Theoretical analysis of high speed spindle air bearings by a hybrid numerical method

To study the behavior of the high speed spindle air bearing (HSSAB) system, we conduct the research by means of a hybrid numerical method which combines the differential transformation method and the finite difference method in this paper. According to the results of the research, the flexible rotor center is found to include a complex dynamic behavior that comprises periodic, sub-harmonic and quasi-periodic responses. In addition, as the rotor mass and the bearing number are increased, there will be some changes taking place in the dynamic behavior of the bearing system. The results are proven to have no conflict with those of the other numerical methods, which enables an effective means in gaining insights into the nonlinear dynamics of HSSAB systems. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.