Rotor Dynamics

Degrees of Freedom: A simple system of a mass m and a spring of stiffness k, constrained to

move in a vertical direction, can have only one mode of free vibration or one degree of freedom.
This is completely described by the one coordinate in this case the displacement from the
equilibrium position and the associated natural frequency given by

. Similarly, a system of n masses connected by n springs constrained to move in a vertical

direction will have n degrees of freedom. The number of degrees of freedom of a mechanical
system can be defined as the number of independent coordinates that must be specified to
determine their motion completely. A stretched string has an infinite number of modes of vibration
and each mode can be specified by one independent magnitude. Take the example of the
vibration of a middle C piano wire after it has been struck. The note heard most clearly will be its
characteristic frequency of 440 cycles per second. This is the dominant vibration and the mode
associated with it the principal mode; it also performs small additional vibrations in other modes
with modes with 2,3,4,...x 440 cycles per second (see below).

Forced vibration: It occurs when periodic forces act on the system during its vibratory motion. In
forced vibration, the system will tend to vibrate at its own natural frequency as well as to follow
the frequency of the excitation force. In the presence of damping, that portion of motion not
sustained by the frequency of the excitation force will gradually die out. As a result, the system
will vibrate at the frequency of the excitation force regardless of the initial conditions or the natural
frequency of the system. That part of sustained vibration is called steady state vibration of the
system. However, when the system is encouraged to vibrate at its natural frequencies it will
respond in resonance if damping forces are small. The forcing function which will be of crucial
importance to most rotating systems is residual unbalance. The unbalance force is assumed
synchronous and harmonic in relation to the rotation of the system.
Free vibrations: are the periodic motions observed when the system is displaced from its static
equilibrium position. These motions arise from the vibrating system itself by a continual exchange
between potential and kinetic energy. The term Free Vibration is used to differentiate it from other
types of vibration such as Self-excited vibration, Forced vibrations, etc.
Half-speed whirl: It can be shown that the position taken up by the shaft centre in a journal
depends on the value of the load parameter. It can also be shown that the load carrying capacity
vanishes when a load rotating at half shaft speed is applied to the journal. Should any
disturbance to the journal cause the centre to rotate at this angular velocity, the result is an
instantaneous loss of hydrodynamic pressure. Such a condition is particularly prone to occur if
the journal supports a flexible shaft, is lightly loaded (at eccentricity ratio about 0.1), and runs at a
speed w close to twice its first critical speed wn. At a disturbance, the loci of the centre is inclined
to rotate at the natural frequency of the system wn, and if wn should coincide with w/2 then
instability is probable. For heavily loaded bearings the onset of oil whirl instability is usually at
speeds in excess of twice the first critical and for such a more quantitative explanation is needed.
(R. Holmes, " The role of oil-film bearings in promoting shaft instability and the remedial effect of
damping", Tribology International, Oct. 1980, pp243-248.)
Mechanical vibration: All mechanical systems are capable of vibration after they have been
disturbed. Any such system must possess two properties. The first is that it has mass so that it
can possess kinetic energy by virtue of its motion. The second is that it has the ability to store
energy by virtue of its elastic distortion from its position of equilibrium. The distribution of mass
and that of the stiffness between them define the principle modes and natural frequencies of the
system. Vibration in machinery, in general, is a form of waste effort and is undesirable as it
generates noise, breaks down parts, and transmits unwanted vibration to close by objects.
Mode shape: A system in Free vibration can display a number of different patterns of vibration
called modes of vibration or mode shapes. All rotors have a large number of modes in which they
prefer to vibrate independently of the supporting structure. These are the so called free-free or
unsupported bending modes of the rotor. The modal shapes of a free vibration system are closely
bound up with its frequencies; each mode of vibration is associated with a different frequency. In
practice we are mainly concerned with the modes at lower frequencies because their deflections
are more pronounced compared with those of the higher order modes. In machines, the rotor
must be supported. If the supporting bearings are rigid or infinitely stiff, the rotor can only vibrate
in a constrained way, being 'pinned' at the supporting bearings where the displacements are zero.
The rotor is said to be in a pinned-pinned bending vibration mode. The behaviour of real rotor
bearing systems is somewhere between these two extremes. The following figure shows the
influence of bearing stiffness on the first three natural frequencies of a simply mounted rotor.
When the support is very stiff in relation to the rotor, the frequency responses of the system are
those of the pinned pinned case. As the support bearing stiffness reduces, so do the natural
frequencies of the system, and there is a corresponding increase in the deflection at the bearings.
Many rotor bearing systems operate in this region. The response of the system to a further
reduction of the relative bearing stiffness to that of a free free support is seen in the right hand
column. A very rigid shaft supported on 'soft' bearings may approximate this mode of vibration.
The first and second mode shapes are completely dominated by the bearings and the rotor
behaves as a rigid beam. The third mode is, however, little affected by the support bearing
stiffness - it is governed by the flexibility of the shaft.