Hopf Bifurcation in Gas Journal Bearings

Abstract

This paper reviews a numerical investigation of the problem of small self-excited vibrations in gas journal bearings. The method of analysis is based on the Hopf bifurcation theory, in which the approximate periodic solutions of nonlinear equations of motion are computed using the Fredholm alternative. This theory enables us to construct the bifurcating periodic solutions and to determine their stability. The equations of motion of the investigated gas journal bearing have been formulated after estimating the damping and stiffness coefficients of a gas film. For this purpose, a new method of identification has been proposed.