Instability Boundary for

Rotor-Hydrodynamic Bearing
Zenglin Guo
Post-Doctorate
R. Gordon Kirk
Professor
e-mail: gokirk@vt.edu
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University,
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Systems, Part 2: Rotor With
External Flexible Damped Support
A rotor-hydrodynamic bearing system having external flexible damped bearing supports is
more complicated than that discussed in Part 1 but it can provide a means to improve the
stability of the rotor system. A model for both vertical and horizontal analysis is devel-
oped first. Then, the analytical study on the vertical rotor is conducted. The results show
that there can be up to four threshold speeds in this configuration that form a consecutive
regional pattern, taking turns by stable or unstable regions. Furthermore, the numerical
calculation by MATLAB is carried out to obtain the results for the horizontal system. The
stability maps for various parametric configurations are presented. It has been shown that
the value of support damping has a strong effect on the first several lower threshold
speeds. But it has little effect on the last top threshold speed which is mainly determined
by the portion of journal mass. Within a certain range of external damping value, the first
several regions of instability can be reduced or eradicated. As far as the entire stability
map is concerned, there is an optimum range of support damping that can make the rotor
have only one top threshold speed over the entire running speed range. When the support
stiffness is increased, the system stability map becomes narrow which means a small
support stiffness is good for broadening the range of optimum external damping.
关DOI: 10.1115/1.1547467兴

1 Introduction 2 Vertical Rotor Analysis

In addition to the external rotor damping, the external flexible
damped support is another alternative method to supply the exter-
nal damping for rotor-hydrodynamic bearing systems. Further-
more, this kind of configuration has more design options to select
appropriate parameters. It has been recognized that the external
flexible damped support could effectively improve the dynamic
characteristics of rotor such as unbalance response, transmitted
forces and also the stability of system.
In this paper, the study will be focused on the effect of the
external flexible damped supports on all of the instability bound-
aries of the rotor-hydrodynamic bearing-support system.
A symmetrical rotor supported by two hydrodynamic journal
bearings in external flexible damped supports is shown in Fig. 1.
The dynamic characteristics of the bearing are expressed with four
stiffness and four damping coefficients. The effect of the external
flexible damped support can be designated in terms of its equiva-
lent mass, stiffness and damping. For the sake of simplicity, the
discussion for both vertical and horizontal configurations will em-
ploy the same schematic diagram as shown in Fig. 1.
2.1 Governing Equations. The equations of motion for this
system can be expressed as follows:

mẍ d ⫹k 共 x d ⫺x j 兲 ⫽0

冧
mÿ d ⫹k 共 y d ⫺y j 兲 ⫽0
m j ẍ j ⫹c xx 共 ẋ j ⫺ẋ s 兲 ⫹c xy 共 ẏ j ⫺ẏ s 兲 ⫹k xx 共 x j ⫺x s 兲 ⫹k xy 共 y j ⫺y s 兲 ⫺k 共 x d ⫺x j 兲 ⫽0
(1)
m j ÿ j ⫹c yx 共 ẋ j ⫺x s 兲 ⫹c y y 共 ẏ j ⫺ẏ s 兲 ⫹k yx 共 ẏ j ⫺ẏ s 兲 ⫹k y y 共 y j ⫺y s 兲 ⫺k 共 y d ⫺y j 兲 ⫽0
m s ẍ s ⫹c s ẋ s ⫹k s x s ⫺c xx 共 ẋ j ⫺ẋ s 兲 ⫺c xy 共 ẏ j ⫺ẏ s 兲 ⫺k xx 共 x j ⫺x s 兲 ⫺k xy 共 y j ⫺y s 兲 ⫽0
m s ÿ s ⫹c s ẏ s ⫹k s y s ⫺c yx 共 ẋ j ⫺ẋ s 兲 ⫺c y y 共 ẏ j ⫺ẏ s 兲 ⫺k yx 共 x j ⫺x s 兲 ⫺k y y 共 y j ⫺y s 兲 ⫽0

k xx ⫽k y y ⫽0

冎
For a short oil film bearing in the vertically assembled rotor
system, if the concentric situation is considered 共eccentricity ratio ⫺k xy ⫽k yx ⫽k b ⬎0
of bearing is zero兲, the coefficients of stiffness and damping of oil (2)
c xx ⫽c y y ⫽c b ⬎0
film can be expressed as c xy ⫽c yx ⫽0
Express the displacements in complex form as follows

Contributed by the Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound for publication

in the Jørgen Lund Special Issue of the JOURNAL OF VIBRATION AND ACOUSTICS.
Manuscript received October 2002. Associate Editor: G. T. Flowers.
Z d ⫽x d ⫹iy d
Z j ⫽x j ⫹iy j
Z s ⫽x s ⫹iy s
冎 (3)

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 Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of rotor system with external flexible damped support

Hence, the vertical system equations of motion can be obtained ⌳ 2 关 1⫹ 共 ⌳ 2 ⫹1 兲 M j 兴共 iK̄ b ⫹C̄ b ⌳ 兲 ⫹ 共 M s ⌳ 2 ⫹C s ⌳⫹K s 兲关共 ⌳ 2 ⫹1 兲
in complex form as follows

冎
⫻共 M j ⌳ 2 ⫹C̄ b ⌳⫹iK̄ b 兲 ⫹⌳ 2 兴 ⫽0 (5)
mZ̈ d ⫹k 共 Z d ⫺Z j 兲 ⫽0
m j Z̈ j ⫹c b 共 Ż j ⫺Ż s 兲 ⫹ik b 共 Z j ⫺Z s 兲 ⫺k 共 Z d ⫺Z j 兲 ⫽0 (4) Assume
m s Z̈ s ⫹c s Ż s ⫹k s Z s ⫺c b 共 Ż j ⫺Ż s 兲 ⫺ik b 共 Z j ⫺Z s 兲 ⫽0 ⌳⫽iV st (6)
2.2 Threshold Speeds. From Eq. 共4兲, the dimensionless Then, the real and imaginary parts of above equation should be
characteristic equation of the system can be obtained as follows equal to zero, respectively,

Re⫽C s 共 1⫺V st 2
兲共 C̄ b V st ⫹K̄ b 兲 ⫹ 共 K s ⫺M s V st
2
兲关共 1⫺V st
2
兲 M j ⫹1 兴 V st ⫽0
Im⫽ 共 C̄ b V st ⫹K̄ b 兲关共 1⫺V st 兲 M j ⫹1 兴 V st ⫺ 共 1⫺V st 兲共 K s ⫺M s V st
2 2 2 2
兲共 C̄ b V st ⫹K̄ b 兲 ⫹C s 关共 1⫺V st
2
兲 M j ⫹1 兴 V st
3
⫽0 冎 (7)

It seems difficult to solve these equations due to their high order. However, if considering a special situation where M s ⫽K s ⫽0, the
threshold speed and whirling frequency can be obtained as follows,

再 冎
冦
共 K s ⫺M s V st
2
兲关共 1⫺V st
2
兲 M j ⫹1 兴 Cb
⫹ V 共 i⫽1,3,4 兲
2
FK b C s 共 1⫺V st 兲 K b st
⍀ 共sti 兲 ⫽ (8)
共 C s ⫹FC b 兲
V st 共 i⫽2 兲
FK b

冦
2M s2 ⫹M s ⫹M s M j ⫺C s2 ⫺ 冑共 2M s2 ⫹M s ⫹M s M j ⫺C s2 兲 2 ⫺4M s2 共 M s2 ⫹M j M j 兲
共 i⫽1 兲
2 共 M s2 ⫹M s M j 兲
1 共 i⫽2 兲
2共 i 兲
V st ⫽ 2M s2 ⫹M s ⫹M s M j ⫺C s2 ⫹ 冑 共 2M s2 ⫹M s ⫹M s M j ⫺C s2 兲 2 ⫺4M s2 共 M s2 ⫹M j M j 兲 (9)
共 i⫽3 兲
2 共 M s2 ⫹M s M j 兲
1
1⫹ 共 i⫽4 兲
Mj

Although this is only a special case, it can still provide useful Mq̈⫹Cq̇⫹Kq⫽0 (10)
information. For this kind of rotor system, there may be up to four
threshold speeds in normal situations. In addition, from the fourth
threshold speed expression when M s ⫽K s ⫽0 and having small where
values, it is obvious to see that the external damping will have
little effect on it, which is very similar as the situation discussed in

冤 冥
Part 1. The last top threshold speed is mainly influenced by the 1
ratio of journal mass to disk mass. 1
Mj
M⫽
3 Numerical Study of Horizontal System M
Ms
3.1 Calculation Method. For such a system, its metrical
equation of motion can be expressed as follows Ms

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 Fig. 2 System damping vs. speed of vertical system Fig. 3 System damping vs. speed of horizontal system

冤 冥
0 tion of journal mass. Within a certain range of support damping
value, the first several regions of instability can be reduced or
0
eradicated.
C̄ xx C̄ xy ⫺C̄ xx ⫺C̄ xy Another system stability map when k s /k⫽1.0 is presented in
C⫽ Fig. 5. It is easy to see that when the external stiffness is in-
C̄ yx C̄ y y ⫺C̄ yx ⫺C̄ y y creased, the system stability map become narrow which means a
⫺C̄ xx ⫺C̄ xy C s ⫹C̄ xx C̄ xy small external stiffness is good for broadening the range of opti-
mum external damping.
⫺C̄ yx ⫺C̄ y y C̄ yx C s ⫹C̄ y y

冤 冥
1 ⫺1
1 ⫺1
⫺1 1⫹K̄ xx K̄ xy ⫺K̄ xx ⫺K̄ xy
K⫽
⫺1 K̄ yx 1⫹K̄ y y ⫺K̄ yx ⫺K̄ y y
⫺K̄ xx ⫺K̄ xy K s ⫹K̄ xx K̄ xy

冋册
⫺K̄ yx ⫺K̄ y y K̄ yx K s ⫹K̄ y y
xd
yd
xj
q⫽
yj
xs
ys
The eigenvalues and system damping of Eq. 共10兲 can be calcu-
lated by employing MATLAB code.
3.2 Example Calculation and Analysis. Consider a sym- Fig. 4 System stability map „ k s Õ k Ä0.1…
metrical rotor system with external flexible damped support as
shown in Fig. 1. Assume the disk mass 2m⫽50 kg 共110.2 lb兲, the
stiffness of shaft 2k⫽13.72⫻106 N/m (7.82⫻104 lbf/in), the di-
ameter of journal bearing D⫽50 mm 共1.97 in兲 with the width B
⫽30 mm 共1.18 in兲 and clearance ratio ␺ ⫽2.5⫻10⫺3 . The lubri-
cating oil is 20# Turbine and its dynamic viscosity at 50°C is ␮
⫽1.92⫻10⫺2 N•s/m2 (2.84⫻10⫺6 lbf•s/in2 ).
Figure 2 is a typical curve of system damping versus speed of
the vertical system. Figure 3 expresses a normal situation of the
horizontal system. These cases indicate that there might be as
many as four threshold speeds at most in the vertical system that
may evolve three unstable regions and two stable regions. As for
the horizontal system, there might be up to five threshold speeds
to form a regional pattern of stability including three stable and
three unstable regions.
Figure 4 is the system stability map when k s /k⫽0.1. It can be
seen that the value of external damping has a strong effect on the
first several lower threshold speeds. But it has little effect on the
last top threshold speed, which is mainly determined by the por- Fig. 5 System stability map „ k s Õ k Ä1.0…

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 From the above two system stability maps, it can be seen that as
far as the entire stability map is concerned, there is an optimum
range of value for the support damping that can make the rotor
have only one top threshold speed over the entire running speed
range.
4 Conclusions
1. Under general conditions, there are as many as four thresh-
old speeds at most in a vertical system that may evolve three
unstable regions and two stable regions. As for the horizontal
system, there might be up to five threshold speeds to form a re-
gional pattern of stability including three stable and three unstable
regions. For both, the introduction of journal mass portion would
produce a top and final boundary to the stable operation of the
rotor.
2. The value of external damping has a strong effect on the first
several lower threshold speeds. But it has little effect on the last
top threshold speed, which is mainly determined by the portion of
journal mass.
3. Within a certain range of support damping value, the first
several regions of instability can be reduced or eradicated.
4. When the external stiffness is increased, the system stability
map become narrow, which means a small external stiffness is
good for broadening the range of optimum external damping.
5. As far as the entire stability map is concerned, there is an
optimum range of value for support damping that can make the
rotor have only one top threshold speed over the entire running
speed range.
Finally, it must be recognized that the stiffness and damping
characteristics for hydrodynamic bearings are inherently nonlinear
in nature. Therefore, a further research work for this nonlinear
effect is necessary. As mentioned in the introduction of Part I, the
initial theoretical and experimental results presented by Crandall
关1兴 and Horattas et al. 关2兴 seem encouraging. This will be the
subject of a future research work.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Virginia Tech Rotor Dynamics
Lab Industrial Affiliates Group and VT Energy Management Cen-
ter for their support and interest in this research work.
Nomenclature
B ⫽ width of bearing
C ⫽ damping matrix
C b ⫽ dimensionless short bearing damping for the vertical
system, C b ⫽c b ␺ 3 /( ␮ B)
C̄ b ⫽ dimensionless short bearing damping for the vertical
system, C̄ b ⫽c b /(m ␻ n 兲
C i j ⫽ dimensionless bearing damping, C i j ⫽c i j ␺ 3 /( ␮ B)
(i, j⫽x,y)
C̄ i j ⫽ dimensionless bearing damping, C̄ i j ⫽c i j /(m ␻ n 兲
(i, j⫽x,y)
C s ⫽ dimensionless support damping, C s ⫽c s /(m ␻ n 兲
c b ⫽ short bearing damping for the vertical system
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cij ⫽ bearing damping (i, j⫽x,y)
cs ⫽ support damping
F ⫽ composite index of bearing, F⫽ ␮ B/(m ␻ n ␺ 3 兲
i ⫽ unit of imaginary, i⫽ 冑⫺1
K ⫽ stiffness matrix
Kb ⫽ dimensionless short bearing stiffness for the vertical
system, K b ⫽k b ␺ 3 /( ␮ B ␻ )
K̄ b ⫽ dimensionless short bearing stiffness for the vertical
system, K̄ b ⫽k b /k
K i j ⫽ dimensionless bearing stiffness, K i j ⫽k i j ␺ 3 /( ␮ B ␻ )
(i, j⫽x,y)
K̄ i j ⫽ dimensionless bearing stiffness, K̄ i j ⫽k i j /k (i, j⫽x,y)
K s ⫽ dimensionless support stiffness, K s ⫽k s /k
k ⫽ rotor stiffness
k b ⫽ short bearing stiffness for the vertical system
k i j ⫽ bearing stiffness (i, j⫽x,y)
k s ⫽ support stiffness
M ⫽ mass matrix
M j ⫽ dimensionless mass of journal, M j ⫽m j /m
M s ⫽ dimensionless support mass, M s ⫽m s /m
m ⫽ mass of disk
m j ⫽ mass of journal
m s ⫽ support mass
q ⫽ displacement matrix
t ⫽ time
u i ⫽ negative real part of the i-th order eigenvalue
u s ⫽ system damping, u s ⫽min兵ui其
V st ⫽ dimensionless whirling frequency at threshold speed
x d ⫽ absolute displacement of disk geometric center in
X-direction
x j ⫽ absolute displacement of journal center in X-direction
x s ⫽ absolute displacement of support mass in X-direction
y d ⫽ absolute displacement of disk geometric center in
Y-direction
y j ⫽ absolute displacement of journal center in Y-direction
y s ⫽ absolute displacement of support mass in Y-direction
Z d ⫽ absolute complex displacement of disk geometric
center
Z j ⫽ absolute complex displacement of journal center
Z s ⫽ absolute complex displacement of support mass
⌳ ⫽ dimensionless eigenvalue, ⌳⫽␭/ ␻ n
⍀ st ⫽ dimensionless threshold speed, ⍀ st ⫽ ␻ st / ␻ n
␮ ⫽ dynamic viscosity of oil
␻ ⫽ rotor speed
␻ n ⫽ natural frequency of rotor on rigid support, ␻ n
⫽ 冑k/m
␻ st ⫽ threshold speed
␺ ⫽ clearance ratio of bearing
References
关1兴 Crandall, S. H., 1996, ‘‘Velocity Linearization of the Dynamic Response of
Fluid-Film Bearings,’’ Proc. EUROMECH-2nd European Nonlinear Oscilla-
tion Conference, Prague, September 9–13.
关2兴 Horattas, G. A., Adams, M. L., and Abdel Magied, M. F. et al., 1997, ‘‘Ex-
perimental Investigation of Dynamic Nonlinearities in Rotating Machinery,’’
Proc. ASME DETC’97, Sacramento, California, September 14 –17.
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