Experimental investigation on synchronization of three co-rotating non-identical coupled exciters driven by three motors

This work is a continuation and verification of the original literature by means of experiment. According to the previously published paper, the criteria of synchronization and stability for three co-rotating three exciters in an analytical form, as well as their numerical results, are directly provided. A synchronization experiment with three exciters is carried out. The experimental data on phase differences, rotational velocities, system responses, coupling torques, and so on, are quantitatively discussed by dividing the operational processes of the system into four stages. The coupling torques, which are the key determining factors for implementing synchronization, are particularly examined to explain the synchronization regime, based on the average energy method. The quality of synchronization is provided, and the noise and uncertainties in the experimental data are analyzed. It is shown that the experimental results obtained concur with the theoretical results. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.