Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

www.elsevier.com/locate/mechmt

E€ects of bearing and shaft asymmetries on the instability

of rotors operating at near-critical speeds
R. Ganesan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal, Que., Canada
H3G 1M8
Received 15 May 1998; accepted 2 February 1999

Abstract

Information about the stability of vibratory motions becomes essential for ensuring safer designs of
rotor-bearing systems and the operational safety. In particular, the in¯uences of shaft and bearing
parameters on the stability characteristics have to be quanti®ed for design and diagnostic purposes. Such
an analytical investigation is the objective of the present paper. Expressions for amplitude and phase
modulation functions that quantify the e€ects of slowly varying the rotational speed on the motion
characteristics are derived. Based on the modulation functions, stability regions in the parameter space
are determined. The e€ects of bearing and shaft asymmetries on the stability of the rotor are
illustrated. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Rotor-bearing systems; Vibrations; Instability; Asymmetric rotors; Near-resonant response; Variable
speed

1. Introduction

Asymmetric rotor systems, in which the ¯exural rigidities of bearings and shafts in two
principal directions are not equal, exhibit a number of peculiarities in their vibrational
characteristics that cannot be observed in symmetric rotors. These include parametric
oscillations, double frequency vibrations due to gravitational forces, etc. and detailed studies
regarding such phenomena have been made during the past few decades. Examples of

E-mail address: ganesan@vax2.concordia.ca (R. Ganesan).

0094-114X/00/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 9 4 - 1 1 4 X ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 8 - 5
738 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

Nomenclature

xyz stationary frame of reference

xZz rotating frame of reference
a eccentricity of mass unbalance
ax0 , ay0 amplitudes of the vibratory motions in x- and y-directions, respectively
cx damping of the bearings in x-direction
cy damping of the bearings in y-direction
g gravitational acceleration
kx sti€ness of the bearing in x-direction
ky sti€ness of the bearing in y-direction
Kx sti€ness of the shaft in its principal direction x
KZ sti€ness of the shaft in its principal direction Z
Km mean sti€ness of the shaft; Km ˆ …Kx ‡ KZ †=2
m mass of the disk
Rx vibratory motion in the x-direction
Ry vibratory motion in the y-direction
Rx0 , Ry0 base solutions of the asymptotic expansions for x- and y-directional motions
t time
T0, T1, T2 time scales of order 0, 1 and 2, respectively
Tn time scale of order n
b phase angle of the mass eccentricity from the x-axis
e asymptotic parameter corresponding to multiple time scales
Zx , Zy phases of the vibratory motions in x- and y-directions, respectively
g1 , g2 dependent variables of the autonomous system
lx0 , ly0 eigenvalues corresponding to the perturbed motions of ax0 and ay0 , respectively
m asymmetry factor of the shaft; m ˆ …Kx ÿ KZ †=…Kx ‡ KZ †
s1 , s2 detuning parameters that characterize the nearness of the system to resonance
n1 , n2 slowly-varying components of rotor rotation angle
ox , oy natural frequencies of the asymmetric shaft
om mean natural frequency of the shaft
O rotating speed of the shaft
zx damping factor corresponding to x-directional motion; zx ˆ cx =2…m…kx ‡ Km ††1=2
zy damping factor corresponding to y-directional motion; zy ˆ cy =2…m…ky ‡ Km ††1=2

asymmetric rotor-dynamic systems include turbogenerators, two-bladed propellers, helicopter

rotors and two-pole generators. Rotor shafts of these mechanical systems usually have
asymmetric cross-sectional properties and further, the support systems such as the bearing
system of a turbomachine are characterized by the sti€ness asymmetry between horizontal and
vertical directions. Even in the case of circular prismatic rotor shafts, the appearance and
growth of fatigue cracks during operation lead to a similar situation mentioned above.
The e€ects of shaft asymmetry on both the eigensolution arising from the homogeneous case
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 739

and the stability character of the ensuing motion of a rotor supported on isotropic bearings
have been paid particular attention by Yamamoto and Ota [27,28]. Brosens and Crandall [7]
and Arday®o and Frohrib [2] considered in detail, the steady-state oscillations arising due to
the mass unbalance forces. One of the important vibration characteristics of an asymmetric
rotor system is that the vibration vector locus in the neighbourhood of a critical speed
(generally known as modal circle) forms an ellipse, and this has been indicated ®rst by
Parkinson [24]. Also, the work by Parkinson [24] provided the observation that the amplitude
and phase of vibration response are severely a€ected by the location of mass unbalance, thus
demanding a complex balancing scheme. Another important phenomenon of asymmetric rotor
systems is the double frequency vibrations that occur when the rotor rotational speed is equal
to 0.5 times the critical speed, and this has been a prime concern in the study by Iwatsubo and
Nakamura [14]. A suitable method of steady-state analysis to such a case was developed by
Bishop and Parkinson [4].
The instability of the steady-state response of asymmetric rotor shafts has been considered in
the works of Crandall and Brosens [8] and Ota and Kono [23]. The in¯uence of bearing
anisotropy on the stability of the rotor-bearing system has been quanti®ed by Gunter and
Trumpler [12], Black [6] and Ehrich [9]. The instability of the steady-state response of
asymmetric rotors operating in non-isotropic bearings has been studied by Arnold and Haft
[3], Messal and Bronthon [18], Lund [17], Adams [1], Murphy and Vance [19] and Rao [26].
Okijima and Kondo [21,22], Black [5] and Iwatsubo et al. [15] indicated that the steady-state
oscillations of asymmetric rotors at resonance conditions can be unstable. Additional
investigations on the peculiarities of vibration response have been conducted by Yamamoto
and Ota [28,29], Parszewski et al. [25], Inoue and Matsukura [13], Genta [11] and Ehrich [10].
However, the instability of vibrations that occur as a result of varying the speed of the
rotor-dynamic system has not so far been investigated. It is not uncommon in industrial
practice to encounter the operation of a rotor beyond its critical speed. It is well known that
rotational devices such as turbo-compressors, feed pumps, textile machinery spindles, etc. have
their operational speeds well above the critical frequency. When the rotor system is operated
beyond its critical speed, at the start-up or shut-down of the system the rotor is passed through
resonance. This resonance is manifest by the appearance of extended amplitudes of oscillations
of the rotor system. Asymmetric rotors do exhibit a complex behavior during resonances and
so a stability analysis of near-resonance oscillations becomes essential to ensure safer
operation. Further, the information regarding the vibrational behavior of asymmetric rotor
systems at primary resonance is required as an input data in parametric identi®cation methods
such as resonance testing and in diagnostic systems of rotating machinery that ensure early
detection of incipient failures, fatigue failures, etc. Such an analytical investigation of
asymmetric rotors is the prime concern of the present paper.

2. Equations of motion

The mathematical model of the asymmetric rotor-dynamic system that has been previously
employed in the past investigations like that of Inoue and Matsukura [13] is considered in the
present work and is shown in Fig. 1. As can be seen from the ®gure, it consists of a massless
740 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

Fig. 1. Asymmetric rotor-dynamic system.

horizontal shaft, a disk and a ¯exible bearing. The horizontal shaft is prismatic and the
sti€nesses in two principal directions are di€erent. The disk and the bearing are attached at the
center of the shaft, and further, the sti€nesses of the bearing in horizontal and vertical
directions are di€erent. The mass of the disk is denoted by m. The sti€nesses of the ¯exible
bearing in horizontal and vertical directions are denoted by kx and ky , respectively. The
magnitude of damping of the ¯exible bearing in the x- and y-directions are taken to be cx and
cy , respectively. The shaft is of uniform cross-section along its longitudinal axis and the two
di€erent sti€nesses along its two principal directions x and Z are designated as Kx and KZ ,
respectively. In Fig. 1, the xyz triad is the stationary coordinate system such that the z-axis
coincides with the unde¯ected horizontal shaft, x-axis is vertically downwards and y-axis is
horizontal to the right; xZz is the rotating coordinate system such that the x- and Z-axes are
parallel to the principal axes of the shaft cross-section. As has been done in the past
investigations, the cross-coupled characteristics of the bearing in horizontal and vertical
directions are ignored.
The equations of motion that represent the dynamic behavior of the above rotor system are
given by the following di€erential equations in the stationary coordinate system xyz [13]:
ÿ

R x ‡ 2zx ox R_ x ‡ o2x Rx ˆ ÿm o2m Rx cos 2Ot ‡ Ry sin 2Ot ‡ g ‡ a O2 cos…Ot ‡ b† …1†

ÿ

R y ‡ 2zy oy R_ y ‡ o2y Ry ˆ ÿm o2m Rx sin 2Ot ÿ Ry cos 2Ot ‡ a O2 sin…Ot ‡ b† …2†
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 741

where Rx and Ry are the x- and y-directional displacement components, zx and zy are the
damping factors such that
cx cy Kx ‡ KZ
zx ˆ p ; zy ˆ q
ÿ
 ; Km ˆ
2 m…kx ‡ Km † 2 m k y ‡ Km 2

m is the asymmetry factor of the shaft, given by

Kx ÿ KZ
m ˆ
Kx ‡ KZ

and ox , oy and om are the natural frequencies of the shaft given by

r r r
k x ‡ Km ky ‡ Km Km
ox ˆ ; oy ˆ ; om ˆ
m m m
It may be noted that Km and om in the above equations are the mean sti€ness and the mean
natural frequency of the rotor shaft. Further, the rotational speed of the shaft is denoted as O,
g is the gravitational acceleration, a is the disk mass eccentricity from z-axis and b is the
phase angle of the disk eccentricity from the x-axis.

3. Vibrations due to speed variation

The equations of motion are rearranged into the following form and also a perturbation
parameter is introduced:

R x ‡ 2ezx ox R_ x ‡ o2x Rx
  ÿ

ˆ ÿmeo2m Rx cos 2O…et†t ‡ Ry sin 2O…et†t ‡ eg ‡ eaO2 …et† cos O…et†t ‡ b …3†

R y ‡ 2ezy oy R_ y ‡ o2y Ry
  ÿ

ˆ ÿmeo2m Rx sin 2O…et†t ÿ Ry cos 2O…et†t ‡ eaO2 …et† sin O…et†t ‡ b …4†

wherein the following substitutions have been made:

zx ˆ eÿ1 zx ; zy ˆ eÿ1 zy ; m ˆ eÿ1 m ; g ˆ eÿ1 g; a ˆ eÿ1 a

O…et†t ˆ ox t ‡ n1 …et† ˆ oy t ‡ n2 …et†

The perturbation parameter e, 0ReR1, has been introduced so that the method of multiple
scales can now be employed to obtain the response. As can be seen from Eqs. (3) and (4), these
two equations describe the vibratory motions of the asymmetric rotor-bearing system when the
value of O is near ox and oy , and when O is slowly-varying. A new set of independent
742 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

variables is now introduced into the equations of motion so that the method of multiple scales
[20] can be employed.
Tn ˆ en t, n ˆ 0, 1, 2, . . . …5†

so that the time derivatives are rewritten as

d
ˆ D0 ‡ eD1 ‡ e2 D2 ‡


…6†
dt

d2 ÿ

2
ˆ D20 ‡ 2eD0 D1 ‡ e2 2D0 D2 ‡ D21 ‡


…7†
dt

@
Dn ˆ …8†
@Tn
In what follows, ®rst the solution for Rx …t, e† is determined. Since the solution for Ry …t, e† can
then be determined following the same steps, the solution procedure is not repeated. Only the
®nal equation is given. For Rx …t, e†, a uniform expansion follows:
Rx …t, e † ˆ Rx0 …T0 , T1 , T2 , . . . † ‡ eRx1 …T0 , T1 , T2 , . . . † ‡


…9†

The ®rst-order uniform solution for Rx …t, e† is sought. Substitution of Eqs. (5)±(9) into Eq. (3)
yields, after equating coecients of like power of e, a set of di€erential equations as follows:

D20 Rx0 ‡ o2x Rx0 ˆ 0 …10†


D20 Rx1 ‡ o2x Rx1 ˆ ÿ2D0 D1 Rx0 ÿ 2zx ox D0 Rx0 ÿ mo2m Rx0 cos 2O…T1 †T0


‡ Ry0 sin 2O…T1 ŠT0 ‡ g ‡ aO2 …T1 †cos…O…T1 †T0 ‡ b† …11†

Eq. (10) is solved to yield the following response:

Rx0 ˆ Ax0 exp…iox T0 † ‡ A x0 exp… ÿ iox T0 † …12†

where Ax0 is an unknown arbitrary but small solution amplitude, and further, overbar indicates
the complex conjugate. Substitution of Eq. (12) into Eq. (11) yields,
ÿ

D20 Rx1 ‡ o2x Rx1 ˆ ÿ2iox Ax0
0
exp…iox T0 † ÿ 2izx o2x Ax0 exp…iox T0 † ÿ mo2m =2
h ÿ
ÿ
i
 Ax0 exp 3iox T0 ‡ 2in10 T1 ‡ A x0 exp iox T0 ‡ 2in10 T1
ÿ
h ÿ
ÿ
i
ÿ mo2m =2i Ay0 exp 3ioy T0 ‡ 2in20 T1 ‡ A y0 exp ioy T0 ‡ 2in20 T1
ÿ
2 ÿ

‡ …a=2† ox ‡ en10 exp i ox T0 ‡ n10 T1 ‡ b ‡ cc ‡ g …13†
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 743

where cc indicates the complex conjugate part, prime denotes di€erentiation with respect to the
scaled time variable T1, and further
ox ‡ en10 ˆ O …14†

with n10 being the detuning parameter that characterizes the nearness of the system to primary
resonance.
On setting the so-called secular terms [20] to zero, Eq. (13) yields a ®rst-order di€erential
equations as,
ÿ 0
ÿ
2 ÿ

ÿ2iox Ax0 ‡ zx ox Ax0 ‡ …a=2† ox ‡ en10 exp in10 T1 ‡ ib
ÿ
ÿ

ˆ mo2m =2 A x0 exp 2in10 T1 : …15†

Writing Ax0 in polar form as

1
Ax0 ˆ ax0 exp…iZx † …16†
2
where ax0 and Zx are real, from Eq. (15) the following solution is obtained:

0 aO2 ÿ 0
ax0 mo2m ÿ 0

ax0 ˆ ÿzx ox ax0 ‡ sin n1 T1 ‡ b ÿ Zx ÿ sin 2n1 T1 ÿ 2Zx …17†
2ox 4ox

1 aO2 ÿ
mo2m ÿ 0

Zx0 ˆ ÿ cos n10 T1 ‡ b ÿ Zx ‡ cos 2n1 T1 ÿ 2Zx …18†
2 ox ax0 4ox
A similar analysis provides the following equations for y-directional motion:

0 aO2 ÿ 0
ay0 mo2m ÿ 0

ay0 ˆ ÿzy oy ay0 ÿ cos n2 T1 ‡ b ÿ Zy ‡ sin 2n2 T1 ÿ 2Zy …19†
2oy 4oy

1 aO2 mo2m ÿ 0

Zy0 ˆ ÿ sinn20 T1 ‡ b ÿ Zy ÿ cos 2n2 T1 ÿ 2Zy …20†
2 oy ay0 4oy

Eqs. (17)±(20) are the desired equations that describe the time evolution of the amplitude and
phase of the vibrations. A new set of variables are introduced according to
g1 ˆ n10 T1 ÿ Zx ‡ b …21†

g2 ˆ n20 T1 ÿ Zy ‡ b …22†

As a result, from Eqs. (17)±(20), the autonomous systems are formed as

0 aO2 ax0 mo2m ÿ

ax0 ˆ ÿzx ox ax0 ‡ sin g1 ÿ sin 2 g1 ÿ b …23†
2ox 4ox
744 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

1 aO2 mo2m ÿ

g10 ˆ cos g1 ‡ n10 ÿ cos 2 g1 ÿ b …24†
2 ox ax0 4ox

0 aO2 ay0 mo2m ÿ

ay0 ˆ ÿzy oy ay0 ÿ cos g2 ‡ sin 2 g2 ÿ b …25†
2oy 4oy

1 aO2 mo2m ÿ

g20 ˆ sin g2 ‡ n20 ‡ cos 2 g2 ÿ b …26†
2 oy ay0 4oy
0 0
Stationary motions are now deduced from Eqs. (23)±(26) by letting ax0 ˆ ay0 ˆ g10 ˆ g20 ˆ 0; n10 ˆ s1
0
and n2 ˆ s2 as follows. For x-directional motion one gets,

aO2 ax0 mo2m ÿ

zx ox ax0 ˆ sin g1 ÿ sin 2 g1 ÿ b …27†
2ox 4ox

aO2 mo2m ÿ

s1 ˆ ÿ cos g1 ‡ cos 2 g1 ÿ b …28†
2ox ax0 4ox
and for y-directional motion,

aO2 ay0 mo2m ÿ

zy oy ay0 ˆ ÿ cos g2 ‡ sin 2 g2 ÿ b …29†
2oy 4oy

aO2 mo2m ÿ

s2 ˆ ÿ sin g2 ÿ cos 2 g2 ÿ b …30†
2oy ay0 4oy

Eqs. (27)±(30) are combined to yield the algebraic expressions for response amplitudes:
"  2 2 # !2
2 ÿ
2 ÿ
2
mo s 1 mo z mo aO
z2x o2x ‡ s21 ‡ m
ÿ m
cos 2 g1 ÿ b ‡ x m sin 2 g1 ÿ b a2x0 ˆ …31†
4ox 2ox 2 2ox

8" #2 " #2 9 !2
< =
mo2m ÿ
mo2m ÿ
aO2
zy oy ÿ sin 2 g2 ÿ b ‡ s2 ‡ cos 2 g2 ÿ b a2 ˆ …32†
: 4oy 4oy ; y0 2oy

Eqs. (31) and (32) are the ``frequency-response equations''. As a result, the solutions Rx and Ry
are given by
ÿ

Rx ˆ ax0 cos ox t ‡ es1 t ÿ g1 ‡ b ‡ O…e† …33†

ÿ

Ry ˆ ay0 cos oy t ‡ es2 t ÿ g2 ‡ b ‡ O…e† …34†

where ax0 , ay0 , Zx and Zy are described through the modulating functions.
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 745

4. Instability of near-resonance response

Eqs. (31) and (32) are ®rst re-arranged in the following form:
8" #2  91=2
< 2
2 =
aO 2
mom ÿ
mo2 ÿ

s1 ˆ 2: ÿ zx ox ‡ sin 2 g1 ÿ b ; ‡ m cos 2 g1 ÿ b …35†
2ox ax0 4ox 4ox

8 !2 " #2 9 1=2
< 2 2 ÿ
= ÿ

aO mom mo2
s2 ˆ 2 ÿ zy oy ÿ sin 2 g2 ÿ b ÿ m cos 2 g2 ÿ b …36†
: 2oy ay0 4oy ; 4oy

For the trivial solution of the stationary motion, i.e., when ax0 ˆ ay0 ˆ 0, Eqs. (33) and (34)
indicate that the stationary trivial solution is stable for all ®nite values of detuning parameters.
Now, the stability of vibratory response is analyzed. To this end, the amplitude and phase of
the motion are decomposed into two parts as follows:

ax0 ˆ 0 ax0 ‡ 1 ax0 …37†

ay0 ˆ 0 ay0 ‡ 1 ay0 …38†

g1 ˆ 0 g1 ‡ 1 g1 …39†

g2 ˆ 0 g2 ‡ 1 g2 …40†

wherein each term is split into a mean term and a perturbing term, and 1 ax0 , 1 ay0 , 1 g1 and 1 g2
are ``small'' perturbations. Substitution of Eqs. (37)±(40) into Eqs. (23)±(26) yields, after
expanding the resulting equations for ``small'' perturbations and noting that the mean
components satisfy the stationary solutions represented by Eqs. (27)±(30),
!
2 ÿ
mo2m
0 aO mo2m
ÿ1 ax0 ˆ zx ox
1 ax0 ÿ cos0 g1 1 g1 ‡
0 ax0
1 g1 cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b ‡
2ox 2ox 4ox
ÿ


1 ax0 sin 2 0 g1 ÿ b …41†

! " #
aO2 aO2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ1 g10 ˆ sin 0 g1 1 g1 ‡ 2
cos 0 g1 ÿ cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b 1 ax0
20 ax0 ox 20 ax0 ox 40 ax0 ox

mo2m  ÿ
ÿ

‡ 1 ax0 cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b ÿ 21 g1 0 ax0 sin 2 0 g1 ÿ b …42†
40 ax0 ox
746 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752
" #
0 aO2 mo2m ÿ
mo2m
ÿ1 ay0 ˆ zy oy
1 ay0 ÿ sin 0 g2 1 g2 ÿ
0 ay0
1 g2 cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ
2oy 2oy 4oy
ÿ


1 ay0 sin 2 0 g2 ÿ b …43†

" # " #
aO2 aO2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ1 g20 ˆÿ cos 0 g2 g2 ‡ 2
sin 0 g2 ‡ cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b 1 ay0
20 ay0 oy 20 ay0 oy 40 ay0 oy
1

mo2m  ÿ
ÿ

ÿ 1 ay0 cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ 21 g2 0 ay0 sin 2 0 g2 ÿ b …44†
40 ay0 oy

The eigenvalues of the coecient matrix formed using the right-hand side of Eqs. (41) and (42)
decide the stability of x-directional motion and a similar argument applies for ay0 also. As a
result, stability of solution ax0 is governed by the condition given as:
  2 
 mo 2 ÿ
aO 2
mo ÿ

 m m 
 ÿzx ox ÿ sin 2 0 g1 ÿ b ÿ lx0 cos 0 g1 ÿ a
0 x0 cos 2 g
0 1 ÿ b 
 4ox 2ox 2ox 
 ˆ0 …45†
 2 ÿ
2 ÿ
2 
 s1 mom mom aO 
 sin 0 g1 ÿ lx0 
 0 ax0 ÿ 4ox 0 ax0 cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b 2ox
sin 2 0 g1 ÿ b ÿ
2ox 0 ax0

The algebraic equation that de®nes the eigenvalues lx0 is obtained from the above expression
as
" #
2
aO mo 2 ÿ
s1 aO2
l2x0 ‡ lx0 sin0 g1 ÿ m
sin 2 0 g1 ÿ b ‡ zx ox ÿ cos 0 g1
20 ax0 ox 4ox 20 ax0 ox
 2
1 mo2m ÿ
s1 mo2m ÿ
aO2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ cos2 2 0 g1 ÿ b ‡ cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b ‡ 2
cos 0 g1 cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b
2 2ox 2ox 80 ax0 ox
ˆ0 …46†

A similar analysis yields the following algebraic eigenvalue equation for ay0 :
" #
2 aO2 mo2m ÿ
s2 aO2
ly0 ÿ ly0 cos 0 g2 ÿ sin 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ zy oy ÿ sin2 g
20 ay0 oy 4oy 20 ay0 oy 0 2
!2
1 mo2m ÿ
s2 mo2m ÿ
aO2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ cos2 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ 2
sin0 g2 cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b
2 2oy 2oy 80 ay0 oy

ˆ0 …47†

These two equations now de®ne the stability domain through their corresponding roots lx0 or
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 747

ly0 : The nature of the roots of these equations indicates the stability of the rotor system. From
Eq. (46), it can be shown that when the following inequality condition is satis®ed the roots lx0
are real and it corresponds to the unstable motions, since it results in one positive real root.
 2
s1 aO2 1 mo2m ÿ
s1 mo2m ÿ

ÿ cos 0 g1 ÿ cos2 2 0 g1 ÿ b ‡ cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b
20 ax0 ox 2 2ox 2ox

aO2 mo2m ÿ

‡ 2
cos 0 g1 cos 2 0 g1 ÿ b
80 ax0 ox
0 …48†

For any set of system parameters such as mass unbalance, sti€ness, rotor rotational speed, etc.,
if the above condition is satis®ed, the motion is unstable. A similar analysis shows that
oscillatory motions Ry0 are unstable when,
!2
s2 aO2 1 mo2m ÿ
s2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ sin 0 g2 ÿ cos2 2 0 g2 ÿ b ÿ cos 2 0 g2 ÿ b
20 ay0 oy 2 2oy 2oy

aO2 mo2m ÿ

ÿ sin0 g 2 cos 2 0 g 2 ÿ b
80 ay0 o2y

0 …49†

As can be observed from Eqs. (48) and (49), the bearing asymmetry leads to unstable
vibrations near resonance when the rotor rotational speed is greater than the natural
frequencies of the rotor corresponding to x- and y-directional motions, i.e. before the
resonance is passed. The l.h.s. of Eqs. (48) and (49) are essentially the ``stability indicators'' of
x- and y-directional motions, respectively.
As can be seen from these equations, the x-directional motion is stable for the larger part of
the frequency sweep through resonance. The combined e€ects of both nearness to resonance
and asymmetry of the rotor-bearing system, as represented by the third term of Eq. (48), tend
to stabilize the x-directional motion (as can be seen from the positive sign). Similarly, the x-
directional motion is also stabilized by the combined e€ects of both mass unbalance and
asymmetry of the rotor-bearing system, as represented by the fourth term of the above
equation. But, the same combined e€ects tend to de-stabilize the y-directional motion, as can
be seen from Eq. (49), along with the combined e€ects of both mass unbalance forces and
nearness to resonance, and the e€ect of asymmetry of the rotor-bearing system. Hence, the x-
directional motion is more stable for a larger part of the frequency sweep, while passing
through resonance.
From the above analytical study, the following motion characteristics are also observed:
1. The amplitudes of the resonant response in x- and y-directions are considerably a€ected by
the location of the mass unbalance, thus requiring a balancing process which is more
complex.
748 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

2. The presence of bearing and shaft asymmetries considerably a€ects the stability
characteristics of resonant oscillations.
3. Near the primary resonance, the sensitivity of x- and y-directional unbalance responses to
both the bearing as well as shaft asymmetries is quite severe.
4. No monotonically-increasing or decreasing trend is observed with respect to the amplitudes
of unbalance response, when the bearing or shaft asymmetries are changed.
5. The steady-state behavior of the rotor-dynamic system near resonance is markedly di€erent
from the motion characteristics that correspond to the excitation frequencies which are far
away from resonant frequencies.
6. Increasing shaft asymmetry seems to help to stabilize the rotor system during run-up or run-
down operations.

5. Numerical results

A rotor system that has been previously used for numerical study in the work of Lalanne
and Ferraris [16] is employed in the present work. It consists of a disk with an inner radius
0.01 m and outer radius 0.15 m. The thickness of the disk is 0.03 m and the material density is

Fig. 2. E€ects of bearing sti€ness kx on the stability of the rotor at resonance.

 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 749

7800 kg/m3. The mass unbalance is located at a radial distance of 0.15 m. The shaft is made
up of a material whose Young's modulus is 2  1011 N/m2. The shaft sti€nesses in x-and Z-
directions are 1.57  106 and 1.195  106 N/m, respectively. The sti€nesses of the ¯exible
bearing in x- and y-directions are 5  105 and 5.1  105 N/m, respectively. The damping
constants cx and cy of the ¯exible bearing in x- and y-directions are 7500 and 3000 N/m/s,
respectively. Further, the values of b and e have been taken to be 0 and 1, respectively.
The e€ects of bearing and shaft asymmetries on the stability of the rotor-dynamic system are
now considered. The l.h.s. of Eqs. (48) and (49) indicate whether the system is stable or not
and so are taken to be the ``Stability Indicator'' of the corresponding response. In Figs. 2 and
3, the values of the stability indicators corresponding to x- and y-directional resonant
responses …s1 ˆ 0† when the bearing asymmetry is increased by increasing the values of kx and
ky , are shown. In both the cases, the x-directional motion of the system becomes unstable due
to bearing asymmetry. As far as the y-directional motion is considered, for certain values of ky
the system becomes stable. Further, the e€ect of bearing asymmetry on the y-directional
response is seen to be quite severe. The stability of the system is also a€ected when the shaft
asymmetry is increased by increasing either Kx or KZ : The corresponding values of the stability
indicators are given in Figs. 4 and 5. An increase in the shaft sti€ness KZ stabilizes the system
and in both the cases the stability of x-directional motion is severely a€ected by the shaft
asymmetry. A proper combination of shaft and bearing asymmetries can help stabilize the
rotor-dynamic system at resonance.

Fig. 3. E€ects of bearing sti€ness ky on the stability of the rotor at resonance.

750 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752

Fig. 4. E€ects of shaft sti€ness Kx on the stability of the rotor at resonance.

6. Conclusions

The stability of damped vibrations of an asymmetric rotor supported on asymmetric

bearings, is analyzed using the many-variable version of the multiple scales method. Particular
attention has been paid to the motion characteristics of the rotor while passing through the
primary resonance and the modulating functions for response amplitude and phase are
obtained in an explicit form. The stability analysis is performed based on the time evolution of
the amplitude and phase of the periodic motion and algebraic equations that de®ne that the
stability domains of the rotor-dynamic system are obtained in terms of both the detuning and
system parameters. A numerical study regarding the impacts of both the bearing as well as
shaft asymmetries on the vibrational behavior and stability of the rotor is also presented. The
e€ects of bearing and shaft asymmetries on the vibrational and stability characteristics are seen
to be quite complex when the excitation frequency is close to the system natural frequencies.
Even without the presence of damping, the vibrational amplitudes can be limited to ®nite
values at resonance conditions, by shaft-bearing asymmetry.
The presence of bearing and shaft asymmetries is observed to considerably a€ect the stability
of resonant oscillations and a proper combination of bearing and shaft asymmetries is,
however, seen to help stabilize the unbalance response of the rotor during start-up or shut-
down operations. Further, the vibration amplitudes and phases have been shown to be time-
dependent and so, the amplitude-modulated and phase-modulated vibrations are seen to occur
during run-up and run-down operations. All these new observations have been systematically
 R. Ganesan / Mechanism and Machine Theory 35 (2000) 737±752 751

Fig. 5. E€ects of shaft sti€ness KZ on the stability of the rotor at resonance.

brought out in the present paper. Expressions for amplitude and phase modulations that are
derived in the present paper can be directly employed to study the e€ects of acceleration or
deceleration through resonance wherein the excitation frequency is time-dependent. The
analytical solutions that are obtained in the present work are thus useful in devising suitable
rotor balancing procedures and developing safer designs of industrial rotor-dynamic systems.

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