The Effect of Support Flexibility on the Stability of Rotors Mounted in Plain Cylindrical Journal Bearings R.G. Kirk Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, U.S.A. P. De Choudhury Elliott Corporation, U.S.A. E.J. Gunter University of Virginia, U.S.A. ABSTRACT - This analysis treats the ibility on the response characteristics cf a symmetric rotor mounted in journal bearzngs. The successful operation cf turbomachinery utilizing id-fila bearings is shown to be very dependent upon the bearing sup- ort structure for high speed aoplications. A stability analysis is dis- cussed based upon che application of both the Routh criteria and che calculation of damped eigenvalues. Results are plotted for typical rotor support properties. The analysis alsc discusses the influence of rotor balance on the stability of rotor systems, ané time transient orzits of shaft and support motions clearly indicate their dynamic behavior for both the stable and unstable operating speeds. The special case of a vertical or zero-g rotor system is discussed and transient rasponse orbits indicate that it is possible to achieve successful operation only for the case of an unbalanced rotor. The analysis of damped eigenvalues indicates three acdes of instabilicy wnen rotor flexibility is included in the equations of motion. in addition to the classical hali-frequency whirl, both support resonant whip ané resonant shaft whip are identified in an example case study. fect of support damping and flex= NOMENCLATURE Symbol Definition Dimension a Growth factor why . Journal bearing radial clearance cece Bearing direct damping Cee cm Bearing cross coupled damping xy’ Sve a ° Coax, Cty SUPPOFE direct damping 2 ey et cross coupled dampinc Shey? Saye pO! is z Support damping (orm. ° Journal bearing diameter oyN R 8 s Imbalance of rotor/m Imbalance ratio, = ¢,/c Journal fluid-film force Gravitational constant Film thickness Film thickness ratio, = h/e Support stiffness Shaft stifmness Bearing direct stiffness Bearing cross coupled stiffness Support direct stiffness ‘ Support cross coupled stiffness Journal bearing Lengeh Rotor mass Support cass one-half equivalene rotor pass, a,-0,/2 Journal bearing 1ass Mass ratio, = mi/m Rotor spin, w/27 Journal radius Sommerfeld number 2 oevirk umber, = 5(L/D) Parameter Bearing Loading toad numer = 284 (25) 7/ Support displacement hoter absolute displacement Journal, selative motion Dispiacenent ratio, = x/, 9/e Journal equslibriua position Journal eccentricity eatic Journal equilibriun eccentricity complex eigenvalue ery (orm) (Rev) cay ©) w Cy (ca) com.) come.) comm.) corm.) We3ax, cay es zsu ro MAX FMAXB FMAXS Fu FURATIO ues, ss ‘TROMAX ‘TRSMAX wo ws wr Viscosity of lubricant Attitude angle Bearing spin rate Rotor spin rate sum of uy +a, seabinity prneeter, = fE . nisi rate ratio, « 3/3, Journal clearance z Support damping Journal eccentricity ratio, = 2, Journal equilibrium eccentricisy zatio,= ¢, £, calculated for zon = Fu Rotating icad Maximum fluid-film force Maximum force to bearing Maximum fo: co apport tabelance ond Viscosity of lubricant (xao%) ocviek manber vaxinon dynmic 1oa/ae uo? vavinun fin 1ad/a bearing wessne Sournal weight scaniiicy parameter, (aoeat teed on bearing) / M4 com.) com.) w crn) com.) (orm. (om) ©) (ry © ) 7 ry com.) cern) (Revs) «om.) com.) ) ) ) com.) (om.)N.S 1. INTRODUCTION The dynamics of rotor bearing systems has become of extreme importance due to the increased speed and power level require- ments of advanced design rotating equipment. The aircraft jet engine industry has as their ultimate goal a lighter, more powerful, more efficient, and more dependable power plant. Compressor and industrial gas turbine manufacturers are con- cerned with reduced development costs, high reliability, and low maintenance costs over extended uséful service ife. These factors are responsible for the interest in and growth of the study stability and forced response of rotor bearing systems. Power plants for ground installation and out space are relying on fluid-film bearing to provide long, mainte- nance free service. To avoid the classical instability as- sociated with plain cylindrical bearings the designers have i used multi-lobe, tilting pad, pressure dam, and other designs ~ such as herringbone groove to increase the stable speed range of their equipment. Jet engine manufacturers are designing advanced engines with anti-friction bearings in series with fluid-film dam- pers to reduce engine sensitivity to imbalance. In qualitat- ive terms, the same system parameters which promote optimum forced response characteristics are also conducive to an increased stable operating speed range. while this is true in general, it is extremely important for the dynamist to fully understand the cause and nature of instabilities as- sociated with fluid-film bearings, internal friction damping, and aerodynamic cross-coupling. The present discussion will be concerned with only those instabilities associated with fluid-film bearings. The instability associated with the plain cylindrical journal bearing has received considerable attention in the literature (1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. PINKUS [6] re- ported that flexible mountings gave greater stability to rotor bearing systems while PORITSKY [7] and HAGG and WARNER [8] found that support flexibility lowered the stabilityNG threshold speed. GUNTER [9] explained the discrepancy when it was shown that a symmetrical undamped support lowered the threshold speed whereas damped and/or asymmetric supports can greatly increase the stability of a rotor system. HORI [10] presented an analysis of a long bearing with negative fluid film pressures neglected (to model cavitation) which indicated that the journal was not inherently unstable at all speeds as ROBERTSON [3] has shown. Hori's analysis was in agreement with practical experience and a} future investigations have included the cavitation effects unless supply pressures are in excess of the peak film pressures in which case the film does not cavitate. HORI concluded that the vertical balanced journal would be unstable at all speeds. This fact will be demonstrated in the following analysis and the results of an investigation of the influence of: imbalance on the stability of vertical rotors will be discussed. An investigation by BADGLEY [11] reported on a time transient analysis method of obtaining the stability thres- hold speed of short, long and finite bearings. The orbits of a balanced horizontal rotor on rigid supports were exam- ined for various methods of perturbation to determine the influence on the stability boundary. He indicated that the threshold speed at hich eccentricities is reduced by large initial velocities. (The results obtained for the short bearings are shown in Fig. (6) of this report). LUND [12] examined the stability of a flexible rotor with damped sup- ports and concluded that damped flexible supports can con- siderably increase the threshold speed. Stability curves for specific rotor systems were presented for rotors supported in cylindrical gas bearings. GUNTER [13] presented a linear analysis of the influence of damped supports on the response characteristics of a rigid rotor including gyroscopic ef- fects. The analysis of a typical rotor system indicated sig- nificant reductions of forces transmitted for damped bearing supports. Recent investigations of rotor stability [14, 15] have extended the rotor models to general multi-mass flexibleN.7 rotors with damped bearings. These analyses are generally intended to study complex rotor systems and will add enormous capability to the rotor dynamist in future studies of stab- ility. The purpose of the following discussion is to present the results of an extensive study of the influence of damped flexible supports on the stability threshold speed of a rotor in nonlinear fluid film bearings (16, 17]. Stability maps are presented in dimensionless form for a range of support stiffness, damping, and mass ratios. Numerous ;time transient response orbits will indicate the nature of stable and un- stable response orbits for both balanced and unbalanced systems. Examination of the complex eigenvalues for a speci- fic rotor system will give further insight to explain why roters may pass through an unstable speed range and re~ stabilize, only to go unstable at some higher speed in the classical "half-frequency whir: When shaft flexibility is included in the analysis another mode of instability is introduced which corresponds to the condition of "resonant whip" as reported by NEWKIRK (181. This phenomena can be shown analytically by examina~ tion of damped eigenvalues. The examination of the real part of the eigenvalue gives not only an indication of whether the system is stable or unstable, but also an accurate in- dication of the rate of growth of small perturbation. This additional information has proven to be extremely useful in giving added insight to the cause and nature of rotor-bearing instability. DESCRIPTION OF ROTOR BEARING SYSTEM 2.1 Rotor and Support System. The following discussion will present the analysis of a symmetric rotor system such as the one shown in Fig. 1. The rotor is considered to be supported upon nonlinear fluid-film bearings which have a length toNG threshold speed. GUNTER [9] explained the discrepancy when it was shown that a symmetrical undamped support lowered the threshold speed whereas damped and/or asymmetric supports can greatly increase the stability of a rotor system. HoRT [10] presented an analysis of a long bearing with negative fluid film pressures neglected (to model cavitation) which indicated that the journal was not inherently unstable at all speeds as ROBERTSON [3] has shown. Hori's analysis was in agreement with practical experience and aj1 future investigations have included the cavitation effects unless supply pressures are in excess of the peak film pressures in which case the film does not cavitate. HORI concluded that the vertical balanced journal would be unstable at all speeds. This fact will be demonstrated in the following analysis and the results of an investigation of the influence of: imbalance on the stability of vertical rotors will be discussed. An investigation by BADGLEY [11] reported on a time transient analysis method of obtaining the stability thres- hold speed of short, long and finite bearings. The orbits of a balanced horizontal rotor on rigid supports were exam ined for various methods of perturbation to determine the influence on the stability boundary. He indicated that the threshold speed at high eccentricities is reduced by large initial velocities. (The results obtained for the short bearings are shown in Fig. (6) of this report). LUND [12] examined the stability of a flexible rotor with damped sup- ports and concluded that damped flexible supports can con- siderably increase the threshold speed. Stab specific rotor systems were presented for rotors supported in cylindrical gas bearings. GUNTER [13] presented a linear ty curves for analysis of the influence of damped supports on the response characteristics of a rigid rotor including gyroscopic ef- fects. The analysis of a typical rotor system indicated sig- nificant reductions of forces transmitted for damped bearing supports. Recent investigations of rotor stal extended the rotor models to genera lity [14, 15] have multi-mass flexibleN.7 rotors with damped bearings. These analyses are generally intended to study complex rotor systems and will add enormous capability to the rotor dynamist in future studies of stab- ality. The purpose of the following discussion is to present the results of an extensive study of the in: flexible supports on the stability threshold speed of a rotor in nonlinear fluid film bearings (16, 17]. Stability maps ence of damped are presented in dimensionless form for a range of support stiffness, damping, and mass ratios. Numerous ,time transient response orbits will indicate the nature of stable and un- stable response orbits for both balanced and unbalanced systems. Exanination of the complex eigenvalues for a speci~ fic rotor system will give further insight to explain why rotors may pass through an unstable speed range and re~ stabilize, only to go unstable at some higher speed in the classical “hal frequency whirl". When shaft flexibility is included in the analysis another mode of instability is introduced which corresponds to the condition of "resonant whip" as reported by NEWKIRK (181. This phenomena can be shown analytically by examina tion of damped eigenvalues. The examination of the real part of the eigenvalue gives not only an indication of whether the system is stable or unstable, but also an accurate in- dication of the rate of growth of small perturbation. This additional information has proven to be extremely useful in giving added insight to the cause and nature of rotor bearing instability. DESCRIPTION OF ROTOR BEARING SYSTEM 2.1 Rotor and Support System. The following discussion will present the analysis of a symmetric rotor system such as the one shown in Fig. 1. The rotor is considered to be supported upon nonlinear fluid-film bearings which have @ length todiameter ratio of less than one (i.e., L/D < 1.0). The bearings are therefore modeled by the short bearing approxi- mation (19, 22). A derivation of the fluid-film forces ex- pressed in fixed cartesian coordinates is presented in the following section. For the stability analysis the rotor is assumed to be perfectly balanced and supported on flexible, damped pedestals as indicated in Fig. 1. The transient re- Fig. 1. Typical Dynamics Model for a Symmetric Rotor with Flexible Supports. sponse analysis assumes the rotor to have an effective im- balance located at midspan and hence the rotor and support can only be excited in the cylindrical modes. The conical mode is not considered in the following analysis. Considering these restrictions, the rotor system may be fully described for dynamic simulation by the coordinates as shown in Fig. 2 The support motion is given by (x), yj) » the bearing journal relative motion is denoted by (xj, yj) » and the roter absolute motion is described in the fixed coordinate system by (x2, Y2) - The equations of motion of the system may therefore be written as six coupled second order dif- ferential equations with the fluid-film bearing forces ex-Neg Pig. 2. Cross-Section of Deflected Rotor at Time ut showing Displacement Nomenclature. pressed as a nonlinear function of the journal relative dis- placement and velocity. If the static deflection of the rotor midspan is much less than the journal clearance (é/e<1.0) , the rotor may be considered to be rigid and hence (x5, y> (x, + xj, yy + vj) - This reduces the analysis to the system shown in Fig. 3. The fluid-film will be considered to cavi- tate when the fluid pressure drops below ambient. The sup- port system is considered to be linear but the stability analysis may.be applicable to rotors with nonlinear squeeze film damper supports which have pr aded hairsprings in parallel with the damper. The damping characteristics of such a support system may be found in the literature (13,17).2.2. Fluid Film Bearing Characteristics. The nonlinear fluid- film forces generated by the journal bearings may be derived by considering the solution to the general Reynolds equation. Expressed in terms of a fixed cartesian coordinate system, the Reynolds equation may be written as follows: 3 Pe Saw tea Beak mM feu 32] * 32 selén 38] 7 (y+ ys) Ge? Ze where horny cos(®) ~ yy sin(s) = angle measured from positive X-axis in direction of rotationN.1l wu = Jouenal spin rato yo pin rat iy * bearing spin rate The standard solution technique for bearings having L/D < 1 ts to neglect the term 22 in Gq. (1). This permits an ap- proximate solution to be written for the pressure profile. Considering ambient pressure at the bearing axial boundaries, the pressure profile is given as: plug, Qa Es - 2 (45008 (3) +7540 (8)) The components of force on the journal in the x-y coordi- nate system may be found by integrating the pressure profile over the bearing surface. This is expressed as: Ae \ p(3,2)R cos(8)asdz Ga J pte.2in sintevatas Integrating the axial component, the nonlinear forces generated by the journal bearing may be expressed by the following integral: 2 (uptu 5) (4j8in (5) -y 50s (2) )-2(k cos (8) +7 ,8in(3)) aa ee eee eee; (e-x jcos (6)-y,8in())> It may be noted that the term u, +», .can be replaced by u , where it is to be understood that the solution is valid for bearings having both surfaces spinning. However,N12 caution is due when defining the dimensionless velocities for transient response calculations. If the velocity terms are to be made dimensionless using the reference spin rate of the journal (i.e., 4), the variables should be defined such that: o k ax, yay =a ead, ,e-o)-Si,%,--pis ree MT eeyT S y aap ter ty eu ar + 77 yt The equation for the fluid-film forces may then be expressed 3 ay a) = 26 2%, sin(3)-¥jc08 (9) —Atk,cos(@)+¥,8in(8)) coerg . J Qe re sin(6)) “sintey? “ ° a i . Fisié-file Gavinenien is eommmted Gon dn the amckyeia by, neglecting the contribution of negative pressures when evaluating the integral given by Eq. (4). The incremental fluid-film forces may be expressed by linear stiffness and damping coefficients in the small region near the steady state equilibrium position (x., Yo)+ The incremental forces are thus expressed by (a) BF wR + Cpe Bt Ry Tt Sy F e-kK, P+ cys K xe (sp) Sys thy P+ yt Ry et Cy HD where B95, -a,15 with Fy xo * F .and oF 6a) Kee ot 3 ined oie) 37 sin(s)cos (2) H,+3c087(8) (x, .sin(2)-¥, cos (2)) ‘0 a ° i a : ‘0 oF, at (6b) By we *5 7 ¥o5 Yy > Yos fF Sesser getnerne sect centenoncen an yg) ent AB 2 | 20 =F 3 (e) Cy = oa j 2e0s (8) ag ak . ze? J 3 ot aa Yo3 or, a) = ae w "GF se . (6) Ky 5 * Foy ¥3* Yo _ ums r 3ein( 8) 08 4) Oigysin (6) “Zgy605 (8) geos7(8) 207 # ° 0N14 -2F = (6f) Ky = x _ 3 7 Nos ¥3* Yo3 3, 27 363 F tn? -urL?u 27 3sin(6)cos (8) (X,,sin(8)-¥, cos (8))+H sin? (8) = i ‘04 03 Bs oO z ze} : -3F. 32t 69) Gy # = UBL? { 2esnie)ees(9) ap y ay |e a x 2e7 3 > ef) (6h) *3 14,2204 These integrals are to be calculated over the area =f posi- tive pressure which is present under steady state conditions. The steady state equilibrium position ¢, , may be found for any load by an iterative routine using the OCVIRK number (19] which is expressed as: 2 2 uN (re! 7) s,- ES oe rela? (1-e7) +1627] where p = bearing load LxD N = bearing effective speed (rev./sec.)w.15 Hence, for a given bearing geometry, load, and speed the equilibrium position is expressed as: sin(o,) (3) 0s (o,) “eo 103] sees (aa | i. | | i : ry = i a t t T | ECCENTRICITY, ¢, (01M) Fig. 4. Dimensionless Direct Stiffness and Damping Co#ffi for the Short Journal 3earing.BEARING CHARACTERISTICS, 1A} Fig. § where: 9) and e, ey 7 — ake = [aenecarive we 4, 14 cross-Coupled Stiffness and Damping Coefficients for the Short Journal Bearing. Vi-e? [i $g = attitude angle = tan” is found by using Eq. 7. N.16N17 jee 4+ oF om ECCENTRICITY, ¢, [01M Fig. 6. Stability Map for the short Journal Bearing with Rigid Supports. The bearing characteristics may therefore be expres- sed as dimensionless values as a function of eccentricity and the resulting values are shown in Figs. 4-5. These bearing characteristics have been used in generating the stability boundaries in the following section this repor In Fig. 6 the results of a simple stability analysis of anN18 isolated journal bearing using the above characteristics are compared with results generated by BADGLEY-BOOKER using the transient response method of analysis [20]. Their results are shown to be in good agreement with the stability boundary generated using the above characteristics. The stability boundary generated by REDDI-TREMPLER [21] for the 180° bearing with end leakage indicates a lower threshold speed for all eccentricities. The results of the present analysis are found to first decrease with increasing steady state ec- centricity, then increase being completely stable beyond €5 70.7, which agrees with the results stated by HORI [10]. The typical characteristics of a rotor operating below the stability threshold speed is shown in Fig. 7a. The transient path of the journal is plotted in the reference clearance ciz The rotor is cperating at 6500 rpm and at time t=0, rotor is dropped from the center (X=¥=0) . The resulting path of the journal is indicated to be stable (e, = ES 0.211) . The small circles on the orbit indicate one spin and spiraling into the equilibrium eccen’ cit: revolution of the rotor. The asterisk on the orbit is the point of maximum load transmitted and for this case it is indicated to be 64.4 1b. (286.45 N.) Tf the system properties are used to calculate the position on the stability map of Fig. 6 the point labeled 1 is obtained. The system is thus seen to be operating just below the threshold speed. An increase of rotor speed to 10,300 rpm gives the position on the map labeled 2 which is indicated to be unstable. This is shown clearly in Fig. 7b where the journal is spiraling outward at a whirl rate very close to one-half operating speed. A continuation of the response as shown in Fig. 7c indicates that the system is nearly in the limit cycle with the bearing dynamic loading indicated to be 3.96 times the static load of the rotor. These transient response plots clearly indicate the nature of response for ‘a rotor system operating above the threshold speed. The stability and transient response of a more complex rotor-support system will be presented followingN.19 eso ences nN vento. eer voron wo a ‘el Fig. 7a, Journal Orbit of a Balanced Horizontal Rotor on Rigid Supports (N= 6500 RPM , W= 50 1b. (22.68 Kg) , C= 0.005 mils (0.0127 em) , L/o = 1/2). 7b. Journal Orbit of a Balanced Rotor for cycles 6-10 (v= 10500 Rem) 7c. Journal Orbit of a Balanced Rotor for Cycles 11-15 Showing Motion Near Limit Cycle (N = 10500 RPM) the discussion of the equations of motion. 2.3 symmetric rotor system as shown in Fig. 1 may be expressed Equations of Motion. The equations of motion for the as follows with the rotor characterized by a shaft stiffness, K, , and absolute damping, C, . a 2 gM) + Cgky =m, eu ub cosiu tree, ce) + Coy. = myeuezein(u,t)-myg+ g¥y) + Cghy 7 mzeuzujsin (ust) -magre, (e) Journal: y) = 0 (dad = my (RHI -F Gory 3) 5 K j arg yee (Qby ays +P Fy Gey ks = BZ lygryy-yy) 9Support: (22a) MRAP (YE) FAR Rey Cre Cry! * Fax (125) mB tFy (7 AP) 54K, yy PK yaa PCr yy FPO yard where C, = absolute damping on rotor midspan E(t) = any time dependent or steady loading acting on the rotor (including effects of aerodynamic loading or internal friction). F, = preload force on the bearing support system. Fix,y,%,#), = fluid-£ilm forces expressed by 5a. (3). If the rotor shaft stiffness may be considered to the rigid to “the following system of equations. (ia) BURA) OD 5 ne ,uFeos (uj) +1/28,(8) “1/20, (+85) (238) MCF AF) By Cry Ke) some ul adn ase) 42/28, (8) -mg-1/20,, (F149 4) bad mF OT SR yyy Cred Chey * Foe (1A) mF OL AD gt yy VAR yet PCa yyy ChE py MS These are the equations required for time transient response calculations. For stability consideration, the homogeneous equation written about the steady state equili- brium position may be expressed in dimensionless form con- sidering the bearing characteristics as given by Eq. 5. The cross-coupling terms for the flexible support are neglectedN21 to reduce the number of variables in the analysis. The re- sulting equations are expressed as follows: (asa) (1 temxy + (ase) (tomy + (se) XP eK Rx Yeo (154) YD + yp + Ry Yy+ Ck} + Rye xt Cor xp =o where Fe = Caye/ (mw) ¢ T= Cyyy/ (mw) x 2. 2. Ry = Bage/ (me) GR, = yy / (mu?) =a, Cy,. where 4,3 = 1,2(1=x; 2=y) It should be noted that the above equations have been written such that the differentiation with respect to time, denoted by the primes, are defined such thatN.22 The support characteristics are assumed to be symmetric to further reduce the number of dimensionless parameters in the study. Thus the extent of the stable region will be the lowest obtainable since bearing support asymmetry will in general increase the stable operating speed range. The fol- lowing dimensionless support characteristics variables are defined. 2 = Ky /mug ase Cy /may VE The stability of the rotor system may now be calculated in terms of the dimensionless parameters given in the preceding discussion. From the above dimensionless parameters, it may be shown that the stability threshold speed may be expressed as a7 sVE. omc, Ry, Threshold Speed These parameters will be used to plot the results of the stability analysis presented in the following discussion. STABILITY ANALYSIS The equations of motion as presented in Bq. (15) may be analyzed for stability by examination of the system charac- teristic equation. Assuming solutions of the form x = xe\*, the following characteristic determinant may be written.N23 as) The resulting 8th order polynomial in \ may be expressed as (16) 8 7 6 Ay aa agad + aya? + ALAS +... tAQA + Ag where (20) Ap za, + 8,5 420, 8 and (2) ag = (Lesmagyy + Eager + RyQigg? = 02/20 0--708 with ays ° a, = SmN.26 =E+k +%, - Bf, 34 By t By * San Syy ~ SxySy + am Ree + By + Cty ~ Tyylya) + Sy Ce * ag = (2 + EMER t Bay ~ Chey - TyRyxl +& (Rk, Eyy ~ CaySyx! + Fyl@,, + & Gy Reset Ry Cyt yy ~ CeySya) + RIE + Eyl ag (2 tem (KR - KR) Tit, kr, 1 KR +2e -t Ee -cH yy Ra * SxxByy 7 SyaRey 7 Sey Rye ? + 5 -~t_ 2 Y= By ocx YY SrySyx = &. - KOU, vl ux yY Keykyx -T RK - OLR yxy 7 Sxy® yx 3 - EUR a RYE RRyy — ReyRyse Also, 0,8 = 5,6,7,8 The characteristic equation given by Eq. (19) may be examined by the Routh criteria (16) to determine the onset of instability. The equations were programmed on a digital computer and an extensive study of the lowest stability threshold speed was determined for various values of dimen- Sionless support parameters..The results of this investigat- ion are plotted as a dimensionless stability parameter, 1g OVE . versus the dimensionless steady state equilibriumposition of the journal which is denoted asc, . For the horizontal rotor system under _1-g loading the stability paraneter reduces to u, = ul . This paraneter has been widely used to express the stability of short journal bear- ings (11,14,20,21). The equilibrium position of the journal nay be expressed in terms of the Ocvirk number, S,. In addition, it is easily shown that (22) where, (23) This parameter is defined as the load number of the bearing and may be used on the stability map to determine the operat- ing eccentricity for a given rotor bearing configuration. The stability map shown as Fig. 8 was plotted for a specified value of support stiffness, Ey , and mass ratio, Sm = mj/m . Stability boundaries for numerous of support damping are shown on the figure to illustrate the effect of damping on the threshold speed. For example, Fig. (8) indi~ cates that (for Hy = 0.1, ém= 0.1) the threshold speed nay be raised significantly above the rigid support thres- hold speed (shown as dash-dot line) for a damping value of oe damped support system (Cy - 0.001) reduces the onset of in- ~ 0.5 . In addition, it is easily observed that a lightly stability for bearings having ©, < 0.7 . This effect will be examined in greater detail later in the discussion. The load lines indicated by dashed lines trace the journal eccentricity of a rotor as the running speed is in- creased or decreased. For heavily loaded journals (W > 190) it is evident that the stability is greatly increased beyond the corresponding onset speed for a lightly loaded journal (W < 50) . The stability map also indicates an optimum damping value for maximum increase of the stable operating speed range. An overdamped support system (C, > 10.0) , reduces the threshold speed to the rigid support onset speed.N.26 BAS ram TAN Te IT Ne TS INTEL W TN i Ls I NN 7S y oo & S ALN TALS iespo/ im t ut Lh RK agosoront |S, Ni } i x t 1 i | N ECCENTRICITY, ¢, [O14} Fig. 8. Stability Map for the Damped, Flexible Support Rotor on Short Journal Searings (K, = 0.1, m,/m = 0.2) Consider the following rotor system which will be used to illustrate the effects of support properties on stability and transient response. Example 1: Rotor weight - 50 lb. (22.68 Kg) (each) - 25 1b. (11.34 Kg) Journal radius - 1 inch (2.54 cm) Journal weighN.27 Journal clearance - .00S inch (.0127 cm) Support weight (each) - 5.0 lb. (2.268 Kg) Support stiffness - 1000.0 1b./in. (1781.26 N/em) Support damping - 20 1b.-sec./in. (35,03 Nesec./em Viscosity - 1.0 x 107> reyns This roter system produces the following dimensionless value: 1000.0 SO (50_(386), ‘S0T.005)? a 20 B30 1/50 13861 3e6 507.0057 27(50) cet So core 1x107? (1) (2) 0.556 2 2 (Sosy 386 (50) If the rotor speed is 10,500 rpm the previous discussion of rigid support bearings indicated that the rotor would be un= stable. The stability parameter is calculated to be: 1g 7 10500 (386) _ 3 / | BHR = 26 The equilibrium eccentricity is calculated to be 0.139 and the point labeled 2 on Fig. 8 indicates the system with the damped support giving ©, = 0.556 should be very stable. The transient response of the balanced rotor is shown in Fig. 9a. The rotor is indicated to be very stable as shown by the rapid decay of the transient of the steady state eccentricity. An increase of rotor speed to 31,500 rpm Produces the point 3 on Fig. 8 and is very near the threshold speed. This is clearly indicated by the transient response shown as Fig. 9b where the journal continues to orbit at ap- proximately half-frequency indicating near zero damping at this speed. An increase of speed to 45,000 rpm places the journal above the threshold as shown by point 4 of Fig. 8.N,28 Fig. 9a. Rotor Relative Motion Showing Stabilized Response (N= 10500 RPM, w= 3.96). 9b. Rotor Relative Motion at the Threshold of stability (N= 31500 REM, uw, = 12.9). 9c. Rotor Relative Motion for Five Cycles Showing Instability (i = 45000 REM, w= 17). The response for this condition is given in Fig. 9c and the motion is growing exponentially and would eventually grow into a large limit cycle response. The support system has increased the stability threshold speed by a factor of 4.75 beyond the rigid support threshold speed. The effect of decreasing the support stiffness, R, = 0.01 is shown in Fig. 10a and it is indicated that for values of damping ©, < 0.01 the threshold speed has been increased significantly beyond that for K, = 0.1 . By ine creasing the support stiffness to Z,= 1.0 with m= 0.1 the optimum damping values remain at approximately Gq - 0.5-1.0 and the lightly damped support threshold speed is slightly better than in Fig. (8), but still below the rigid support onset speed (see Fig. 10b). The stability maps shown as Figs. 10c and 10d clearly indicate that an increase of support mass greatly reduces the maximum onset speed whereas a lighter support system can be designed to increase the threshold speed to extremely high values for supportN.29 ‘1 Sie ECCENTRICITY, ¢, (01M Fig. 10a. Stability Map for_the Damped, Flexible Support Rotor on Short Bearings (R= 0.01, ,/m = 0.1) damping values between T, = 0.01 and 1.0 . The overdamped 3 condition (€, > 10) remains at about the same threshold speed for all the variations considered in this series of stability maps. The importance of proper design of support structures is further illustrated in Fig. lla where, for the specific condition cf F, = 1.0 and ém= 0.1, the optimum support damping is indicated to be C, ~ 1.0 . This value of damping 3N30 o,- 0 fF tom Fig. 10b. Map for the Damped, Flexible Support Rotor on Short Journal Bearings (K,= 1.0, m,/m = 0. would be ideal for both the lightly loaded and heavily load- ed condition. Fig. 11b indicates that by reducing Z, to 0.1 with $= 0.01 the range of acceptable supsort damping is greatly increased. However, for the heavily loaded system (@ > 100) , the optimum damping must be properly chosen to ensure the greatest stable operating speed range. These stability maps indicate that the plain journal bearing can be designed with a flexible damped support such that the stable operating speed range is greatly extended beyond the rigid support threshold speed. Equally important,N31 the analysis indicates that improper support design could possibly lower the threshold speed below that which would be obtained for rigid supports. 4, TRANSIENT RESPONSE ANALYSIS Stability maps such as the ones presented in the previous 34> | 4 2 2 Io: i cE 4 N wl zatey VINE Y 1 [he Sees | Sa ECCENTRICITY, ¢, [01M] Fig. 10c. stabi ity Map for the Danped, Flexibie Suppo: en Short Journal Bearings (kK, = 0.1, Rotor m,/a = 1.0).N.32 section of this paper are of great value due to the amount of useful information contained on a single plot. The analys- is of time-transient response of rotor systems cannot be presented in such a compact form. However, the amount of de- sign information obtained from an actual time-transient re- sponse analysis for a specific rotor system easily justifies of toma Fig. 10d. srapiiity Map for the Damped, Flevible Supporr gore on Shorr Journal Searings (X= 0,1, m,/a * 0.01)N.33 the effort required to produce and interpret the resuits. The technique for calculation of the transient response has been discussed in detail in several references (11,22). The initial value problem requires only that the displace- ments and velocities of the rotor system be given at a Fig. lla, Stability Map Showing the Threshold Speed Versus Support Damping (Ky = 1.0, m,/a = 0.1) et Stiffness and Damping ple Operation Lib. Stability Map for Redueed Suspo Indicating a Larger Region of (Ry + 0.1, mim = 9.0N34 specific initial starting time. From this information the nonlinear fluid-film forces may be calculated (as shown in Eq. 3) and any other forces specified as a function of time, displacement, and velocity may also be included in the simulation. The equations of motion in dimensionless form are ex- pressed as follows: (24) Ry + R= . FY OGY 2,0) ao 7 + g,cos(t) + Lg, atk) meu ¥ 2new 3 4 (2m) : F(t) + eysin(m) + news (24e) any = Lie, - F 17 a px (244) where the equation for F(x,y,i,3) is given by Eq. 4. The response of fluid-film bearings are typically plot- ted as the motion of the geometric center of the journal in the clearance circle. This is equivalent to the orbit trace that would be observed on an oscilloscope showing the output of displacement probes mounted on the bearing support andN35 monitoring the journal motion. The physical interpretation of an instability was demonstrated in Fig. 7b where the rotor speed was 10,500 rpm (point 2 on Fig. 6). The rotor was spiraling outward at a very high growth rate. In five re~ volutions of the shaft the response had doubled. Thus the average growth rate, a, for this system is calculated to be: R= Re"; & = 0.005714 sec./rev. therefore, R (02857) Ba20-e Ro and hence a = 24.26 The continuation of the motion for another five cycles was shown in Fig. 7c. The growth rate was greatly reduced (a = 8.53) and aL ed for the nonlinear system. More details of the signifi- cance of the growth factor will be discussed in the next section. The stability analysis which uses linearized equat- ions cannot predict the limit cycle condition as was shown in the transient orbit. it cycle was forming which is as expect- The analysis of imbalance response in a nonlinear system may be obtained by transient response techniques. The mass of the rotor is considered to be displaced from the geometric center by an amount £, = EMU =e. where ¢ is the radial clearance of the bearing. Consider initially a rigid support system and an imbalance given as EMU = 0.20. For a rotor speed of 6500 rpm the orbit is shown in Fig. 12a for the case of a suddenly applied imbalance and release of the journal from x= y= 0 the time t= 0. The re~ sponse has both synchronous and non-synchronous components but at the end of only five cycles cf motion the system is reducing to predominantly a synchronous response. An increaserm) ° Fig. 12a. Journal Orbit of an Unbalanced Rotor on Rigid supports for Five Cycles (N= 6500 RPM, W=50 Ib. (22.68 K.), © = 0,005 mils (0.0127 cm.), L/D = 1/2, B= 0.2). 12b. Journal orbit of an Unbalanced Rotor Above the Stability ‘Threshold Speed (N= 10500 RPM, wu, = 3.96). of rotor speed to 10,500 rpm (above the threshold speed) produces the unstable orbit shown in Fig. 12b. The addition of a flexible, damped support system has ay Fig. 13a. Journal Relative Motion on Flexible Supports showing Steady-State Elliptic Orbit (N= 6500 RPM, w= 2.45). 13b. Support Transient Motion (¥ = 6500 RPM)N.37 been shown in Example 1 to greatly increase the threshold speed if the support is properly designed. There are instan- ces where the support can be poorly designed and produce no harmful results as long as the rotor speed remains below the stability threshold. However, the bearing and support loading will in most all cases be higher than if the support system were properly designed. Consider the system where the support stiffness and damping are relatively large (KR, = 1.0, &, + 5.56) . The motion at 6500 rpm shows a very stable elliptic orbit with very little suppprt motich. An increase of speed to 10,500 rpm results in the large amplitude re- sponse shown in Fig. 14. By reducing the support stiffness @ Fig. 14a. Journal Transient Response for an overdamped Support (y= 10500 RPM, Eu = 0.2). Léb. Support Response (K, = 1.0, ©, = 5.56). and damping to the values given in Example 1 (i.e., Ry = 0.1, %, = 0.556, ém= 0.1) the response at 10,500 rpm can be reduced to that shown in Fig. 15. The maximum support load- ing is only 33.5 1b. (149.0N.) above the static loading condition although the rotor is being driven by an imbalance load of 313.2 lb. (1393.2 N.) or 156.6 1b. (696.59 N.)N.38 Fig. 15a. Journal Response for Improved Support Characteristics (N= 10500 RPM, Eu = 0.2). 15b. Support System Response for Five cycles (Ky Ot, G, = 0.556). 5 Fe nee gadie Fig. lea. Journal Response for Increased Imbalance (N= 10500 RPM, Eu = 0.8) : 16d. Support System Response (Ry 2 0-1, Cy = 0.556)N39 on each bearing. Even if the imbalance level is increased by a factor of four (see Fig. 16) the resulting journal or- bit is less than the rigid support system with one fourth the imbalance and running at only 6500 rpm. The maximum force transmitted to the support system is indicated to be only 136.7 1b. (608.07 N.) per support while the rotor is being driven by a rotating load of 1252.8 1b. (5572.73 N.). These transient response orbits clearly indicate the advantages in optimum design considergtion for” both stabili-~ ty and forced response. The instability of the plain cylindrical journal bearing for vertically mounted rotors or rotors operating in reduced or zero-g environment has been reported in the literature. From the classical theory of linearized stability this is the only conclusion possible. With the time transient response analysis investigation some interesting results have been observed which indicate that the vertical plain journal bearing can be made to run with a small synchronous limit cycle. The rotor must have an imbalance level sufficiently high to produce synchronous re- sponse orbits yet the imbalance must not produce dynamic loads which are excessive. Consider the same rotor as in the previous example mounted vertically and with a small imbalance, EMU = 0.01 to perturb the system at time t= 0 . As the response of Fig. 17 indicates the system is very unstable and is orbit- ing outward a limit cycle response condition. The same re~ sponse would occur at all rotor speeds, the only difference being the growth rate. If this system is now mounted in the optimum support system which was discussed for the horizon- tal rotor of Example 1 the growth rate is substantially re~ duced as indicated by the response shown in Fig. 18. However, the system remains unstable for this balanced rotor con! guration. The stability parameter for a short journal bearing is given as“y.40 =o )3E (25) a ae Ig the load on the system is thought of as that a- rising from the imbalance, then it is possible to write (26) Qo = or Fig. 17. Journal Orbit of a Vertical Rotor for Ten Cycles Showing Ealf-Frequency Whirl (w= 10500 RPM, Eu 0.01). for instability. This can also be expressed as o Fig. 18a. Journal Relative Motion of a Balanced Vertical Rotor with Flexible Supports (N = 10500 RPM 18b. Support system Response (K, = 0.1, &, = 0.556).N41 Now 9, ~ 2.5 for the rigid support journal bearing, hence (27) EMU > .16 (for stability) This is a necessary condition for stability (but not suf- ficient). Consider the same rotor as in Fig. 17 with the im- balance increased to a value of EMU = 0.20 . The response for ten cycles is shown in Fig. 19a where the motion is ob- served to have both synchronous and half-syachronous com ponents as indicated by the one innér loop and the occurrence of the marks. The response is going into a small orbit as indicated in Fig. 19b. The response for a higher speed is € Bs x a 770 Fig. 19a, Journal Orbit of an Unbalanced Vertical Rotor showing Motion Tending to Synchronous Response.N42 soumee_ aesamve CavItateD FILM VERTICAL gpenaer® 19b. Journal Orbit. Motion Very Near Stable Synchronous Response. shown in Fig. 20 where the limit cycle is composed of a much larger component of half-frequency whirl. The dynamic trans- missibility is noted to be 1.28 for Fig. 20 whereas the synchronous response orbit of Fig. 19b was noted to have a ratio of only 0.76 . This means that the maximum load trans- mitted to the bearing was 76% of the imbalance load. This condition is very desirable as compared to the value of 1.28 in Fig. 20. Extensive analysis of many time transient orbits for the vertical rotor mounted on rigid supports have allowed the following conclusions to be drawn (22). The balanced, unloaded vertical rotor is always unstable.N.43 3 y 1 eau: "pee wea! 20. Journal Limit Cycle for Incee: Half-Frequency Component. Speed Showing Predominant 2. Unidirectional loading can stabilize a rotor by creating an e! tive g-loading on the bearing. 3. For very small values of imbalance (EMU < 0.16) the rotor will exhibit non-synchronous motion at all speeds. 4. The necessary and sufficient condition for stable synchronous small orbit response is that the im- balance be such that the value of EMU is slightly larger than 0.16 and the speed parameter, The design of an optimum support is equally important for vertical rotors as is indicated in Fig. 21 where the large orbit response at 10,500 rpm in Fig. 20 has been substan- tially reduced. The maximum force transmitted to the sup- port is only 208 of the load generated by the imbalance.N44 tc Fe vay es tu wo Pig. 2la. Journal Orbit for Flexible Support Vertical Unbalanced Rotor Showing Small Synchronous Response 2ib. Support Transient Motion Showing Predominant Synchronous Response. While the results are not all inclusive, there is enough evidence to indicate that the vertical journal can be stabilized by proper design of support characteristics and the addition of a small rotor imbalance. More extensive analysis of this subject area would be of great benefit to many manufacturers who: use this type bearing in the design of water pumps and cther similar equipment. 5. EXAMINATION OF ROTOR SYSTEM EIGENVALUES The discussion of stability in the earlier section treated only the determination of the lowest threshold speed of the rotor system. The method of analysis (i.e., Routh criteria) cannot give any further information concerning the region of instability which is useful to the analyst. For this reason it is instructive and desirable to examine the com- plex eigenvalues of the characteristic equation. This is in fact the calculation of the damped natural Fequency of the rotor-bearing system which can be expressed as:N45 (28) Ae Ta + Soy where Ay = kth eigenvalue a, = real part of eigenvalue and is denoted as the growth factor = imaginary part of the eigenvalue and is the damped natural frequency ¢orresponding to a specific natural mode of vibration. The condition for stability is that the real part, ak , must have a negative value. The threshold speed is de- fined to be the speed at which the growth factor is zero. The larger the value of a, the more stable or unstable is the corresponding mode depending on whether the real part is negative or positive respectively. To take advantage of the additional information that is contained in the eigenvalue it is necessary to be able to solve for the roots of a polynomial with real coefficients. There are standard iterative schemes available in the lite- rature for solving such problems. The particular method chosen for calculation of results in the following’ discus- sion was a modified BAIRSTOW's method [23]. In order to ob- tain the maximum information the characteristic determinant was set up for the rotor system of Fig. 1 including the flexibility of the rotor shaft. The resulting determinant is a 6 x 6 matrix with elements quadratic in \ and is given in Eq. 29. The procedure for expanding the determinant and solving for the roots of the resul ¢ polynomial was pro- grammed on a digital computer including the automatic cal- culation of stiffness and damping of the fluid-film journal bearing (24). Hence, the stability maps presented in the previous discussion can be checked approximately by intro~ ducing a very high stiffness in the rotor shaft with theN46 proper weight distributed along the rotor. The program may be made to calculate only the first threshold speed by ap- plying the Routh criteria to the polynomial or it may cal- culate all roots for a given speed range to allow a plot to be made of the change of the growth factor as the rotor speed is increased. The former method was applied to verify the stability boundaries generated by the Routh criteria as dis- cussed in the previous section of this paper. Of particular interest was the stability boundary for the vélue of = 0-001 on Fig. 8. The rotor considered in the earlier discussion and described in Example 1 will be examined in more detail in the following discussion. The shaft stiffness was considered to be 1 x 10° 1b./in. (1.75 x 10° N./om.). If the support damping is reduced to a value of 0.4 1b sec. / in. (.07N.-sec./om), the value of T, 1s calculated to be 0.001 . The stability threshold was found to be at the point indicated as 5 on Fig. 8. (29)N.47 By increasing the rotor system properties by a factor of ten the load line shifted to follow the points indicated as 6, 7, 8 on Fig. 8. Point 6 was for the value of @, = 0.001, while point @ was found for the value of &, = 0.01 . This point is just below the rigid rotor threshold speed. For an increase of support damping to give T, = 0.0556 the thres~ hold was calculated to lie at point 8 on Fig. 8. The points calculated verify the validity of the stability maps gene- rated by the analysis of the characteristic equation given by Eqs. 19-21). . The nature of the instability given by the lightly damped support will now be examined by plotting the growth factors of the eigenvalues versus rotor speed. Example 2 case (a) ~ very rigid rotor The same rotor as considered for Example 1 with the following modifications. K, - shaft stifiness = 10 x 10° tb./in. (17.5 'x 10° N./om.) Chie = 0-04, 0-08, 0.2, 0.4, 4.0, 20-0, 400.0 Lb.- sec./in. or (= 0.07, 0.14, .38, .70, 7.0, 35.0, 700.0 N.-sec. Am.) %, = 0.001, 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, .556, 11.12 The value of shaft deflection § divided by the jour- nal clearance is 0.001 for this rotor. As shown by RUHL [14], when 6/c < 0.1, the shaft fle: ility does not change the stability threshold speed (on rigid supports). Hence, this rotor may be considered as rigid. The plot of the growth factors for the various values of support damping are shown in Fig. 22a. For the value of C, = 0.001 the instability as predicted in Fig. 8 is indicated to initiate at a whirl frequency ratio of = 0.5 . the value of the speed para~ meter (w= 0.62) is in fu agreement with Fig. 8. As the rotor speed is increased, it is noted that the whirl rate ratio decreases, indicating that the instability is exciting: q i aS 3 [Lew 5 Fi ams i oe \ ae | zj-aa0 4 er] 7 ft Ny SPEED ~ RPM Fig. 22a. Stability Plot for a Rigid Rotor with Flexible Suppor: for Various Values of Support Damping.N49 the lowest natural frequency in the system and can be clas- sified as a support resonant whip. This region of instability extends beyond the onset speed of a much more severe in- stability (as indicated by the large growth rate). The whirl rate for this region remains at just below one-half rotor speed and is the classical half-frequency whirl instability normally associated with journal bearing instability. As the support damping is increased the extent and severity of the support whip is reduced until it is completely Suppressed as is indicated for the value of €, = 0.01 . The onset speed of the half-frequency whirl is not greatly influenced by the lower values of support dar ng considered for this case study. The speed parameter at the threshold for Z, = 0.1 is shown to be at uj = 9.41 which is in good agreement with the curve of Fig. 8 For the optimum damping of CT, = 0.556 the instability threshold speed is increased to 30,000 rpm (u, = 11.2) as was indicated in the stability map (see Fig. 8). For the overdamped support condition (E, = 11.12) the stability threshold speed is reduced to 7000 rpm (u, = 2.63) , which is very near the rigid support value of uw, = 2.5 . The in- fluence of rotor shaft flexibility on stability will be 4 monstrated by considering the above rotor system with re- duced rotor shaft stiffness. Example 2 Case (b) Consider the same basic system as in case (a) with K, = 1-0 x 108 1b./in. (1.75 x 106 N./em.) Chg = 0-08 Ib.-sec./in. (E = 0.002) s/e = 0.01 The growth factor is plotted in Fig. 22b where it is observed that the region of support resonant whip is very nearly the same as shown in Fig. 22a. The growth factor for the flexib- le shaft mode are plotted as aj, a, . The large negative value for these factors indicate a very stable condition.aeetg y, 13 1 im REAL PART OF EIGENVALUE 10) pou titi bitty Ny SPEED ~ APM. Plot for a Rotor with High Shagt stiggnessN.S1 The growth factor related to the half-frequency whirl is very much the same as that shown in the previous plot. An indication of the severity of the instability can be shown by considering the percentage growth of a perturba~ tion per revolution of the rotor. This is calculated as ay a= 3 tn (2 Stowth per revolution , 1, 100 ‘The diagonal lines in Fig. 22b are plotted for various per- centage increase of perturbation per evolutién. It is noted that the resonant whip has less than 1.0% growth per shaft revolution whereas the half-frequency whirl has a growth of 10% just beyond the threshold speed. The system being studied is nonlinear and hence the growth rate changes as the limit cycle is approached. The initial rate of growth, however, should agree with those calculated from linear theory. This growth factor interpretation gives a good basis for selection of time duration for transient response simu- lation. Several rotor revolutions would be required to pro- duce substantial growth for the speeds near the threshold condition of the support resonant whip. An alternative approach to the interpretation of the growth rate would be to calculate the percentage growth of a perturbation per second of real time. The horizontal lines on Fig. 22b give this information. This interpretation shows clearly the severity of the half-frequency whirl instability. Example 2: case (c) Consider now a rotor with increased shaft flexibility. K, = 1.0 x 10° ib./in. (1.75 x 10°N./em.) Ciyg 7 0-08 Ib.-sec./in. (€, = 0.002) 3/C = 0.1 The lower shaft stiffness produces a very interesting result as indicated in Fig. 22c. The region of support reson- ant whip remains unchanged but an instability associatedREAL PART OF EIGENVALUE —— HF rg 9 “E = fi 2-000 | 5 Samer econo 3 3 3 10 = Ree of Instability N.52N.53 with the flexible shaft is excited just before the half-fre- quency whirl. This region of stability may be referred to as shaft resonant whip. Newkirk reported the occurrence of this type instability in a flexible shaft experimental rig. As indicated by the whirl rates the instability is exciting a lower system critical which does not increase substantially with increased speed. The third type of instability shown on the plot is the half-frequency whirl which is indicated to be the most severe of the instabilities. Considering the previous discussion of growth per second it is very unlikely that this system could be driven through the shaft resonant whip instability. These results give a physical meaning to the stability maps and a better understanding of the pheno- mena of rotor restabilization that has been observed in ex- perimental test rigs. 6. CONCLUSIONS The following observations and conclutions may be stated considering the results that have been presented in this discussion. 1. The stable operating speed range of a rotor in fluid- film bearing may be greatly extended by the proper design of the support flexibility, inertia, and damping characteristics. Stability maps have been presented for various dimensionless support characteristics. 2. ‘Imbalance will not extend the region of stability for a horizontal rotor excited by the half-frequency whirl instability. 3. The addition of a small imbalance may allow a vertical or o-g rotor to operate « sponse orbit. ith a small synchronous re- 4. Excessive imbalance will force a rotor to execute syn chronous motion above the stability threshold. This modeQi al tal M54 of operation is very undesirable due to the excessive bearing loading produced by the imbalance. A lightly damped support structure can develop a sub- synchronous instability (support resonant whip) that could in some cases be driven through to reach a stable operating speed. The journal bearing instability will be excited at a rotor speed higher than that which would exist were the rig on rigid supports. Excessive support damping (C, > 10.0) ‘reduces the flex- ible support stability threshold speed to that which would be obtained were the system cn rigid bearing sup- ports. Rotor shaft flexibility may introduce a condition of shaft resonant whip which could occur before or after the support instability depending on rig properties. A computer program has been developed to rapidly calcul- ate the stability boundaries of a symmetric flexible rotor mounted on fluid-film bearings and having damped support structure. The calculation of the nonlinear floating bush viscous damper characteristics has been included in the computer program. REFERENCES NEWKIRK, B.L.: Shaft Whipping, Gen. Elec. Rev., Vol. 27, 1924, p. 169. NEWKIRK, B.L. and TAYLOR, H.D.: Shaft Whipping Due to Oil Action in Journal Bearings, Gen. Elec. Rev., Vol. 28, 1925, pp. 985-988. ROBERTSON, D.: Whirling of a Journal in a Sleeve Bearing, Phil. Mag., Series 7, Vol. 15, No. 66, January 1933. HAGG, A.C.: The Influence of Oil Film Journal Bearings on the Stability of Rotating Machines, Journal of Ap- plied Mechanics, Vol. 68, 1946, 5. 211.(5) (6) ceo (8] 031 0) may tz) aay ua) (33) ts) a7) N.55 ORBECK, F.: Theory of Oil Whip for Vertical Rotors Supported by Plain Journal Bearings, Trans. ASME, Oct. 1958, pp. 1497-1502. PINKUS, O.: Experimental Investigation of Resonant Whip, Trans. ASME, Vol. 78, 1956, pp. 975-983. PORITSKY, H.: Contribution to the Theory of Oil Whip, Trans. ASME, Aug. 1953, pp. 1153-1161. HAGG, A.C. and WARNER, P.C.: Oil Whip of Flexible Rotors", Trans. ASME, Vol. 75, October, 1953, pp. 1339-1344. GUNTER, £.3.: Dynamic Stability of Rotor-Searing Ssy- stems, NASA SP-113, 1966. HORI, Y.: Theory of Oi1 Whip, Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 26, Trans. ASME, Series E, Vol. 81, 1959, p. 189. BADGLEY, R.E.: Turborotor Instability - Dynamic Un- balance, Gyroscopic, and Variable-Speed Effects with Finite-Length, Cavitated, Fluid-Film Bearings, PH.D. Dissertation, Cornéll University, June 1967. LUND, J.W.: The Stability of an Elastic Rotor in Journal Bearings with Flexible, Damped Supports, Journal of Applied Mechanics, Trans. ASME, Series E, Vol. 87, No. 4, December 1965, pp. 911-920. GUNTER, £.3.: The Influence of Flexibility Mounted Rolling Element Bearings on Rotor Response, Part 1: Linear Analysis, Journal of Lubrication Technology, Trans. ASME, pp. 59-75, January 1970. RUHL, R.L.: Dynamics of Distributed Parameter Rotor Systems: Transfer Matrix and Finite, Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University, January, 1970. LUND, J.W.: Stability and Damped Critical speeds of a Flexible Rotor in Fluid-Film Bearings, Trans. ASME, Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vol. 96, Series B, No. 2, May, 1974, pp. 509-517. CHOUDHURY, P.De.: Dynamic Stability of Flexible Rotor- Bearing Systems, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Virginia, June 1971. KIRK, R.G. and GUNTER, E.J.: Nonlinear Transient Ana- lysis of Multi-Mass Flexible Rotors-Theory and Ap- plications, NASA CR-2300, September, 1973.(18) ts} {20} (21 N56 NEWKIRK, B.L.: Varieties of Shaft Disturbances Due to Fluid Films in Journal Bearings, Trans. ASME, Vol. 78, 1956, p. 985. OCVIRK, F.W.: Short-Searing Approximation for Full Journal Bearings, NACA TN 2808, 1952. BADGLEY, R.H. and BOOKER, J.F.: Turborotor Instability: Effect Of Initial Transient on Plane Motion, Journal of Lub. Tech., Trans. ASME, October, 1969, pp. 625-633. REDDI, M.M. and TRUMPLER, P.R.: Stability of the High- Speed Journal Bearing Under Steady Load - 1. The In- compressible Film, Journ. of Engineering for Insustry Trans. ASME, Series B, Vol. 84, 1962, pp. 351-358. KIRK, R.G. and GUNTER, £.J.: Transient Journal Bearing Analysis, NASA CR-1549, Washington, D.c., June, 1970. BECKETT, R. and KURT, J.: Numerical Calculations and Algorithms, McGraw Hill Book Co., 1967, p. 70. KIRK, R.G.: Nonlinear Transient Analysis of Mult-Mass Flexible Rotors, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Virginia, June, 1972.