown in the first resonance region of the amplitude–
frequency curve of ω2 component, due to the coupling
effect of the corresponding resonance, the amplitude–
frequency curve of ω1 component during the same
region also shows a resonance hysteresis phenomenon,
but it behaves like a softening characteristic. Similarly,
due to the coupling effect of the inner rotor’s resonance
(the second resonance), the amplitude–frequency curve
of ω2 component within the relevant resonance region
also shows a resonance hysteresis phenomenon, and
it behaves like a hardening characteristic, which is
similar to the resonance hysteresis characteristic of
the amplitude–frequency curve of ω2 component. In
Fig. 18c, d, the resonance hysteresis characteristics are
similar to that in Fig. 18a, b. In addition, the circled phe-
nomenon appears in the amplitude–frequency curve of
ω2 component.

123
2548 L. Hou et al.

Fig. 16 Frequency (a) 45

responses for different
magnitudes of bearing δ0=2μm
40
clearance for λ = 1.2, δ0=5μm
s1 = 5 μm, and s2 = 5 μm.
a For the inner rotor. b For 35 δ0=10μm
the outer rotor δ0=15μm
30
Unstable solutions
25

r1 20

15

10

0
600 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000
ω 1 (rad/s)

(b) 20

δ0=2μm
18
δ0=5μm
16
δ0=10μm
14 δ0=15μm

12 Unstable solutions
r2

10

0
800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150 1200
ω 2 (rad/s)

6 Conclusions responses of the presented system affected by parame-

In this paper, the primary resonance analysis of a dual-
rotor system has been carried out by utilizing the HB–
AFT method. With the consideration of the different
frequency unbalance excitations of the two rotors and
the complex nonlinear forces of the inter-shaft ball
bearing, the motion equations of the system have been
set up. A general approach of the methodology has
been formulated, according to which the frequency
ters involving rotating speed ratio, unbalances of both
the inner and outer rotors, and clearance of the inter-
shaft bearing have been analyzed. It has been shown
that there exist two resonant peaks in each of the fre-
quency response curves of the system, the first one
corresponded to the resonance of the outer rotor and
the second one with respect to that of the inner rotor.
For both of the two resonant peaks, the behaviors of
the system are biperiodic for general cases, and they

123
Application of the HB–AFT method to the primary resonance 2549

Fig. 17 Frequency (a) 30 (b) 12

responses for λ = 1.2, Stable Stable
s1 = 3 μm, s2 = 4 μm and 25
Unstable
10
Unstable
δ0 = 15 μm. a For the inner
20 8
rotor. b For the outer rotor

r1

r2
15 6

10 4

5 2

0 0
600 700 800 900 1000 800 900 1000 1100 1200
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

Fig. 18 Separated (a) 30 (b) 30

frequency responses for A Y11 A Z11
λ = 1.2, s1 = 3 μm, 25 25
A Y12 A Z12
s2 = 4 μm, and
δ0 = 15 μm. a For the inner 20 20
Amplitudes

Amplitudes
3 3
1.5 1.5
rotor. b For the outer rotor 2 2
15 1 15 1
1 1
700720 740 870 875 700720 740 870 875
10 10

5 5

0 0
600 700 800 900 1000 600 700 800 900 1000
ω 1 (rad/s) ω 1 (rad/s)

(c) 12 (d) 12
A Y21 A Z21
10 10
A Y22 A Z22
8 8
Amplitudes

Amplitudes

0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5

0.4 0.4
6 6
0.2 0 0.2 0
840865 890 104010501060 840865 890 104010501060
4 4

2 2

0 0
800 900 1000 1100 1200 800 900 1000 1100 1200
ω 2 (rad/s) ω 2 (rad/s)

would be quasi-periodic when the combined excitation
is quasi-periodic, but for larger rotating speed ratios,
they would be nearly periodic one motions. With the
increase of each unbalance, it has been shown that
the vibration amplitude for the corresponding resonant
peak increases significantly, but the corresponded res-
onant frequency does not change apparently. When the
clearance of the inter-shaft bearing gets larger, it has
been shown that the resonance hysteresis phenomena
for the frequency response curves appear. The results
presented in this paper will contribute to a better under-
standing of the nonlinear dynamics of the dual-rotor
systems. Future work will be conducted to experimen-
tally verify the theoretical results in this paper and
to evaluate the effect of uncertainties on the system’s
dynamics. Besides, the nonlinear dynamic characteris-
tics of the dual-rotor system affected by fault bearing
will be investigated in further study.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge
the financial supports from China Postdoctoral Science Founda-
tion (Grant No. 2016M590277), the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 11602070), and the National
Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China (Grant No.
2015CB057400).

123
2550
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