Dynamic instability and steady-state response of an elliptical cracked shaft

Abstract

An elliptical front crack has been found to be more accurate and realistic for modeling the transverse surface crack in rotating machinery compared with the widely used straight front crack. When the shaft rotates, the elliptical crack opens and closes alternatively, due to gravity, and thus, a “breathing effect” occurs. This variance in shaft stiffness is time-periodic, and hence, a parametrically excited system is expected. Therefore, the dynamic instability and steady-state response of a rotating shaft containing an elliptical front crack are studied in the paper. The local flexibility due to the crack is derived, and the governing equations of the crack shaft system are established using the assumed modes method. Utilizing the Bolotin’s method and harmonic balance method, the boundaries of two typical instability regions and maximum response amplitude of the cracked shaft could be computed numerically. The elliptical crack parameters (depth, shape factor and position) and damping are, respectively, considered and discussed for their effects on the dynamic behavior of the elliptical cracked shaft. Some research results might be helpful for the crack detection in rotating machinery.