Stability of Unsymmetrical Rigid Rotor Supported by Self-Acting Gas-Lubricated Journal Bearings

Abstract

In order to determine the threshold of instability for an unsymmetrical rigid rotor supported by two identical self-acting, plain-cylindrical gas journal bearings, a theoretical approach is made by the use of the quasi-static nonliner PH method. Influence of various parameters affecting the threshold of instability of the unsymmetrical rotor is experimentally shown and compared with the theoretical results. The experimental variables considered in this paper include bearing load, bearing length, bearing clearance, the axial deviation of the center of gravity from the center of the rotor span. Good agreement was obtained between the experimental and theoretical results.