Influence of the Supporting Structure

Dynamic Behaviour on the Shaft Vibration

of a Real Rotating Machine

Andrea Vania, Paolo Pennacchi and Steven Chatterton

Abstract The dynamic behaviour of the supporting structure of rotating machines

can significantly affect the shaft-train vibration. When a foundation natural fre-
quency is close to the machine operating speed, the forces caused by even almost
negligible malfunctions can cause very high vibration levels. This paper shows a
case history in which a natural frequency of a generator case, and that of an
auxiliary shaft, significantly affected the dynamic behaviour of a power unit. The
existence of these critical natural frequencies has been confirmed through specific
experimental tests, the results of which are shown in the paper.

Keywords Foundation structures
Generator vibration
Case natural frequencies

1 Introduction

The supporting structure of many rotating machines is composed of a concrete base

and the machine case, which often includes the bearing housings. Sometimes, the
journal bearings are installed inside pedestals that can be connected to the concrete
base or to the end parts of the case of a single machine. Owing to its mechanical
characteristics, the supporting structure can have some natural frequencies that are
contained in the frequency range below the machine operating speed. This may
cause a considerable amplification of the vibration levels during the machine runups

A. Vania (&)
P. Pennacchi
S. Chatterton

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano,
Via G. La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, Italy
e-mail: andrea.vania@polimi.it
P. Pennacchi
e-mail: paolo.pennacchi@polimi.it
S. Chatterton
e-mail: steven.chatterton@polimi.it

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 2123

P. Pennacchi (ed.), Proceedings of the 9th IFToMM International
Conference on Rotor Dynamics, Mechanisms and Machine Science 21,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-06590-8_175
2124 A. Vania et al.

and rundowns. A more critical situation is represented by the case in which one or
more natural frequencies of the foundation structure are close to the machine
operating speed. This may cause considerable vibration levels, even induced by
residual unbalances, machine misalignments and other further malfunctions the
magnitude of which is not necessarily very high.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy to obtain a reliable prediction of the natural
frequencies and normal modes of the foundation structure, in its stand-alone con-
figuration. This can be due to uncertainties in the actual value of some mechanical
parameters of the foundation and to the possible occurrence of non-linear effects.
Conversely, when the experimental response of the fully assembled machine is
available, it can be difficult to obtain an accurate evaluation of the effects caused by
the machine-train on the estimates of the modal parameters of the foundation alone.
In fact, the vibration normal modes that mainly affect the foundation structure, as
well as the corresponding natural frequencies of the fully assembled machine, can
be significantly influenced by the mass and stiffness of the shaft-train. With ref-
erence to this, further considerable effects can be also caused by the machine
thermal state, in the operating condition.
Therefore, serious problems can arise when an unpredicted natural frequency of
the supporting structure happens to be close to the machine operating speed.
Besides, the corrective actions that can reduce the vibration levels caused by this
problem may not be simple to achieve for an already assembled system.
This paper shows the experimental data of a case history in which the syn-
chronous (1X) lateral vibration of a power unit generator, measured in the operating
condition, showed very high amplitudes. The results of impact tests carried out on
the generator case and pedestals brought out the existence of some natural fre-
quencies that were close to the machine rated speed. Also the auxiliary shaft that
connected the generator rotor to the gas turbine was affected by a natural frequency
that was only a little beyond the machine operating speed. This caused harmful
effects on the generator dynamic behaviour.
A definitive solution of these problems was not easy to achieve, especially
without causing a long forced outage. Therefore, it was decided to reduce the 1X
vibration levels with an in field balancing of the generator rotor, carried out using a
flange coupling as balance plane.
The experimental vibrations measured before and after the generator balancing,
as well as the results of the impact tests carried out on the machine case, are shown
and discussed. This paper shows, once again, that the inaccurate design of the
foundation structure, or that of auxiliary components of the rotor-train, can cause
considerable vibration levels of rotating-machines. Therefore, it is necessary that all
these parts of the rotor-system are properly modelled when the machine dynamic
behaviour is studied in the design stage or for diagnostic purposes.
Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2125

2 Case History

The considerable influence of the dynamic behaviour of the supporting structure on

the shaft-train vibration of a real rotating machine is shown. The case history
described below deals with the experimental vibration of a power unit generator the
rated power of which is 150 MVA. This unit was installed in a thermoelectric,
combined cycle power plant. Figure 1 shows a side view of the generator case. The
shaft was supported on two elliptical oil-film journal bearings that were mounted
inside pedestals. These supports, hereafter denoted by #1 and #2, were separated
from the stator case. The generator and towards the support #1 was connected to a
compressor through a gearbox, while the opposite end was connected to a gas
turbine through an auxiliary shaft the length of which was about 3.5 m. The base of
the pedestals was not directly connected to the concrete foundation but it was
mounted on two horizontal plates located at the opposite ends of the generator case.
Only the machine vibrations measured on the support #2 are shown in detail in the
paper, for the sake of brevity. Figure 2a shows the front view of this generator side,
while a lateral view of the pedestal #2 is illustrated in Fig. 2b.
Each support was equipped with a pair of XY proximity probes, which measured
the shaft vibration relative to the pedestal, and with a pair of XY accelerometers that
measured the support absolute vibration. These vibration signals were suitably
processed to obtain the absolute vibration of the shaft, in the X and Y directions, as
well as the support vibration in the horizontal and vertical directions. A monitoring
system acquired all the vibration signals and performed the order analysis of the
machine vibrations.

Fig. 1 Generator case and foundation

2126 A. Vania et al.

Fig. 2 Support #2: a front view and b lateral view

2.1 Generator Vibrations Measured After the Maintenance

Some important maintenance activities, which also affected the generator rotor,
were carried out during a long planned outage of the unit. At the end of this
maintenance period the machine was restarted. Figure 3a shows the 1X vibration of
the shaft, relative to the support, measured at the pedestal #2, during a machine
runup (case A). When the rotational speed approached the rated speed of 3000 rpm,
the amplitude of the 1X vibration considerably increased and reached a maximum
level of 178 μm pp, while the corresponding absolute vibration of the shaft was
284 μm pp. In spite of this, when the machine passed through the rotational speed
range between 700 and 1100 rpm, which contains the first balance resonance of the
generator rotor, both the relative and absolute vibrations of the shaft showed a
maximum level that was lower than 25 μm pp. Also the passing through the flexural
critical speed associated with the second bending mode of the rotor, which is close
to 1800 rpm, caused a maximum level of the 1X relative vibration of the shaft of
64 μm pp and an absolute vibration amplitude of 89 μm pp. These findings show
that the residual unbalance of the generator rotor was not very high. Besides, the
amplitude of the slow-roll vector (1X) measured at the lowest values of the rota-
tional speed was rather small: this confirms that the shaft bend caused the long
outage had been eliminated by operating the unit in barring mode for a sufficiently
long period.
Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2127

(a) Bearing #2: 1X transient relative vibrations

(b) Bearing #2: 1X transient support vibrations
180 180

Phase [degree]
X
Phase [degree]

90 Y 90

0 0

-90 -90 Horizontal

Vertical
-180 -180
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]
200 150

Amplitude [µm pp]

Amplitude [µm pp]

X Horizontal
150 Y Vertical
100
100
50
50

0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]

Fig. 3 1X shaft-to-support vibration (a) and support absolute vibration (b) measured at the
bearing #2 during a runup carried out after the maintenance

The machine vibrations measured at 3000 rpm on the support #1 were signifi-
cantly lower than those found on the opposite side of the generator. Therefore, a
detailed analysis of the absolute vibration of only the support #2 has been per-
formed. Figure 3b shows the 1X absolute vibrations of this pedestal found in the
horizontal and vertical directions, during the same machine runup above consid-
ered. It is possible to note that the level of these vibrations is sufficiently low in the
whole range below 2200 rpm. Conversely, when the rotational speed is close to
2500 rpm, the amplitude of the pedestal vibration is subjected to a noticeable
amplification, while the phase of the 1X vibration vector changes.
At first, it was suspected that this phenomenon, which also occurred on the
support #1, although with lower vibration levels, was caused by a loosening of the
bolts that linked the pedestal base to the generator case. However, a thorough
inspection of these bolts did not show any abnormality. Therefore, the noticeable
vibration levels detected at 3000 rpm were ascribed to the effects of a local resonance
just of the pedestal or to the effects of a resonance of the whole generator case. Lastly,
when the rotational speed approached 3000 rpm, the amplitude of the absolute
vibration of the support #2 increased up to 122 μm pp. This abnormal behaviour of
the system was ascribed to a further resonance of the foundation structure.

2.2 Generator Vibrations Measured Before the Maintenance

In order to better understand the reason for the phenomenon of the very high
vibration of the generator occurred in the speed range close to 3000 rpm, historical
monitoring data collected at the same measurement points before the maintenance
period were analysed. Figure 4a shows the 1X relative vibration of the shaft,
measured at the pedestal #2 during a machine runup (case B). In that occasion the
1X vibration level had been lower than 50 μm pp in the whole speed range below
2128 A. Vania et al.

(a) Bearing #2: 1X transient relative vibrations (b) Bearing #2: 1X transient support vibrations
180 180
Phase [degree]

Phase [degree]
90 90

0 X 0
Y
-90 -90 Horizontal
Vertical
-180 -180
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]
150 80
Amplitude [µm pp]

Amplitude [µm pp]

X Horizontal
Y 60 Vertical
100
40
50
20

0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]

Fig. 4 1X shaft-to-support vibration (a) and support absolute vibration (b) measured at the
bearing #2 during a runup carried out before the maintenance

2800 rpm. Conversely, when the rotational speed had exceeded 2850 rpm, the
vibration amplitude had considerably increased, reaching a maximum level of
129 μm pp at 3000 rpm. The maximum level of the corresponding absolute
vibration of the shaft was 190 μm pp. Therefore, also before the maintenance
period, the dynamic behaviour of the generator showed a considerable increase of
the vibration levels in the speed range close to the rated speed. However, the
historical monitoring data showed that the maximum vibration amplitudes detected
at 3000 rpm were significantly lower than those measured after the generator
maintenance.
The 1X absolute vibrations of the support #2 occurred in the horizontal and
vertical directions, during the reference runup, denoted as case B, are shown in
Fig. 4b. The experimental curves illustrated in this figure confirm the likely exis-
tence of a resonance of the supporting structure in the speed range close to
2500 rpm as well as the existence of a further resonance peak close to the rated
speed. However, the maximum level of the absolute vibration measured on this
support at 3000 rpm was 53 μm pp, that is about 60 % lower than that measured
after the maintenance, in the same operating condition.
The 1X vibration vectors collected during the reference runup have been sub-
tracted from those collected during the runup, denoted as case A, carried out at the
end of the machine outage. The results of this data processing point out the effects
on the generator vibrations caused by the maintenance activities directly performed
on the rotor and by possibly further effects caused by the machine-train realign-
ment. The 1X relative vibrations of the shaft and the 1X absolute vibrations of the
support, evaluated at the bearing #2 through the above mentioned data processing,
are shown in the Fig. 5a, b, respectively. The curves illustrated in these figures
show that the harmful effects unexpectedly caused by the maintenance activities are
mainly limited to the rotational speed range above 2800 rpm. All the vibration data
illustrated in the figures from 3a to 5b confirm the assumption of the existence of a
supporting structure resonance in the frequency range close to 50 Hz. In this case,
Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2129

(a) Bearing #2: 1X transient relative vibrations

(b) Bearing #2: 1X transient support vibrations
180 180
X
Phase [degree]

Phase [degree]
90 Y 90

0 0

-90 -90 Horizontal

Vertical
-180 -180
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]

200 150
Amplitude [µm pp]

Amplitude [µm pp]

Horizontal
150 X
100 Vertical
Y
100
50
50

0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm] Rotational speed [rpm]

Fig. 5 1X shaft-to-support vibration (a) and support absolute vibration (b) caused at the bearing
#2 by the maintenance actions

even a minor residual imbalance of the generator rotor, or a worsening of the

alignment condition of the machine-train, could cause a sufficient increase of the
excitation acting on the rotor system that could be able to induce a considerable
amplification of the machine vibration when the rotational speed approached
3000 rpm.

2.3 Impact Tests

Some experiments were planned to identify possible natural frequencies of the

supporting structure that were in the range close to 50 Hz. For this purpose, thirty
accelerometers were mounted both on the pedestal #2 and the generator case, to
measure the foundation vibration in the vertical, lateral and axial directions.
Figure 6 shows a map of these measurement points. The foundation vibration was
measured both in the operating condition and in specific impact tests carried out
with the stopped machine. These latter type of experiments have allowed the fre-
quency response functions (FRFs) of the supporting structure to be obtained.
Figure 7 shows the root mean square values (rms) of the vibrations measured,
with a rotational speed of 3000 rpm, at most of these measurement points. The
frequency spectrum of all these vibrations was dominated by the synchronous
harmonic component. These results show that the pedestal #2 was affected by axial
vibrations having a considerable amplitude, especially at the top of the support.
These axial vibrations also affected the part of the generator case located under the
pedestal. Besides, the readings performed in the vertical direction at the top and
base of this support show that also the plate of the generator case, which the
pedestal is mounted on, was affected by a not negligible vibration. These results
strengthened the assumption of the existence of a generator case natural frequency
close to 50 Hz.
2130 A. Vania et al.

Fig. 6 Measurement points

of the vibration of the
generator case and pedestal #2

Fig. 7 Vibration of the

pedestal #2 and generator case
measured in the operating
condition (3000 rpm)

Then, some impact tests have been carried out after having stopped the unit.
Impact excitations have been applied, with an instrumented hammer, at the mea-
surement points #1, #5 and #9, in the axial, lateral and vertical directions,
respectively (Fig. 6). The FRF measured at the top of the pedestal, in the axial
Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2131

Fig. 8 FRF measured on the FRF at point #1-x, excitation at point #1-x
pedestal #2 (at the point #1),
in the axial direction, due to FRF at the top of the pedestal (axial dir.)
an impulse excitation applied -4
10
at the same point, in the axial

FRF Amplitude [g/N]

direction, x

-5
10
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Frequency [Hz]

direction, due to an excitation applied to the same measurement point, and in the
same direction, is shown in Fig. 8. This FRF points out the existence of a natural
frequency of the support, at 38.4 Hz, which a normal mode mainly characterised by
axial displacements is associated with. The FRF measured at the base of the ped-
estal, in vertical direction, due to an excitation applied to the top of the support, in
the same direction is shown in Fig. 9. This FRF points out the existence of three
natural frequencies at 43.4, 51.6 and 63.2 Hz, respectively. The corresponding
normal modes are mainly characterised by vertical and axial displacements.
The FRFs measured at the base of the pedestal, at the points #23, #25 and #27, in
vertical direction, due to an excitation applied in the same direction to the point #27,
are shown in Fig. 10. The results of this impact test have confirmed the existence of
two natural frequencies of the generator case close to 43.4 and 51.6 Hz. In the end,
the FRF measured at the top of the pedestal, in the lateral direction, due to an
excitation applied to the same point and in the same direction, is shown in Fig. 11.
This FRF confirms the existence of some natural frequencies of the supporting

Fig. 9 FRF measured on the FRF at point #25-z, excitation at point #9-z
generator case (at the point
#25), in vertical direction, due
-5
to an impulse excitation 10
FRF Amplitude [g/N]

applied at the point #9, in

vertical direction, z

-6
10
FRF at the base of the pedestal (vertical dir.)

30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Frequency [Hz]
2132 A. Vania et al.

Fig. 10 FRFs measured on FRFs at points #23, #25 & #27, excitation at point #27
the generator case (at the
points #23, #25, #27), in the -5 #23-Z
10
#25-Z
vertical direction, due to an
#27-Z
impulse excitation applied at

FRF Amplitude [g/N]

the point #27, in vertical
direction, z

-6
10

FRF at the base of the pedestal (vertical dir.)

30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Frequency [Hz]

Fig. 11 FRF measured on the FRF at point #5-y, excitation at point #5-y
pedestal #2 (at the point #5), -4
in the horizontal direction, y, 10
FRF at the top of the pedestal (lateral dir.)
due to an impulse excitation
applied at the same point and
FRF Amplitude [g/N]

in the same direction

-5
10

-6
10

30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Frequency [Hz]

structure previously identified, as well as the existence of a further natural frequency

of the pedestal at 53.8 Hz, the corresponding normal mode of which is mainly
characterised by lateral displacements.
Only a limited number of the very large amount of results provided by the
impact tests performed on the generator case are shown in this paper, for the sake of
brevity. However, they clearly point out a natural frequency close to 51.6 Hz, the
normal mode of which can be significantly excited by applying a hammer stroke
both to the top of the pedestal and to the base plate which the support is mounted
on. This means that this is not a local natural frequency of the pedestal only, but it
affects the dynamic behaviour of a large part of the generator case located towards
the gas turbine. The width of the resonance peak associated with this natural
frequency is sufficiently large to allow the 1X harmonic component of the dynamic
forces transmitted by the shaft to the foundation, through the oil-film journal
bearing, to excite the corresponding normal mode. This phenomenon caused the
high vibration levels, both of the generator rotor and the support, detected in the
Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2133

operating condition. Likely, some maintenance actions carried out on the rotor
windings have caused only a small increase of the generator residual unbalance.
However, in the rotational speed range above 2800 rpm, the effects of this unbal-
ance on the generator dynamic behaviour have been amplified by the existence of
the above mentioned natural frequency of the supporting structure.
The generator case is made with welded plates having a suitable thickness.
Besides, reinforcements and ribs are mounted in the internal structure of the case.
Nevertheless, owing to the undesired natural frequency close to 50 Hz, the hori-
zontal plate which the pedestal #2 is mounted on, was subjected to time-varying
bending displacements the amplitude of which increased from the support inboard
side, toward the stator, to the support outboard side. This behaviour exasperated the
amplitude of the support axial vibration, which significantly increased from the base
to the top of the pedestal (Fig. 7).
In the end, as a consequence of previous experiences on some similar power
units, a further impact test was performed on the auxiliary shaft that connected the
generator rotor to the gas turbine. This mechanical component is a simple hollow
shaft, about 3.5 m long, with coupling flanges at the opposite ends. It must be able
to transmit the torque to the generator and to ensure an adequate flexural uncoupling
between the gas turbine and the driven shaft. A finite element model of the auxiliary
shaft and the generator rotor, composed of beam finite elements, is shown in
Fig. 12.
In order to perform the impact test, an accelerometer was mounted, in radial
direction, at about the middle of the span of the auxiliary shaft. The FRF obtained
with an impact test is shown in Fig. 13. Two resonance peaks exist in the frequency
range close to 50 Hz: one at 49.8 Hz and the other, associated with the highest
magnitude of the FRF, at 53.8 Hz. With reference to the latter natural frequency, it
is important to consider that its value might be likely subjected to a little decrease,
in the machine operating condition, owing to the dynamic stiffness of the oil-film
journal bearings of the generator and to the heating of the auxiliary shaft caused by
the exhaust gas flow. This can cause this natural frequency to become even closer to
50 Hz. Anyhow, the 3 dB bandwidth of the resonance peak at 53.8 Hz, evaluated
with the stopped machine, is 4.092 Hz. Therefore, the bending normal mode
associated with this natural frequency of the auxiliary shaft can be easily excited by
the unavoidable 1X forces acting on the shaft. This phenomenon can give a further
important contribution to the vibration of the generator rotor and support #2 in the
operating condition.

Gas Gearbox &

Turbine Generator Compressor
auxiliary shaft

Brg. #2 Brg. #1

Fig. 12 Finite element model of the generator and auxiliary shaft

2134 A. Vania et al.

Fig. 13 FRF measured on the -3

FRF of the auxiliary shaft
auxiliary shaft, in radial 10
direction, due to an impulse
excitation applied to the same
shaft

FRF Amplitude [g/N]

-4
10

-5
10
30 40 50 60 70
Frequency [Hz]

3 Numerical Results

A finite element model of the stretch of the shaft-train composed of the auxiliary
shaft and the generator rotor (Fig. 12) has been used to study the theoretical
response of the rotor system. This machine model also includes the speed-depen-
dent dynamic stiffness coefficients of the oil-film journal bearings, as well as a
simple simulation of the mechanical characteristics of the generator foundation. The
flexural critical speeds of the auxiliary shaft and the generator have been evaluated
by means of an eigenvalue analysis [1–4]. For the sake of brevity, only the results
that concern the machine dynamic behaviour in the operating condition are shown.
The theoretical value of the first flexural critical speed of the auxiliary shaft is
3091 rpm (51.516 Hz). This result is in a satisfactory accordance with the exper-
imental findings. The shape of the bending normal mode associated with this
critical speed is shown in Fig. 14. Even a small residual unbalance of this stretch of
the shaft-train, or the effects of a machine misalignment can excite this bending
mode, in the operating condition. This can cause high vibration levels at the support

Natural Frequency: 51.516 Hz (3091 rpm)

Brg. #2

Brg. #1

Fig. 14 First bending mode of the auxiliary shaft

Influence of the Supporting Structure Dynamic Behaviour … 2135

#2 of the generator rotor. This case study once again shows the usefulness of
simulation models to investigate the dynamic behaviour of rotating machines and
fulfil the requirements of diagnostics.

4 Corrective Actions

A definitive solution aimed at eliminating the high vibration levels that happened at
the generator support #2, in the operating condition, would have required to modify
the generator case in order to increase its natural frequency that was close to 50 Hz.
However, this corrective action would have required a long forced outage. Besides,
this corrective action would not have prevented the harmful effects caused by the
excitation of the first bending mode of the auxiliary shaft.
Therefore, an attempt to reduce the machine vibration levels through an in field
balancing of the generator was carried out. This solution does not remove the actual
source of the vibratory problems but it can provide successful results allowing the
unit to be operated in safety conditions. After two test shots, an imbalance of
0.08 kgm was applied to the coupling flange that connected the generator rotor to
the auxiliary shaft. Figure 15 shows the amplitude of the 1X relative vibration
measured at the bearing #2 during a runup carried out after the generator balancing.
With reference to the dynamic behaviour of this shaft, the balance weight caused
only small changes in the speed range below 2800 rpm, in which the levels of the
1X vibrations were already low. Conversely, the results of the in field balancing has
caused a considerable decrease of the maximum vibration amplitude at 3000 rpm,
from 178 to 31 μm pp. At the same time, the maximum level of the 1X absolute
vibration of the support #2 is decreased from 122 to 31 μm pp. Therefore, although
the in field balancing of the generator has not been able to eliminate the actual cause
of the machine abnormal vibration, it gave very good results that allowed the power
unit to be operated in safety conditions after only a few days’ outage.
This has confirmed that a reduction of the magnitude of the forces acting on the
generator side toward the coupling with the gas turbine was sufficient to mitigate the
harmful effects of the excitation of the normal modes, of the foundation structure and
auxiliary shaft, the natural frequency of which happened to be close to 50 Hz.

Bearing #2: 1X relative transient vibrations

80
Amplitude [µm pp]

X
60
Y
40

20

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Rotational speed [rpm]

Fig. 15 Amplitude of the 1X relative vibration measured at the bearing #2 during a runup carried
out after the generator balancing
2136 A. Vania et al.

5 Conclusions

The case history of a generator, the dynamic behaviour of which was considerably
affected by some natural frequencies of the supporting structure, close to the
machine operating speed, is shown in the paper. Impact tests carried out on
the generator case and pedestals, as well as on the auxiliary shaft that connected this
machine to a gas turbine, have allowed some undesired natural frequencies to be
identified in a critical frequency range. As the elimination of the actual cause of the
high vibration levels was rather difficult to be obtained with simple corrective
actions, the generator dynamic behaviour was successfully improved by means of
an in field balancing.

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