Ritz Series Analysis of Rotating

Shaft System: Validation,

Nicole L. Zirkelback
Jerry H. Ginsberg
Fellow, ASME
G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical
Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30332-0405
Convergence, Mode Functions,
and Unbalance Response
A shaft with attached rigid disks is modeled as a rotating Timoshenko beam supported by
nonconservative, flexible bearing supports. The continuous shaft-disk system is described
with kinetic and potential energy functionals that fully account for transverse shear,
translational and rotatory inertia, and gyroscopic coupling. Ritz series expansions are
used to describe the flexural displacements and cross-sectional rotations about orthogo-
nal fixed axes. The equations of motion are derived from Lagrange’s equations and placed
in a state-space form that preserves the skew-symmetric gyroscopic matrix as well as the
full effects of the bearings. Both the general and adjoint eigenproblems for the nonsym-
metric equations are solved. Bi-orthogonality conditions lead to the ability to evaluate
dynamic response via modal analysis. Whirl speeds and logarithmic decrements calcu-
lated with the present model are verified with a finite element analysis. The present work
provides two ways of evaluating the convergence of results to demonstrate an advantage
of the Ritz method over other discretization methods. Natural mode functions and unbal-
ance response are calculated for an example system. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1501081兴

1 Introduction 共GPEM兲, Hwang and Shiau 关8兴 presented an elaborate numerical

algorithm to obtain shaft forced response. While finding the criti-
The combined effects of gyroscopic coupling, support elements
cal speeds, mode shapes and unbalance response for three ex-
that may add nonconservative effects, and flexible support sub-
amples in the undamped case was the focus of Shiau and Hwang
structures contribute to the difficulty of accurately analyzing ro-
关9兴, they briefly mentioned the use of a state-space formulation to
tating machinery. Ideally, analyses would account for these effects
calculate critical speeds in the damped case. Shiau, Hwang, and
with as few simplifying assumptions as possible. At the same
Chang 关10兴 subsequently presented the GPEM for nonlinear sys-
time, simplicity of the resulting model is an inherently desirable
tems with specific application to squeeze film dampers.
characteristic.
Lee 关11兴 studied an axially-loaded Euler-Bernoulli shaft,
There are essentially five approaches that have been used to
clamped at one end with an intermediate spring support. That
meet these conflicting objectives: lumped parameter transfer func-
work placed the equations of motion into state-space form to find
tion methods, field equations, distributed parameter transfer func-
critical speeds. The same approach was applied to shafts with
tion methods, finite elements, and assumed modes. The present
rectangular cross-sections for examining the stability of
work focuses on the assumed modes method, more properly called
pretwisted simply-supported rotating beams 关12兴 and various end
the Ritz method, where the shaft displacement field is represented
conditions that are different in orthogonal directions relative to the
as a superposition of basis functions of the spatial variable and
rotating shaft 关13兴.
generalized coordinates as functions of time.
Chun and Lee 关14兴 modeled an Euler-Bernoulli shaft with a
Several investigators have used various forms of the Ritz
single bladed disk using the Ritz method for both shaft and blades.
method to study rotating machinery. Bishop 关1兴 used basis func-
Lee and Chun 关15兴 incorporated flexible disks into the Ritz series
tion boundary conditions as idealized bearing models. Gladwell
analysis for modeling hard disk drives. More specific applications
and Bishop 关2兴 extended the work to allow flexible, axisymmetric
using this method were performed by Hamidi et al. 关16兴 for a
supports by admitting an additional family of basis functions.
rotating, cracked Euler-Bernoulli shaft and by Singh and Gupta
Morton addressed asymmetrical bearings and elastic anisotropy of
关17兴 for composite Timoshenko shafts with gyroscopic effects in
the shaft 关3兴, as well as support flexibility acting through the bear-
the disk only. Fung and Hsu 关18兴 obtained equations of motion for
ings 关4兴. To obtain stability criteria and unbalance response, Black
a Timoshenko shaft with flexible disks which were solved numeri-
关5兴 rendered deformation-mode basis functions by first analyzing
cally to obtain the time domain response.
the nonrotating system with the transfer matrix method, while also
The present work extends the initial development 关19兴 to pro-
modeling various rotordynamic elements, including couplings,
vide a unified approach for modeling rotating machinery using the
bearings, seals with fluid inertia, and impeller forces, within the
Ritz method, with each effect represented in a modular manner.
context of a Ritz formulation. Nonlinearities introduced by hydro-
The Ritz series formulation of the displacement field is based on
dynamic bearings undergoing large excitation forces are included
Timoshenko beam theory. Its implementation is generalized to
in a Ritz series analysis by Black and Brown 关6兴.
include gyroscopic effects within the shaft and disks. The rotating
Shiau and Hwang 关7兴 used polynomial basis functions in their
shaft may be supported by classical beam end conditions 共pinned,
method to obtain critical speeds and mode shapes for a rotating
fixed, guided, and free兲 in two orthogonal planes, or by bearing
Euler-Bernoulli shaft with thin disks and bearing supports. Nam-
supports that may be nonconservative. This defines conditions for
ing their method the Generalized Polynomial Expansion Method
the kinematic admissibility of the basis functions, which represent
Contributed by the Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound for publication
the transverse displacements and cross-sectional rotations relative
in the JOURNAL OF VIBRATION AND ACOUSTICS. Manuscript received October to orthogonal axes. A series of basis functions are used to describe
2001; Revised April 2002. Associate Editor: G. T. Flowers. the mechanical energies and virtual work. The equations of mo-

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 tion are obtained from Lagrange’s equations, which are then
placed into a state-space form that preserves all velocity depen-
dent effects, including gyroscopic inertia, cross-coupling due to
bearings, and dissipation in bearings and seals.
A finite element example by Lee 关20兴 is used to validate the
analysis with a comparison of calculated whirl speeds, critical
speeds, and logarithmic decrements. Presentation of a conver-
gence study demonstrates the advantage of the Ritz method. It is
In the preceding x d L is the axial location of the disk and ␮ d
⫽m d / ␳ AL is a dimensionless disk mass. Also, (r L ) d L and (r T ) d L
are the 共dimensional兲 longitudinal and transverse radii of gyration
of a disk, respectively.
The strain energy of the shaft contains the influence of both
bending and shear deformation, and it is assumed that coupling of
torsional and axial loadings with the flexural motion is unimpor-
tant. The resulting potential energy functional is

冕 再 冉 冊 冉 冊 冋冉 冊 冉 冊 册冎
shown that a posteriori estimates of convergence are available
from a single evaluation, which is not a feature of discretization 1 1 ⳵␣ 2
⳵␤ 2
⳵v 2
⳵w 2
V⫽ ⫹ ⫹␬⬘ ⫺␣ ⫹ ⫹␤ dx
methods that synthesize a system from subdomains. Complex 2 0 ⳵x ⳵x ⳵x ⳵x
natural mode functions show the natural motion of the shaft at its (4)
critical speeds. Results for unbalance response are presented for
both moderate and light damping cases. where ␬ ⬘ depends on the shear correction factor ␬ according to
␬ GAL 2 2␬
2 Shaft-Disk-Bearing Model ␬ ⬘⫽ ⫽ (5)
EI 共 1⫹ ␯ 兲 r 2
Consider a beam or shaft executing general motion within a The examples will use ␬ ⫽10/9 for a circular cross-section.
fixed reference frame XYZ. The x-axis of the moving reference Bearing forces are taken to be arbitrary linear functions of the
frame Oxyz coincides with the centroidal axis of the shaft. To transverse displacement and velocity components at the bearing
describe the gyroscopic inertial effects, the present analysis ap- locations, which are denoted as x b L. The virtual work done by the
plies the Stodola-Green model 共关21兴, 关22兴兲 for a differential shaft forces at bearing b is
segment as shown in Fig. 1. In a linearized theory the kinetic
energy for the flexural displacements v and w relative to orthogo- ␦ W b ⫽⫺ 关 k y y v共 x b ,t 兲 ⫹k yz w 共 x b ,t 兲 ⫹c y y v̇共 x b ,t 兲
nal fixed transverse directions Y and Z, respectively, and cross-
sectional rotations ␣ and ␤, which are Eulerian angles relative to ⫹c yz ẇ 共 x b ,t 兲兴 ␦ v共 x b ,t 兲 ⫺ 关 k zz w 共 x b ,t 兲 ⫹k zy v共 x b ,t 兲
those axes, is ⫹c zz ẇ 共 x b ,t 兲 ⫹c zy v̇共 x b ,t 兲兴 ␦ w 共 x b ,t 兲 (6)

T shaft⫽
1
2 冕再0
1 r2
v̇共 x,t 兲 2 ⫹ẇ 共 x,t 兲 2 ⫹ 关 ⍀ 2 ⫹2⍀ ␣˙ 共 x,t 兲 ␤ 共 x,t 兲兴
2
where the dimensional bearing coefficients are, for example,
k y y EI/L 3 and c y y ␶ EI/L 3 . Note that symmetry is not assumed for

冎
any of the bearing coefficients, which allows for a variety of
r2 cross-coupling effects associated with bearing dynamics.
⫹ 关 ␣˙ 共 x,t 兲 2 ⫹ ␤˙ 共 x,t 兲 2 兴 dx (1)
4
All variables introduced in the preceding are dimensionless, with
the shaft length L used as the length scaling factor, ␶ 3 Ritz Method
⫽( ␳ AL 4 /EI) 1/2 is the time scale, and EI/L scales the energies. A Ritz series expansion consists of a sum of products of time-
For example, the dimensional cross-sectional radius is rL, and the dependent generalized coordinates q j and kinematically admis-
rotation rate is ⍀/␶. 共The latter quantity is constant for the present sible basis functions ␺ j . The orthogonal displacement fields
analysis.兲 Each attached disk, denoted with index d, adds kinetic ( v ,w) as well as the rotation angles 共␣,␤兲 of the differential shaft
energy T d , so the system’s kinetic energy is element are described individually by Ritz series expansions, with
different basis functions used to describe the displacement and
T⫽T shaft⫹ 兺T d
d (2) rotation variables,
N N
where v⫽ 兺
j⫽1
␺ 共j disp兲 共 x 兲 q 共j v 兲 共 t 兲 , w⫽ 兺␺
j⫽1
共 disp兲
j 共 x 兲 q 共j w 兲 共 t 兲
1 (7)
T d ⫽ ␮ d 兵 v̇共 x d ,t 兲 2 ⫹ẇ 共 x d ,t 兲 2 ⫹ 共 r T 兲 2d 关 ␣˙ 共 x d ,t 兲 2 ⫹ ␤˙ 共 x d ,t 兲 2 兴 N N
2
⫹ 共 r L 兲 2d 关 2⍀ ␣˙ 共 x d ,t 兲 ␤ 共 x d ,t 兲 ⫹⍀ 2 兴 其 (3)
␣⫽ 兺␺
j⫽1
共 rot兲
j 共 x 兲 q 共j ␣ 兲 共 t 兲 , ␤⫽ 兺␺
j⫽1
共 rot兲
j 共 x 兲 q 共j ␤ 兲 共 t 兲

The series for each variable is taken to be the same length N as a

matter of convenience. If one uses an idealized bearing model,
such as pinned or clamped, then all basis functions must satisfy
the associated geometric boundary conditions: ␺ (j disp) ⫽0 at loca-
tions where displacement is constrained, and ␺ (j rot) ⫽0 at locations
where rotation about transverse axes are prevented. That the basis
functions for v and ␣ are the same as those for w and ␤, respec-
tively, is a simplification that can easily be disregarded when ide-
alized bearing models requiring geometric boundary conditions
differ in the two orthogonal directions.
The expression that results from substitution of these expan-
sions into the kinetic energy of the system may be grouped into
terms T ( disp) associated with transverse displacement, T ( rot) asso-
ciated with rotation about transverse axes, and T ( rb) , which is the
kinetic energy that the system would have if it rotated as a rigid
body. The first two sets of terms are quadratic sums given by
N N
1
Fig. 1 Relationships between axes and rotations for a differ-
ential shaft element
T 共 disp兲 ⫽
2 兺 兺 关M
j⫽1 n⫽1
共v兲 共v兲 共v兲 共w兲 共w兲 共w兲
jn q̇ j q̇ n ⫹M jn q̇ j q̇ n 兴
(8)

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 1
N N where
T 共 rot兲 ⫽
2 兺兺
j⫽1 n⫽1
关 M 共jn␣ 兲 q̇ 共j ␣ 兲 q̇ 共n␣ 兲 ⫹M 共jn␤ 兲 q̇ 共j ␤ 兲 q̇ 共n␤ 兲 ⫹2B jn q̇ 共j ␣ 兲 q 共n␤ 兲 兴

Because T ( rb) is independent of the series coefficients, there is no

need to consider it further. The displacement portion of the inertia
K̂ 共jnvv 兲 ⫽ 兺kb
共 disp兲
yy␺ j 共 x b 兲 ␺ 共ndisp兲 共 x b 兲 ,
coefficients are

M 共jnv 兲 ⫽M 共jnw 兲 ⫽ 冕 0
1
␺ 共j disp兲 ␺ 共ndisp兲 dx⫹ 兺␮␺
d
d
共 disp兲
j 共 x d 兲 ␺ 共ndisp兲 共 x d 兲 ;
K 共jnv w 兲 ⫽ 兺k
b
共 disp兲
yz ␺ j 共 x b 兲 ␺ 共ndisp兲 共 x b 兲 (15)

j,n⫽1, . . . ,N (9)
The M (jn␣ )
and M (jn␤ )
inertia coefficients, which correspond to the Terms not listed in this expression may be obtained by permuting
Rayleigh correction for rotatory inertia in nonrotating beams, are the symbols. As implied by the notation, it is convenient to asso-

冕 1 r 2 共 rot兲 共 rot兲 ciate the displacement dependent bearing effects with the stiffness
M 共jn␣ 兲 ⫽M 共jn␤ 兲 ⫽
0 4 j
␺ ␺ n dx⫹ 兺␮r d
2 共 rot兲
d Td␺ j 共 x d 兲 ␺ 共nrot兲 共 x d 兲 matrix, even though some of the terms are nonconservative. Simi-
larly, the bearing damping coefficients are added to the damping
(10) matrix produced from a dissipation model for the shaft. The terms
Nonzero values of the B jn coefficients will be seen to lead to Q (nv ) and Q (nw ) are generalized forces representing external excita-
gyroscopic coupling of the cross-sectional rotations about the or- tions, including imbalances. Couple loadings such as those due to
thogonal transverse axes. These coefficients are a misaligned rotor would lead to additional forces Q n( ␣ ) and Q (n␤ ) .

冋冕 册
Application of Lagrange’s equations to the expressions for the
1 r 2 共 rot兲 共 rot兲
B 共jn␤␣ 兲 ⫽⍀
0 2 j
␺ ␺ n dx⫹ 兺␮rd
共 rot兲
d Ld␺ j
2
共 x d 兲 ␺ 共nrot兲 共 x d 兲 mechanical energies and the virtual work leads to a set of coupled
second order linear differential equations typical of systems in
(11) steady rotation 关21兴. The general form is
Substitution of the Ritz series into the strain energy, Eq. 共4兲,
also leads to a quadratic sum whose form is
关 M 兴 兵 q̈ 其 ⫹ 关关 G 兴 ⫹ 关 C 兴兴 兵 q̇ 其 ⫹ 关 K 兴 兵 q 其 ⫽ 兵 Q 其 (16)
N N
1
V⫽
2 兺 兺 关K
j⫽1 n⫽1
共 vv 兲 共 v 兲 共 v 兲 共 ␣␣ 兲 共 ␣ 兲 共 ␣ 兲 共v␣兲 共v兲 共␣兲
jn q j q n ⫹K jn q j q n ⫹2K jn q j q n
where 兵q其 is a generalized coordinate vector defined in partitioned
form by
⫹K 共jnww 兲 q 共j w 兲 q 共nw 兲 ⫹K 共jn␤␤ 兲 q 共j ␤ 兲 q 共n␤ 兲 ⫹2K 共jnw ␤ 兲 q 共j w 兲 q 共n␤ 兲 兴 (12)
where the stiffness coefficients are
兵 q其 ⫽ 关 兵 q共 v 兲 其 T 兵 q共 ␣ 兲 其 T 兵 q共 w 兲 其 T 兵 q共 ␤ 兲 其 T 兴 T
冕
(17)
1 d ␺ 共j disp兲 ␺ 共ndisp兲
K 共jnvv 兲 ⫽K 共jnww 兲 ⫽ ␬ ⬘ dx
0 dx dx
The inertia matrix 关M兴 and gyroscopic matrix 关G兴 are defined in
K 共jn␣␣ 兲 ⫽K 共jn␤␤ 兲 ⫽ 冕冋 1 d ␺ 共j rot兲 d ␺ 共nrot兲
⫹ ␬ ⬘ ␺ 共j rot兲 ␺ 共nrot兲 册 dx (13)
conformable partitioned form as

冋 册
0 dx dx

K 共jnv ␣ 兲 ⫽⫺K 共jnw ␤ 兲 ⫽⫺ ␬ ⬘ 冕 0

1 d ␺ 共j disp兲
dx
␺ 共nrot兲 dx
关 M 兴⫽
关 M 共v兲兴
关0兴 关M
关0兴
共␣兲
兴
关0兴
关0兴
关0兴
关0兴
(18)
When the Ritz series are used to represent the terms in the virtual 关0兴 关0兴 关 M 共w兲兴 关0兴
work, the result is a set of generalized forces that depend linearly 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 关 M 共␤兲兴
on the various Ritz series coefficients and their time derivatives,

冋 册
specifically
N 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴
␦ W⫽ 兺 关 Q 共nv 兲 ⫺K̂ 共jnvv 兲 q 共j v 兲 ⫺K̂ 共jnv w 兲 q 共j w 兲 ⫺Ĉ 共jnvv 兲 q̇ 共j v 兲 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 ⫺ 关 B 共 ␤␣ 兲 兴 T
j⫽1
关G兴⫽ (19)
N 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴
⫺Ĉ 共jnv w 兲 q̇ 共j w 兲 兴 ␦ q 共nv 兲 ⫹ 兺 关Q
j⫽1
共w兲 共 ww 兲 共 w 兲 共wv兲 共v兲
n ⫺K̂ jn q j ⫺K̂ jn q j
关0兴 关 B 共 ␤␣ 兲 兴 关0兴 关0兴

⫺Ĉ 共jnww 兲 q̇ 共j w 兲 ⫺Ĉ 共jnw v 兲 q̇ 共j v 兲 兴 ␦ q 共nw 兲 (14) while the stiffness matrix 关K兴 and damping matrix 关C兴 are

冋 册
关 K 共 vv 兲 兴 ⫹ 关 K̂ 共 vv 兲 兴 关 K共v␣兲兴 关 K̂ 共 v w 兲 兴 关0兴
共v␣兲 T 共 ␣␣ 兲
关K 兴 关K 兴 关0兴 关0兴
关K兴⫽ (20)
关 K̂ 共 w v 兲 兴 关0兴 关 K 共 ww 兲 兴 ⫹ 关 K̂ 共 ww 兲 兴 关 K共w␤兲兴
关0兴 关0兴 关 K共w␤兲兴 T 关 K 共 ␤␤ 兲 兴

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 冋 册
关 Ĉ 共 vv 兲 兴 关0兴 关 Ĉ 共 v w 兲 兴 关0兴 5 Unbalance Response
关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 A significant feature of the eigenvectors is that they may be
关C兴⫽ (21) used to derive a set of uncoupled response equations. A modal
关 Ĉ 共 w v 兲 兴 关0兴 关 Ĉ 共 ww 兲 兴 关0兴 expansion given by
关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 关0兴 兵 X其 ⫽ 关 兵 ⌽1 其 兵 ⌽2 其 ¯ 兴 兵 ␩其 (31)
Note that 关G兴 is skew-symmetric, and 关M兴 is symmetric. Symme- in combination with the bi-orthogonality properties leads to
try of 关K兴 and 关C兴 depends on the nature of the bearings. The
generalized force vector 兵Q其 corresponding to the definition of 兵q其 ␩˙ j ⫺␭ j ␩ j ⫽ 兵 ⌽̃ j 其 T 兵 F其 ; j⫽1, . . . ,8N (32)
is Consider the specific case of unbalance response,
兵 Q其 ⫽ 关 兵 Q共 v 兲 其 T 兵 0 其 T 兵 Q共 w 兲 其 T 兵 0 其 T 兴 T (22) 共 Q 共 v 兲 兲 n ⫽ ␺ 共ndisp兲 共 x d 兲 m d ␧⍀ 2 cos共 ⍀t 兲 ,
4 State-Space Analysis 共 Q 共 w 兲 兲 n ⫽ ␺ 共ndisp兲 共 x d 兲 m d ␧⍀ 2 sin共 ⍀t 兲 ; n⫽1, . . . ,N (33)
Solution of the nonsymmetric equations of motion is readily where the imbalance due to the dimensionless eccentricity ␧ oc-
carried out by placing the equations in state-space form. The state curs only at the disk locations x d . Modal analysis is one way to
vector is defined to be calculate the shaft response to imbalance. Let the complex ampli-
tudes of the harmonic solutions for the state vector 兵 X(t) 其 and the
兵 X其 ⫽ 关 兵 q其 T 兵 q̇其 T 兴 T (23)
modal vector 兵 ␩(t) 其 be 兵 X̂其 and 兵 Ŷ其 , respectively. Substitution
Correspondingly, the state-space form of the equations of motion into the modal equation of motion 共32兲 gives, after matching like
共16兲 is coefficients,
关 S 兴 兵 Ẋ其 ⫺ 关 R 兴 兵 X其 ⫽ 兵 F其 (24) 兵 ⌽̃ j 其 T 兵 F̂其
Ŷ j ⫽ (34)
with the definitions i⍀⫺␭ j

关 R 兴 ⫽⫺ 冋 关0兴
关K兴
关K兴
关G兴⫹关C兴
册 , 关S兴⫽ 冋 ⫺关K兴
关0兴
关0兴
关M兴
册 (25)
where i⫽ 冑⫺1 and

兵 F̂其 ⫽ 关 兵 0 其 T 兵 Q̂其 T 兴 T ,
(35)
兵 F其 ⫽ 关 兵 0 其 T 兵 Q其 T 兴 T (26) 兵 Q̂其 ⫽ 关 兵 ␺共 disp兲 其 T 兵 0 其 T 兵 ␺共 disp兲 其 T 兵 0 其 T 兴 T m d ␧⍀ 2
Note that because N is the length of each of the Ritz series, the Then, the amplitude of the state vector is
state-space equations are a set of 8N coupled first-order differen-
tial equations. 兵 X̂其 ⫽ 关 兵 ⌽1 其 兵 ⌽2 其 ¯ 兴 兵 Ŷ其 (36)
Lack of symmetry in the coefficient matrix of the state vector
Although possible, modal evaluation of the response according to
necessitates solution of general left and right eigenvalue prob-
Eqs. 共34兲 and 共36兲 would be computationally intensive because
lems, such that
the eigenvalues and eigenvectors must be recalculated at each
关关 R 兴 ⫺␭ j 关 S 兴兴 兵 ⌽ j 其 ⫽ 兵 0 其 , 关关 R 兴 T ⫺␭ j 关 S 兴 T 兴 兵 ⌽̃ j 其 ⫽ 兵 0 其 (27) rotational speed. The frequency domain, which does not require
the state-space, is an alternative. The frequency response function
The eigenvectors 兵 ⌽ j 其 and their adjoint 兵 ⌽̃ j 其 are normalized such is
that the bi-orthogonality conditions satisfied by these quantities
are ⌫ˆ 共 ⍀ 兲 ⫽ 关关 K 兴 ⫺i⍀ 共关 C 兴 ⫹ 关 G 共 ⍀ 兲兴 兲 ⫺⍀ 2 关 M 兴兴 ⫺1 (37)
It follows that the harmonic response is given by
兵 ⌽̃ j 其 T 关 S 兴 兵 ⌽n 其 ⫽ ␦ jn , 兵 ⌽̃ j 其 T 关 R 兴 兵 ⌽n 其 ⫽␭ j ␦ jn (28)
The eigenvalues depend on the rotation rate because of the ⍀ 兵 q 其 ⫽Re共 兵 q̂其 exp共 i⍀t 兲兲 , 兵 q̂其 ⫽⌫ˆ 共 ⍀ 兲 兵 Q̂其 (38)
dependence of 关G兴. 共In general, the bearing coefficients might also The fact that 关G兴 is directly proportional to ⍀ implies that the
depend on the shaft angular velocity. Such dependence is omitted integrals in Eq. 共11兲 need be evaluated only once. Furthermore,
from the examples that follow.兲 Critical speeds are the values of ⍀ the case where bearing coefficients, and therefore 关C兴 and 关K兴, are
at which the imaginary part of any of the 8N eigenvalues ␭ j ⍀ dependent is readily included.
equals ⍀ 关21兴. The real part of the eigenvalue is related to the The physical response variables ( v , ␣, w, and ␤兲 can be recov-
amount of damping exhibited by a particular eigenvalue. The ered by using either 兵 q̂其 or the upper half of 兵 X̂其 to synthesize the
logarithmic decrements ␦ j can be calculated as Ritz series. All of the operations are readily implemented using
⫺2 ␲ Re共 ␭ j 兲 standard numerical software. Cases studied thus far, in which
␦ j⫽ (29) N ranged up to 20, neither led to convergence difficulties nor
兩 Im共 ␭ j 兲 兩 excessively long execution times for the general eigensolver in
Divergence and flutter instabilities may be identified by searching Mathcad.
for rotation rates ⍀ that lead an eigenvalue having a negative
logarithmic decrement 共i.e., a positive real part兲. 6 Examples
At any rotation rate, the natural mode functions for transverse Figure 2 shows Lee’s 关20兴 example of a shaft supported by
displacement and rotation, ⌿ (nv ) (x), ⌿ (n␣ ) (x), ⌿ n( w ) (x), and bearings at one end and the midpoint, with an overhung disk at the
⌿ n( ␤ ) (x), may be obtained by using the right eigenvectors to con- free end. The bearings have dissimilar direct stiffnesses but the
struct the Ritz series. For example, same direct damping coefficients. Cross-coupled bearing coeffi-
cients are zero. Nondimensional parameters are given in the figure
N
caption; dimensional quantities are given by Lee 关20兴.
⌿ 共nv 兲 共 x 兲 ⫽ 兺␺
j⫽1
共 disp兲
j 共 x 兲 ⌽ jn , The basis functions for this system should be such that neither
the displacement nor cross-section rotation vanish identically at
N the boundaries. Such conditions are met by the Euler-Bernoulli
⌿ 共n␣ 兲 共 x 兲 ⫽ 兺␺
j⫽1
共 rot兲
j 共 x 兲 ⌽ 共 j⫹N 兲 n ; n⫽1, . . . ,N (30) mode functions for a nonrotating free-free beam 关21兴, which also
fulfill the requirement of differing sufficiently as N increases to

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Fig. 2 Overhung rotor system with two bearings in †20‡. ␬ ⬘
Ä2,738, ␶ Ä0.0016, ␮ d Ä0.4775, r P Ä0.07303, r T Ä0.05164, k yy
Ä407.4, k zz Ä651.9, c yy Ä c zz Ä5.093.
prevent ill-conditioning. These functions are selected for their
ease of programming, although one could instead use the corre-
sponding Timoshenko free-free beam functions for this purpose.
However, doing so would not guarantee a result that converges
more rapidly, because the basis functions are also coupled by
gyroscopic and nonconservative effects.
The resulting critical speed map in Fig. 3 shows excellent
agreement between the present Ritz method (N⫽10) and the fi-
nite element analysis with modal reduction performed by Lee. It is
unclear in 关20兴 how many elements were applied in the original
finite element analysis, though the work states that ‘‘20 Ritz base
vectors’’ were used in the reduced finite element system. The 1X
synchronous line determines the critical speeds given in Table 1
with corresponding logarithmic decrements. Almost all critical
speeds are shown to differ from Lee’s result in 关20兴 by less than
1%, except for one critical speed that varies by 2.5%. The loga-
Fig. 3 Critical speed map with a 1X synchronous line for an overhung rotor bear-
ing system. Comparison with the finite element method in †20‡.
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rithmic decrements deviate more markedly from 关20兴, but Kim
and Lee 关23兴 noted that logarithmic decrements calculated with
their method are more prone to error than are critical speeds.
One of the primary advantages of using the Ritz method is the
ability to assess convergence without having to repeat calcula-
tions. To illustrate the point, two ways of viewing convergence are
compared. The conventional way of demonstrating convergence is
rezoning, or recalculating quantities with an increasing number of
functions until the quantities cease to change. Figure 4 is a rezon-
ing convergence study for critical speeds and logarithmic decre-
ments using Lee’s example system 关20兴. In this figure, critical
speeds and logarithmic decrements were calculated with increas-
ing Ritz series lengths N until their values changed negligibly.
Although their convergence rates differ, the two quantities have
obviously converged by N⫽10.
The behavior of the Ritz generalized coordinates q j at a specific
N also provides convergence information. Figure 5 shows the rela-
tive contributions of the basis functions at the critical speeds for
each of the displacement and rotation variables at N⫽10. The
figures show that, in general, the higher generalized coordinates
are two orders of magnitude lower than the those for the first part
of the series. It is possible to conclude solely from this figure,
calculated at one value of N, that each series has sufficiently con-
verged, thus recalculation to check for changes in the results is
unnecessary.
In general, the natural mode functions for v and w are complex,
and thus difficult to visualize using standard means. Parameters
defined in 关24兴 combine the mode information in terms of the
elliptical orbit of the shaft’s cross-section with semimajor axis a,
semiminor axis b, and tilt angle ␪ with respect to the fixed refer-
ence frame 共X, Y, Z兲. The sign of the semiminor axis b also indi-
cates the direction of whirl. The natural mode functions for the
first six critical speeds for Lee’s 关20兴 example system are shown
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 1 Comparison with †20‡. Critical speeds, logarithmic decrements, and damping ratios.

in Figs. 6 through 8. In Fig. 6, the backward whirl characteristic of
the first critical speed mode is evidenced by negative values of b,
while the positive sign of b in the mode for the second critical
speed indicates forward whirling. Note that modes can have parts
that are forward whirling and backward whirling simultaneously,
as is exhibited in Figs. 7 and 8. The stiff bearings cause a sharp
bend in the shaft for critical speed modes 1, 2, and 6, while the
large tip mass causes a node near the end of the shaft at the last
four critical speeds.
The response to imbalance for displacements v and w at the end
disk (x⫽1) in Fig. 9 shows peaks for the first two critical speeds
and an indistinct rise near the sixth critical speed. The other three
critical speeds completely disappear due to damping in the bear-
ings. The larger logarithmic decrements for the last four critical
speeds in Table 1 translate to modal damping ratios that do not
exceed 0.122, but this amount of damping is enough to obscure
these resonances. To demonstrate this fact, Fig. 9 also displays the
unbalance response when the damping matrix is reduced to 1% of
its former value. In the dimensionless frequency range from 25 to
45, four resonances are evident. It is also interesting to note how
resonances associated with modes that are predominantly back-
ward whirling, as indicated by a negative b in Figs. 6 through 8,
have response magnitudes that are smaller than those of forward
whirling modes. For example, the fifth resonance has a small re-
sponse magnitude and a backward whirling natural mode function
共Fig. 8兲, while the forward-whirling sixth mode function corre-
sponds to a much higher response magnitude in Fig. 9.
7 Conclusions
The Ritz method has been successfully applied to rotating Ti-
moshenko shafts with thin, rigid disks and bearing supports. Dif-
ferent series represent each component of transverse displacement
and rotation within the shaft. Coupling effects between displace-
ment and rotation in a plane due to elasticity, and between cross-
sectional rotations induced by gyroscopic effects, are consistently

Fig. 4 Rezoning convergence study. Markers denote critical speed number.

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 Fig. 5 Convergence study with generalized coordinates q j

Fig. 6 Mode function magnitudes and phase angles in terms of elliptical parameters „ a , b , and ␪… for the
first and second critical speeds

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 Fig. 7 Mode function magnitudes and phase angles in terms of elliptical parameters „ a , b , and ␪… for the
third and fourth critical speeds

Fig. 8 Mode function magnitudes and phase angles in terms of elliptical parameters „ a , b , and ␪… for the
fifth and sixth critical speeds

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 Fig. 9 Unbalance response magnitudes and phase angles for displacements v and w
represented. Because the analysis was formulated for arbitrary
support conditions, adapting the model to a specific set of geo-
metric boundary conditions only requires selection of a suitable
set of basis functions. The present case in which no geometric
conditions apply 共i.e., bearing supports only兲 was described by
using mode functions for a nonrotating free-free beam.
The state-space analysis retained all gyroscopic effects and
nonconservative effects from bearing supports, including cross-
coupling and damping. One can use such a rotordynamic model as
the foundation for standard linearized response evaluations. These
include identification of critical speeds and stability ranges, evalu-
ation of mode functions, and transient and steady-state response to
force excitation. It was shown that calculations for unbalance re-
sponse could proceed by either modal analysis or with a frequency
domain analysis. However, modal analysis requires recalculation
of the system eigenproblem at each frequency due to the velocity-
dependent gyroscopic effects and thus, can be more numerically
intensive.
Results from a finite element analysis of a prototypical system
in 关20兴 confirmed the accuracy of the present method. By virtue of
using globally defined basis functions, the Ritz method has an
advantage over discretization methods with regard to examining
the convergence of results, because the analysis yields conver-
gence information in the weighting factors. The mode functions in
terms of elliptical orbit parameters give an indication of where
shaft bending would naturally occur at the critical speeds for the
system studied. Even though the damping ratios for the system
were quite small, the response to imbalance shows only two of
the expected six critical speeds in the frequency range studied.
This emphasizes the need to apply a methodology that retains
the entire damping matrix, lest the contribution of damping be
misrepresented.
The general approach allows representation of each effect in a
modular manner with appropriate contributions to energy or work
terms. Furthermore, satisfying a variational principle with a Ritz
series whose basis functions are globally defined usually requires
fewer variables than the number required for models using dis-
cretization concepts. Depending on the type of analysis, smaller
model size can lead to computational savings. This advantage is
sometimes offset by the fact that the system matrices are fully
populated, whereas finite element models typically have banded
matrices. More profoundly, the ability to employ a minimal num-
ber of generalized coordinates is useful for a number of applica-
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tions and extensions, such as inverse parameter identification and
further modularization implementing substructuring concepts.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Chong-Won Lee, Professor
in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST, and his
former student Dr. Seong-Wook Hong, Professor in the School of
Mechanical Engineering at Kumoh National University of Tech-
nology, in Korea for the data in Fig. 3. This research was sup-
ported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion under contract number NGT3-52371 supervised by Mr.
Jeffrey J. Trudell of NASA Glenn Research Center.
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