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Calculating Vane-Pass Frequencies

Conference Paper · September 1994

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Ref: W. C. FOILES,, Calculating vane-pass frequencies, in Proceedings IFToMM: Fourth International Conference on
Rotor Dynamics, R. L. Eshleman and N. F. Rieger, eds., Chicago, Illinois, September 7-9 1994, International Federation
for the Theory of Mechanisms and Machines, The Vibration Institute, pp. 137–141.

Calculating Vane-Pass Frequencies

by
William C. Foiles

Abstract: On a diffuser pump or compressor many of the harmonic

components of vane pass will cancel due to the symmetry of the
structure. This paper determines which radial and axial forces
cancel; the resulting criteria only requires division of integers to
evaluate whether or not a force vanishes. These procedures aid in
the correct evaluation of vibration data on turbo-machinery.

Introduction

Rotating impellor vanes passing stationary diffuser vanes in a turbo-machine

create repetative forces and resultant vibrations. These vane pass vibrations
will be periodic with respect to the number of times an impellor vane passes a
diffuser vane per unit of time. Thus the frequencies generated will be
multiples of running speed times the number of impellor vanes.

Zotov in reference 1 shows that the primary frequency may not always be the
lowest multiple. This reference numerically solves for the primary frequency
by assuming a saw-tooth force acting on the diffuser in the radial direction
only.

Figure 1: Cascade plot of vane pass vibration from a pump with 7 impellor
vanes and 13 diffuser vanes (reference 2).

Tim I. Moore in reference 2 details a particular pump which has what would
be called 2 x vane pass, because the primary frequency component generated
is 2 times the number of vanes times running speed. Figure 1 from reference
2 shows a cascade plot from a pump with 7 vanes on the impellor and 13
vanes on the diffuser. Similar vibration signatures have been seen on
identical pumps.

Nomenclature:

V - Number of vanes on the impellor

D - Number of vanes on the diffuser
R - Effective radius that axial forces act on the diffuser (for moments)
an, bn, cn, dn - Complex valued Fourier coefficients
i - Where, i2 = -1
θ - Angle of rotation of the pump or compressor impellor
eix = cos(x) + i sin(x)
Frj(θ) - Radial force at j-th diffuser vane
Ftj(θ) - Tangential force at j-th diffuser vane
Faj(θ) - Axial force at the j-th diffuser vane
Mxj(θ) - Moment about x-axis caused by j-th diffuser vane axial force
Myjθ) - Moment about y-axis caused by j-th diffuser vane axial force
Fj(θ) - Complex representation of the x and y components of Frj and Ftj

Assumptions
The primary assumption is that the flow is symmetric out of the impellor and
into the diffuser. In particular the following is used:

1. The forces on the diffuser occur at each of the D vane locations as point
occurrences. The main forces in are transmitted at the vane locations.

2. The diffuser acts as a rigid body. This should be true for excitation at the
lower frequencies, but this may be violated for higher frequencies.

3. The forces depend on the relative geometric positions of the diffuser and
impellor. This implies that the forces on the stator are periodic with
period 2π/V; the forces repeat themselves with the geometry of the
rotating vanes relative to the stationary vanes. With suitable assumption
on the nature of the force this will lead to a representation of these forces
by a Fourier series.

Page 2
Diffuser Vane Pass Analysis - Radial Forces

The radial and tangential forces at each diffuser vane j can be represented as
a Fourier series; a complex series will be used here. The geometry follows
that of figure 2.
⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
+∞ i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟
D ⎠ ⎟⎠
Frj (θ ) = ∑a
n = −∞
n e ⎝ ⎝
(1)

+∞ ⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟
D ⎠ ⎟⎠
Ftj (θ ) = ∑b
n = −∞
n e ⎝ ⎝
(2)

The x components of Frj and Ftj are given by:

⎛ 2π × j ⎞
Frj × cos⎜ ⎟ (3)
⎝ D ⎠
⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
Ftj × ⎜⎜ − sin ⎜ ⎟ ⎟⎟ (4)
⎝ ⎝ D ⎠⎠

Figure 2. Impellor and Diffuser Geometry

The y components are :

⎛ 2π × j ⎞
Frj × sin ⎜ ⎟ (5)
⎝ D ⎠

Page 3
 ⎛ 2π × j ⎞
Ftj × cos⎜ ⎟ (6)
⎝ D ⎠

Even though Frj and Ftj are expressed as complex series they are real valued
for real θ, because the actual forces exist and are real. For this reason the
usual complex formalism "x+iy" may be used on equations 3,4,5, and 6 with
the x components being the real part and the y components being the
imaginary component. Noting that cos(θ) + isin(θ) = eiθ, we obtain:

⎛ 2π × j ⎞

Fj = (Frj + i Ftj )× e
i⎜ ⎟
⎝ D ⎠
(7)

Summing the above equation over j will yield the resultant force on the
diffuser; the x component will be the real part and the y component will be
the imaginary component. This gives the following:
∞ ⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞
D -1 i ⎜⎜ n V ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟ i⎜ ⎟
∑ ∑ (a
j = 0 n = −∞
n + ibn )n e ⎝ ⎝ D ⎠ ⎟⎠ ⎝ D ⎠
e (8)

Let cn=(an+ibn) and factor (8) to get:

D -1 ∞ ⎛ ( nV +1)×( 2π × j ) ⎞
i⎜ ⎟
∑ ∑c
j = 0 n = −∞
n e i ( n Vθ )
e ⎝ D ⎠
(9)

Solution of the Vane Pass Problem

Equation (9) will be the basis for solving which frequencies do not vanish.
This will determine which forces sum to zero. To accomplish this note that
cnei(nVθ) is harmonic and can vanish identically if and only if cn=0; this
would imply that there was no force in the original pressure pulse at this
frequency on the diffuser vane. We shall assume that all cn ≠ 0. Note also
that we may ignore n=0 since this is the static force and since it does not
oscillate.

The n-th frequency component of (9) is contained in the n and -n terms; so all
that is needed is to determine when each of the following sums is zero.
D -1 ⎛ ( nV +1)( 2πj ) ⎞
i⎜ ⎟
∑e
j= 0
⎝ D ⎠
(10)

D -1 ⎛ ( − nV +1)( 2πj ) ⎞
i⎜ ⎟
∑e ⎝
j= 0
D ⎠
(11)

Page 4
Equation (10) will be analyzed and the result will also apply to (11). This will
be done using modulo arithmetic. For two integers, a and b, a mod b can be
thought of as the remainder of a divided by b. Algebraically, this involves an
equivalence relation that forms an algebraic group (See reference 3).

The determining factor to determine which expressions sum to zero will be

the values of (nV+1) mod D and (-nV+1) mod D in equations (10) and (11).

Case 1: D = 2

This is basically a double volute pump, two diffuser vanes. The results follow
geometrically. With V even, all the frequencies cancel because impellors pass
the geometrically opposite diffuser vanes at the same time with in-phase
Fourier components.

With V odd, the odd frequencies will pass the two diffuser vanes out-of-phase
and hence, add. The even frequencies will be in-phase and thus, cancel each
other.

Results for 2 Diffuser Vanes

Impellor
Vanes Odd Even
Freq.
Odd not ∅ ∅
Even ∅ ∅

The only non-zero case is when there are an odd number of impellor vanes; in
this case the odd frequencies will no vanish.

Page 5
Case 2: nV mod D ≠ ±1
( nV + 1)
If (nV+1) mod D ≠ 0, then can be reduced to lowest terms (i.e. no
D
p
common factors in the numerator and the denominator). Call this . Here q
q
divides D or D mod q = 0, also (nV+1) mod p = 0. This is the same as saying
that p and q are relatively prime. Also note that q will not be 1 since D does
not divide (nV+1).

Equation (10) will reduce to

⎛p ⎞
D q −1 i ⎜⎜⎝ q ×2πj ⎟⎟⎠
∑e
q j =0
(10')

Because p and q are relatively prime, ( p × j ) mod q ; for j = 0, q − 1

cycles from 0 to q-1, but not necessarily in order. This implies that the
⎛p ⎞
i ⎜⎜ ×2πj ⎟⎟
quantities e ; for j = 0, q − 1 , are all the q-th roots of unity or in other
⎝q ⎠

words are each and every solution of the equation xq-1=0. From the basic
theory of equations the sum of the roots of this equation will be the coefficient
of the x1 term. If q > 1 this will be 0.

An example would be p=5, q=11; the sequence jp mod q for j=0 to q-1 would
be 0, 5, 10, 4, 9, 3, 8, 2, 7, 1, and 6. This gives the 11 roots of 11-th roots of
unity.

Thus if D > 2 all the terms of equations (10) and (11) will vanish unless

± nV mod D = - 1 (12)

or equivalently if (±n+1) is not divisible by D.

The only way for equation (12) to hold for both n and -n is for D = 2, this is
handled in case 1. Otherwise, either the n-th or -n-th term of the Fourier
series will not vanish; the other will vanish if D≠0. For D = 1 no terms
vanish, unless the pressure pulse does not have a particular frequency
component; this case is trivial.

Summary of Results on Vane Pass Frequencies

The frequencies which may be obtained on the diffuser will be multiples of

the number of vanes on the impellor times the running speed of the turbo-

Page 6
machinery. Assuming that the original forces contain an n-th multiple of
vane pass, the sum of these will vanish unless

nV mod D = ±1 (12')

Equation (12') is a re-formulation of equation (12) and is the determining

factor for which frequencies sum to a non-zero value when the diffuser is
treated as a rigid body. This result holds for D=2 as well as D>2; for D=1 the
result holds trivially.

The key points in the solution are writing the real valued Fourier series as a
complex one and using the complex formalism to describe the x and y
components of force. This avoids the direct need for trigonometric identities.
When D = 2, -1 mod 2 = +1, so both the positive and negative Fourier
components are non-zero, but for D > 2 at most one will be non-zero. This
point is subtle, because real valued Fourier series need both the positive and
the negative components at the same time. Here, with the real and complex
parts being the x and y components respectively, some delicate trigonometric
manipulations have occurred.

Diffuser Vane Pass - Axial Forces

The axial force can be written as a Fourier series much the same way as
before.
∞ ⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟
Faj (θ ) = ∑ dn e ⎝ ⎝ D ⎠ ⎟⎠
(13)
n = −∞

The sum over all the diffuser vanes is:

D −1

∑F
j =0
aj (14)

Solving as before; the n and -n terms sum to zero unless nV is divisible by D

or :

nV mod D = 0 (15)

If equation (15) holds the sum reduces to:

D −1
nV ∞
∑ ( )
Faj θ = ∑ d n e i (nVθ ) (16)
j =0 D n = −∞
So the axial forces are present if and only if equation (15) holds.

Diffuser Vane Pass - Axial Moments

Page 7
The moments caused by the axial forces about the x and y axis are Mxj(θ) and
Myj(θ); they are given by:
⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ∞ i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟
D ⎠ ⎟⎠
M xj = R sin ⎜ ⎟∑ n ⎝ ⎝
d e (17)
⎝ D ⎠n = −∞
⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞
⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ∞ i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟
D ⎠ ⎟⎠
M yj = − R cos⎜ ⎟ ∑ dn e ⎝ ⎝ (18)
⎝ D ⎠ n = −∞

To solve this look at -Myj + iMxj the negative real part is the moment about
the y axis, and the imaginary part is the moment about the x axis. Using the
fact that r cos(ϕ) + i r sin(ϕ) = r eiϕ, this yields:
∞ ⎛ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞ ⎞ ⎛ 2π × j ⎞
i ⎜⎜ nV ⎜ θ + ⎟⎟ i⎜ ⎟
D ⎠ ⎟⎠ ⎝ D ⎠
− M yj + i M xj = R ∑ d n e ⎝ ⎝
e (19)
n = −∞

Sum over j and re-arrange to obtain:

∞ ⎛ ⎛ nV +1 ⎞ ⎞
D -1 i ⎜⎜ ⎜ ⎟ 2π × j ⎟⎟
− M y + i M xj = R ∑ ∑d n e i ( nVθ )
e ⎝⎝ D ⎠ ⎠
(20)
J = 0 n = −∞

The conditions that this does not vanish are the same as in the radial case;
the are as follows

nV mod D = ±1 (12')

The vane pass frequency would be nV times the running speed of the
impellor.

Impellor Forces

The impellor forces relative to a fixed point on the impellor can be calculated
as the diffuser forces have been. Relative to a fixed point on the impellor
these forces will be periodic with respect to running speed times the number
of diffuser vanes. So the frequencies which may excite the impellor will be
multiples of running speed times D, or nD x running speed. Most often the
interest would be in excitation of impellor modes; thus the impellor could not
be treated as a rigid body.

However, if the impellor acts as a rigid body the forces which sum to a non-
zero value will be:

nD mod V = ±1 (21)

Page 8
 The corresponding frequency component is nD times running speed of the
impellor.

References

1. Zotov, B. N.,Selection of number of runner and guide mechanism blades

for centrifugal pumps [sic], Russian Engineering Journal, Volume LII, No. 11.

2. Moore, Tim I., Diffuser Type Pump Vibration Resulting From

Impeller/Diffuser Vane Force Interaction, ????.

3. Jacobson, Nathan, Basic Algebra 1, Second Edition, 1985, W. H. Freeman

and Company, New York.

Page 9

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