Mech

Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering

Course
CO1. Apply mechanical
Outcome principles and fundamentals
to marine engineering
 At the end of the lesson the students
will be able to:
Explain the center of gravity of two masses in a steady
condition.

Learning Identify onboard operation where static balance of two

masses in a plane is applied.
Explain the center of gravity of two masses in motion

outcome Identify onboard operation where dynamic balance of two

masses in a plane is applied.
Explain the methods of balancing rotors by means of
maintaining at rest in any position
Identify onboard operation where methods of balancing
rotors is applied
Explain the dynamic balance of several masses to a
rotating `shaft with angular velocity
 Mechanics and
Hydromechanics for
Marine Engineering
Balancing
CONTENT
01 Balancing

02
S
Sample 2

03 Sample 3
01
Balancing
 Balancing
01 Static Balance – Two masses in a
plane

Consider a light arm pivoted freely at the

fulcrum O (image shown) and carrying masses
m1, m2 at distances r1, r2 from O, respectively. In
general, the arm will rotate about O and the
system is said to be out of balance. For
equilibrium, there must be balance of moments
about O, i.e.

m 1 g x r1 = m 2 x r 2
or m 1 r1 = m 2 r 2

When in balance the arm may be set in any

position and it will remain at rest in that
position. The weights are said to be in static
balance and the center of gravity of the system is
location at O.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance – Two masses in a
plane

Now consider two light arms fixed to a shaft at

bearing O and rotating with angular velocity w,
(image shown). The arms are in the same plane
and carry masses m1, m2 at radii r1, r2
respectively. Owing to the rotation, each mass
exerts an inertia force radially outward on the
bearing O.

• The force due to m1 is m1w²r1 (oa in the

force diagram (image shown (b)).
• The force due to m2 is m2w²r2 (ab in the
force diagram).
• The resultant out-of-balance force on the
bearing is given by ob in the force diagram.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance – Two masses in a
plane

• When the dynamic load on the bearing is

zero, the rotating system is said to be in
dynamic balance. The condition for no load
at O is that the two inertia forces shall: (a)
act along the same straight line but with
opposite sense; (b) be equal in magnitude.

The relative positions of the masses are as in

(image shown (c); the condition for equal inertia
forces is:

m1 w² r1 = m2 w² r2

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance – Two masses in a
plane

Thus, since w² is the same for both masses

m 1 r 1 = m 2 r2
This is also the condition for static balance.
Hence, if two bodies in the same plane are in
static balance when pivoted about a given axis
they will be in dynamic balance at any speed
when rotating about the same axis.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Method of balancing rotors

It was shown above that for a two mass system

to be in static balance, the mr product for each
mass had to be the same. This is also the
condition for the masses to be balanced when
rotating, and suggests a method for ensuring
balance for rotating rotors such as turbine discs
or car-wheel assemblies.

Image shows a turbine rotor idealized in the

form of a disc, mounted on a shaft placed on a
pair of parallel knife-edges. The rotor may be
allowed to rotate freely on the knife-edges and ,
if not uniform, the heavier section will rotate to
the lowest point.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Method of balancing rotors

The point is marked with chalk and a small

balance mass attached at a point diametrically
opposite. The rotor is turned through 90° and
again allowed to rotate freely and again the
heavier section will rotate to the bottom. The
balance mass is then increased or decreased
accordingly and the process repeated until the
rotor remains at rest in any position. It is then
static balance remains balanced when rotating at
speed.

In practice it is usually possible to balance a

rotor to an accuracy of 0.001mkg, i.e. the
amount of residual unbalance is equivalent to
mass of 1kg at 1mm radius.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Understanding

Method of balancing rotors

For a rotor mass 10t this is equivalent to a displacement x of the centre of gravity from the
axis of rotation given by

10 x 1000 x x = 0.001
x = m or 0.1µm
i.e.
The corresponding out-of-balance centrifugal force when running at 3600 rev/min is

m w² r = 10 x 1000 x ² x kg m/s²
= 142 N

It is usual to limit the out-of-balance force to be not greater than 1 per cent of the rotor weight.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Static balance – Several masses in
one plane

We now consider the static balance of several

masses in the same plane of magnitudes, m 1 m2
…, at radii r1 r2, … from a common pivot O
(image shown). If the system is to be static
balance, the shaft at O must remain at rest in all
positions, i.e. there must be no resultant moment
about O.

When the centre of gravity of the system is at

the centre of the shaft, the resultant vertical
force due to the dead weight if all the attached
bodies passes through O and the shaft is then in
static balance.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Static balance – Several masses in
one plane

The static moment of mass m1 about O

= m1g x OX (b)

=m1g x r1 cos α1
Similarly for m2 and m3. For static balance the
sum of all such moments must be zero, i.e. since
g is constant, ∑ mr cos α must be zero.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Static balance – Several masses in
one plane

Now construct a polygon in the following way:

Draw ab, magnitude m1r1, parallel to radius (c).

Draw bc, magnitude m2r2, parallel to radius r2.
Draw ed, magnitude m3r3, parallel to radius r3.

If the polygon closes, d coincides with a. Hence

from (c), if x, y, z are the feet of the
perpendiculars from a, b, c, respectively, on to a
horizontal line

xy + yx + zx = 0 for a closed polygon, as shown

But xy = m1r1 cos α1

= moment of m1 about O / g

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Static balance – Several masses in
one plane

Similarly for m2 m3. Hence

xy + yx + zx = ∑ mr cos α

= 0 for static balance

But this is also the condition for the polygon to

close. Hence the condition for static balance is
that the vector polygon formed by the mr values
must close. This result is unchanged for all
angular positions of the shaft; thus if the
polygon closes for one position it closes for all
position.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance of several masses in one
plane

Suppose the shaft and attached masses in the

image shown (a) to be rotating with angular
velocity w. Owing to the rotation there will be
inertia forces of magnitude m1 w² r1, m2 w²
r2, . . . , acting radially outward at each mass.
These forces can be represented by a force
polygon which must close if there is no resultant
unbalanced force as shown in (b). Since the
quantity w² is a common factor for each inertia
force it is convenient to replace the force
polygon by an mr polygon. But is the polygon
obtained when investigating the static balance of
the same system, image shown.
Thus the conditions for static and dynamic
balance are identical, i.e. that the mr polygon
must close.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance of several masses in one
plane

If the inertia forces are not in balance the mr

polygon will not close, (c). The closing line co
taken in the sense c to o represents the mr value
required to produce balance. The line oc taken in
the sense o to c represents the resultant
unbalanced mr effect. To obtain the actual
magnitude of the unbalanced forces, multiply by
w² . Thus the resultant unbalanced forced in the
shaft is :

oc x w² in direction o to c

And the required balancing force (equilibrant)

is:

co x w² in direction c to o

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Dynamic Balance of several masses in one
plane

An unbalanced inertia force produces a load on

the shaft bearing which, in a machine, results in
increased wear and leads to early failure of the
bearing metal.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Understanding

Dynamic forces at bearings

If a shaft carries rotating masses not in the same plane it may be in static balance and therefore
balanced as regards inertia forces, but it may be subject to an unbalanced couple. Whether the
masses are in the same plane or not, the inertia forces act radially outwards and may therefore
balance, but since the lines of action of the inertia forces act in different planes, each force
produces a different moment about any given plane of the shaft. Thus an unbalanced moment
may arise.

“For a shaft to be in complete dynamic balance there must be no unbalanced force or

couple.”

An unbalanced couple cannot, of course, exist in practice but must be resisted by reactions at
the bearings. As the shaft rotates so does the direction of the unbalanced couple and the
bearings are therefore subject to rotating radial forces.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 Balancing
01 Understanding

Dynamic forces at bearings

Also, since the dead weight reactions are constant and upwards, it means that the bearing
reactions are constantly changing in direction and magnitude as the shaft rotates. This
condition, if allowed to persist, sets up undesirable vibrations.

The following examples, restricted to one mass or two masses in the same axial plane, will be
used to show the existence of unbalanced couples and to bring out the main points in the
methods of calculating the bearing reactions. The balancing of several masses in different
planes of rotation cannot be dealt with completely at this stage.

Referencee: Applied Mechanics, Third Edition. J. Hannah, M.J Hillier

 The students should have been able to:

Explain the center of gravity of two masses in a steady

condition.

Learning Identify onboard operation where static balance of two

masses in a plane is applied.
Explain the center of gravity of two masses in motion

outcome Identify onboard operation where dynamic balance of two

masses in a plane is applied.
Explain the methods of balancing rotors by means of
maintaining at rest in any position
Identify onboard operation where methods of balancing
rotors is applied
Explain the dynamic balance of several masses to a
rotating `shaft with angular velocity
END OF TOPIC