Effect of flight/structural parameters and operating conditions on dynamic behavior of a squeeze-film damped rotor system during diving–climbing maneuver

Abstract

During aircraft maneuvering flights, engine's rotor-bearing systems are subjected to parametric excitations and additional inertial forces, which may cause severe vibration and abnormal operation. Based on Lagrange's principle combined with finite element modeling, the differential equations of motion for a squeeze film damped rotor-bearing system mounted on an aircraft in maneuvering flight are derived. Using Newmark–Hilber–Hughes–Taylor integration method, dynamic characteristics of the nonlinear rotor system under maneuvering flight are investigated. The factors are considered, involving mass unbalance, oil–film force, gravity, parametric excitations and additional inertial forces, and instantaneous static eccentricity of journal induced by maneuvering loads. The effects of forward velocity, radius of curvature, rotating speed, mass unbalance, oil–film clearance, and elastic support stiffness on transient responses of rotor system are discussed during diving–climbing maneuver. The results indicate that when the aircraft performs a diving–climbing maneuver in the vertical plane, the journal deviates from the center of oil–film outer ring, and the excursion direction of whirl orbit is determined by centrifugal acceleration and additional gyroscopic moment. The journal whirls asynchronously around the instantaneous static eccentricity and its magnitude is related to the maneuvering loads and the supporting stiffness. Increasing forward velocity or decreasing pitching radius, the rotor vibration will enter earlier into or withdraw later from the relatively large eccentricity. Rotating near critical speeds or excessive mass unbalances should be prevented during maneuvering flights. For large maneuver, the oil–film radial clearance needs to be enlarged properly to avoid hard contact between journal and outer ring. In addition, the stiffness of elastic support needs to be appropriately determined for damping performance. Overall, it provides a flexible approach with good expandability to predict dynamic characteristics of on-board squeeze-film damped rotor system during maneuvering flights in the design process.