Threshold stability curves for a nonlinear rotor-bearing system

Design parameters of fluid film bearings affect the stability of rotor-bearing systems, which can be characterized using so called threshold speed and a threshold curve (depending on a shaft speed and a chosen design parameter). The paper brings a detailed study of the shape of the threshold curve for a rigid rotor supported on a plain bearing. A novel comparison of stability threshold curves obtained employing various approaches to the hydrodynamic force modelling for all relevant bearing parameters is presented. Hydrodynamics forces are solved using four approaches: the infinitely short (IS) approximation, the infinitely short approximation extended by multiplicative correction polynomials for finite-length journal bearings (IScor), the finite differences method and the finite elements method. The influence of run-up time and acceleration is also investigated. All obtained threshold curves are compared to the analytical expressions for the threshold curves calculated for the IS approximation. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.