20 Rotor and Foundation

After the publication of the transfer matrix method [6, 7] it was possible to
determine the vibration characteristics of rotors supported on several bearings.
Furthermore, it became desirable to include the foundation and the casings.
Before that time their influence could only be estimated or judged from the
results from simple models.
A part solutiori to this problem was achieved by Weber [127] by extending
the transfer matrix method to a model having two beams. One beam was the
rotor and the other represented the table foundation. Both beams were coupled
by springs at their supports and the foundation beam was also supported on
springs representing the vertical supports. As a result a new appreciation of
their combined vibration behaviour was achieved, although the lower beam was
only a rough representation of the foundation.
An essentially better and indeed sufficiently accurate model of the founda-
tion can be assumed in using the finite element method, which is described in
Chap. 19. In principle the coupling with the rotor brings nothing new. One sim-
ply adds a further structure, which is catered for by the well-known addition of
corresponding elements of the matrices. Further details of this will be presented
in Sect. 20.1.
The model of the foundation has symmetric matrices of high order. The
rotor model, on the other hand, has few degrees of freedom by comparison, but
by its nature its matrices are non-symmetric. For the coupled system there exist
many degrees of freedom, as well as non-symmetric matrices, and this demands
a considerable expenditure in computing time.
Publications in this field are above all characterized by the way this expen-
diture can be reduced. A very effective method was put forward by Pons [128]
as component mode synthesis. By this means the solution is approximated by
a linear combination of a sufficient number of eigenvectors of the subsystems
representing rotor and support structure. The order of the matrices is thus re-
duced from n to m, where m is the number of substitution vectors. In reference
[128] an example is given in which n = 6000 and m = 70.
The solution is made easy for the case of unbalance vibrations by consider-
ing the foundation as represented only by its dynamic stiffnesses at the bearing
positions. These are obtained by inversion of the separately determined recep-
tances. This method is described in references [129] and [130] and in the next
section. A similar method, which is not confined to unbalance vibrations is de-
E. Krämer, Dynamics of Rotors and Foundations
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1993
294 20 Rotor and Foundation

scribed by Wang and Lund [111]. In this the rotor and the foundation are first
calculated separately and then combined by "impedance matching".
Calculations involving the combined system of rotor and casing encounter
the same problems as for the rotor and foundation combination. Occasionally
the casing model has more than ten thousand degrees of freedom, and so the
reduction of expenditure in computer time is even more urgent. Vinsonneau
and Lemant give an example of such a system in ref. [131]. They suggest the
reduction of the stationary components after the manner of Guyan and the
completion of the calculations after making the matrices symmetrical, following
an averaging procedure.

20.1 Calculations

Using the rotor model of Chap. 14, the total structure outside the bearing shells
is replaced by spring and damper combinations which are supported rigidly
(Fig. 14.5). In considering the dynamics of the foundation and in general the
supporting structure the rigid bearing support is replaced by the model of this
structure. The connection can be done directly to ground or by interposing
a rigid body to represent the bearing pedestals (Fig. 20.1). The equation of
motion of the coupled system is comprised of the equations of motion of the
rotor and the support structure by adding the corresponding matrix elements.
It is assumed that the corresponding coordinates are parallel and have the same
positive directions.
With order nR of the rotor and nF of the support structure the equation
of motion of the coupled system has order nRF = nR + nF. We need this
equation of motion in order to calculate the natural frequencies. The calculation
of unbalance vibrations or vibrations resulting from general harmonic excitation
is then achieved with considerably fewer coordinates. This will be illustrated in
the following.

Pedestal (rigid body)

Fig. 20.1. Model of a bearing pedestal.