Current applications of gas film bearings in high-speed oil-free microturbomachinery (<0.4 MW) require calibrated predictive tools to successfully deploy their application to mass-produced systems, for example, oil-free turbochargers. The present investigation details the linear rotordynamic analysis of a test rotor supported on externally pressurized gas bearings. Model predictions are compared with the test rotordynamic response determined through comprehensive experiments conducted on a small rotor supported on three lobed hybrid (hydrostatic/hydrodynamic) rigid gas bearings. Predictions for the rotor-bearing system synchronous response to imbalance show good agreement with measurements during rotor coastdowns, and manifest a decrease in damping ratio as the level of external pressurization increases. The rotor-bearing eigenvalue analysis forwards natural frequencies in accordance with the measurements, and null damping ratios evidence the threshold speeds of rotordynamic instability. Estimated whirl frequency ratios are typically 50% of rotor speed, thus predicting subsynchronous instabilities at lower rotor speeds than found experimentally when increasing the magnitude of feed pressurization. Rationale asserting the nature of the discrepancies calls for further analysis.
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July 2006
Technical Papers
Comparison of Rotordynamic Analysis Predictions With the Test Response of Simple Gas Hybrid Bearings for Oil Free Turbomachinery
Deborah A. Osborne,
Deborah A. Osborne
Honeywell International, Aerospace/Engineering & Technology, 2525 W. 190th Street, Torrance, CA 90504-6099
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Luis San Andre´s
Luis San Andre´s
Mechanical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3123
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Deborah A. Osborne
Honeywell International, Aerospace/Engineering & Technology, 2525 W. 190th Street, Torrance, CA 90504-6099
Luis San Andre´s
Mechanical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3123
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Paper presented at the International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibition, Atlanta, GA, June 16–19; 2003, Paper No. 2003-GT-38859. Manuscript received by IGTI, Oct. 2002, final revision, Mar. 2003. Associate Editor: H. R. Simmons.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jul 2006, 128(3): 634-643 (10 pages)
Published Online: June 13, 2006
Article history
Received:
October 1, 2002
Revised:
March 1, 2003
Online:
June 13, 2006
Citation
Osborne, D. A., and San Andre´s, L. (June 13, 2006). "Comparison of Rotordynamic Analysis Predictions With the Test Response of Simple Gas Hybrid Bearings for Oil Free Turbomachinery ." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. July 2006; 128(3): 634–643. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1839923
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