Unbalance Response of a Super-Critical Rotor Supported by Foil Bearings—Comparison with Test Results©

Abstract

This article compares theoretical and experimental results on the unbalance response of a super-critical rotor supported by two kinds of gas foil bearings. Analysis of the super-critical rotor is performed with viscoelastic foil bearings (VEFB) and conventional bump foil bearings and compared with early published experimental data. The vibration orbits obtained by theoretical investigation on the viscoelastic foil bearings (VEFB) and the conventional bump foil bearings are compared with the experimental vibration orbits of the super-critical rotor supported by both foil bearings. A numerical analysis program can calculate the static and dynamic characteristics of the elastically supported gas foil bearing using the measured stiffness and damping of the elastic foundation. After the stiffness and damping of both foil bearings are calculated using the perturbation method, vibration orbits of the flexible rotor modeled by the finite element method are calculated. Vibration orbits calculated by numerical analysis agree well with experimental data when the vibration amplitude is small and the rotating speed is below the bending critical speed. The numerical results also show that the enhanced structural damping of the elastic foundation reduces vibration near the bending critical speed.