Vibration and Force Signatures of Bent Shaft

SpectraQuest Inc.
8205 Hermitage Road
Richmond, VA 23228
(804)261-3300
www.spectraquest.com

June, 2006

Abstract: In this work, bearing vibration and reaction force signatures caused by bent
shafts were studied experimentally. The vibration and force spectrum signatures between
baseline and bent shafts (center bent and coupling end bent) under two shaft speeds, 1000
and 5000 RPMs were compared. The bearing reaction force associated with a center bent
shaft under different shaft speeds were calculated by subtracting the baseline reaction
force from the total reaction force. The experiment results indicate that for low shaft
speed (1000 RPM), the effect of bent shaft on bearing vibration can be neglected. Under
high speed (5000 RPM), a center bent shaft will increase the bearing vibration. However,
a center bent shaft will increase bearing reaction force for both low and high speeds. The
effect of a coupling end shaft on bearing vibration and reaction force is not conclusive.
Finally, the bearing reaction force is not affected by the shaft speed significantly.

1. Test Setup
The tests were carried out on a machinery fault simulatorTM (MFS) manufactured by
SpectraQuest, Inc. By using such a simulator, one can design kinds of intentionally faults
and conduct various experiments on rotating machinery diagnostics.

Three steel 5/8” shafts were tested in the experiments. One is a straight shaft which is
taken as the baseline. The other two shafts were bent intentionally. One is bent 8 mils in
the center and the other one was bent 8 mils in the end which is connected with the
motor. The shaft dimensions are presented in Fig. 1.

Figure 1. Shaft Dimensions

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Vibration as well as force signals were collected during the experiments. The bearing
housing with force transducers is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Figure 2. Bearing Housing with Force Transducers

2. Test Procedures
The experiments can be divided into two stages. In the first stage, the focus is to compare
the vibration and force spectrum signatures between baseline and bent shafts (center bent
and coupling end bent) under two shaft speeds, 1000 and 5000 RPMs.

In the second stage, the focus is to observe the bearing reaction force associated with a
center bent shaft under different shaft speeds. The shaft speed was increased from 500
RPM to 5000 RPM with 500 RPM increment and the bearing housing forces were
collected for each speed.

3. Results and Discussions

The experiment results are presented in this section with some discussions.

3.1 Baseline vs. Bent Shaft

It was observed that in general, both the bearing reaction force and bearing vibration
increase with shaft speed. However, the increase in the bearing reaction force is much
smaller than the increase in the bearing vibration. There is one order difference under
certain conditions. This difference is associated with the system dynamic stiffness.

3.1.1 Acceleration
The baseline vibration spectrums with 1000 rpm shaft speed are presented in Fig. 3. Fig.
3 (a) and (b) are the accelerations on the inboard bearing housing in the horizontal and
vertical directions respectively. The spectrum is presented in the 200 Hz frequency range.
The ‘1X’ vibration component is illustrated in Fig. 3.

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 (a) horizontal (b) vertical
Figure 3. Baseline Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration (1000rpm)

The center bent and coupling end bent shaft vibration data are displayed in Figs. 4 and 5
respectively.

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 4. Center Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration
(1000rpm)

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 (a) horizontal (b) vertical
Figure 5. Coupling End Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration
(1000rpm)

A careful inspection of Figs. 3, 4 and 5 indicates that ‘1X’ component has the highest
peak among the first several ‘1X’ harmonics. However, it is not the highest peak in the
200 Hz frequency range displayed. It seems that the bent shaft (center bent or coupling
end bent) does not change the vibration spectrum significantly under this speed.

The baseline vibration spectrums with shaft speed of 5000 rpm are presented in Fig. 6.
The spectrum is presented in the 2 KHz frequency range. Comparing Fig. 6 with Fig. 3, it
can be noticed that ‘2X’ component has higher amplitude than that of ‘1X’ in Fig. 6 than
in Fig. 3.

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 6. Baseline Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration (5000rpm)

The center bent and coupling end bent shaft vibration data are displayed in Figs. 7 and 8
respectively.

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 (a) horizontal (b) vertical
Figure 7. Center Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration
(5000rpm)

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 8. Coupling End Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Acceleration
(5000rpm)

A careful inspection of Figs. 7 and 6 indicates that the amplitude of the ‘1X’ component
has a significant increase both in the horizontal and vertical directions. They increase
three and five times respectively. While a comparison of Fig. 8 and Fig. 6 can not draw a
clean cut conclusion. In the horizontal direction, the vibration spectrum does not change
significantly. In the vertical direction, the ‘1X’ amplitude does not change too much.
However, the ‘2X’ component increases by two times.

3.1.2 Forces
The baseline inboard bearing housing force spectrums with 1000 rpm shaft speed are
presented in Fig. 9. Fig. 9 (a) and (b) are the forces on the inboard bearing housing in the
horizontal and vertical directions respectively. The spectrum is presented in the 200 Hz
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frequency range.

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 9. Baseline Inboard Bearing Housing Force (1000rpm)

The center bent and coupling end bent shaft bearing housing force data for shaft speed of
1000 rpm are displayed in Figs. 10 and 11 respectively.

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 10. Center Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Force (1000rpm)

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 (a) horizontal (b) vertical
Figure 11. Coupling End Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Force
(1000rpm)

A comparison of Fig. 10 with Fig. 9 indicates that the ‘1X’ bearing housing forces are
increasing with a center bent shaft. However, the ‘1X’ bearing housing forces are
decreasing for a coupling end bent shaft which is illustrated by Fig. 11.

The baseline inboard bearing housing force spectrums with 5000 rpm shaft speed are
presented in Fig. 12. The spectrum is presented in the 2 KHz frequency range. From Fig.
12, it can be noticed that ‘2X’ has higher amplitude than ‘1X’ in the horizontal direction,
while the contrary is true in the vertical direction.

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 12. Baseline Inboard Bearing Housing Force (5000rpm)

The center bent and coupling end bent shaft bearing housing force data for shaft speed of
5000 rpm are displayed in Figs. 13 and 14 respectively.

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 (a) horizontal (b) vertical
Figure 13. Center Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Force (5000rpm)

(a) horizontal (b) vertical

Figure 14. Coupling End Bent Shaft Inboard Bearing Housing Force
(5000rpm)

A comparison of Fig. 13 with Fig. 12 indicates that the ‘1X’ bearing housing forces are
increasing with a center bent shaft. Fig. 14 illustrates that the ‘1X’ bearing housing forces
are also increasing for a coupling end bent shaft.

3.2 Bearing Housing Force vs. Shaft Speed

The bearing housing force in the horizontal direction vs. shaft speed for the baseline shaft
is presented in Fig. 15. The three curves represent a pure shaft without any disks installed
on it, a shaft with one disk installed at the middle span of the shaft, and a shaft with a disk
as well as an unbalance screw on the disk. The RMS values of the force waveform are
calculated for each shaft speed condition.

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 Figure 15. Baseline Bearing Housing Force in Horizontal Direction

It can be noticed from Fig. 15 that the unbalanced ‘curve’ has the shape of a parabolic
curve. The force corresponds to ‘no disk’ and ‘one disk’ also increases with speed.
However, it increases only at a later time when the shaft speed is high enough.

The bearing housing force in the horizontal direction vs. shaft speed for the center bent
shaft is presented in Fig. 16. The overall trend of these three ‘curves’ is increasing with
speed. However, the biggest force increase happens for the shaft with a disk (not with a
disk as well as an unbalance screw).

Figure 16. Total Bearing Housing Force of a Center Bent Shaft in Horizontal
Direction

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To eliminate the effect of disk and unbalance screw on the bent shaft and obtain the force
associated with bent shaft, the baseline force were subtracted from the bent shaft force
and the differences are presented in Fig. 17. considering the force RMS value range of -
1.5 and 1.5, it can be argued that the force associated with center bent shaft alone is not
affected by shaft speed.

Figure 17. Bearing Housing Force Associated with a Center Bent Shaft in
Horizontal Direction

4. Summary
In this work, bearing vibration and reaction force signatures caused by bent shafts were
studied experimentally on a machinery fault simulator TM (MFS). The vibration and force
spectrum signatures between baseline and bent shafts (center bent and coupling end bent)
under two shaft speeds, 1000 and 5000 RPMs were compared. The bearing reaction force
associated with a center bent shaft under different shaft speeds were calculated by
subtracting the baseline reaction force from the total reaction force.

The experiment results indicate that for low shaft speed (1000 RPM), the effect of bent
shaft on bearing vibration can be neglected. Under high speed (5000 RPM), a center bent
shaft will increase ‘1X’ the bearing vibration. However, a center bent shaft will increase
‘1X’ bearing reaction force for both low and high speeds. The effect of a coupling end
shaft on bearing vibration and reaction force is not conclusive. Finally, the bearing
reaction force RMS value is not affected by the shaft speed significantly.

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