Browsing by Subject "Rotordynamic"
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Item Analytical and experimental evaluation of the leakage and stiffness characteristics of high pressure pocket damper seals(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Gamal Eldin, Ahmed MohamedThis thesis presents numerical predictions for the leakage and direct stiffness coefficients of pocket damper seals. Modifications made to earlier flow-prediction models are discussed. Leakage and static pressure measurements on straight-through and diverging configurations of eight-bladed and twelve-bladed seals were used for code validation and for calculation of seal discharge coefficients. Higher than expected leakage rates were measured in the case of the twelve-bladed seal, while the leakage rates for the eight-bladed seals were predicted reasonably accurately. Results are presented for shake tests conducted on the seals at pressures of up to 1000 Psi (6.90 MPa). Test variables included pressure drop across the seals and rotor speed. The experimentally obtained stiffness coefficients are compared to results of a rotordynamic damper seal code, which uses the corrected mass flow-rate calculation method. Results show that the code under-predicts the magnitude of the seal's stiffness for most test cases. However, general trends in the frequency dependency of the direct stiffness are more accurately predicted. The expectation of high values of negative stiffness in diverging seals is confirmed by the results, but the frequency at which the sign of the stiffness becomes positive is considerably lower than is predicted. In addition to presenting high-pressure test data, this thesis also attempts to provide some insight into how seal parameters can be modified to obtain desired changes in seal stiffness.Item Comparison of a Slanted-Tooth See-Through Labyrinth Seal to a Straight-Tooth See-Through Labyrinth Seal for Rotordynamic Coefficients and Leakage(2012-07-16) Mehta, NaitikThis research compares the leakage and rotordynamic characteristics of a slanted-tooth labyrinth seal to a conventional straight-tooth labyrinth. Detailed results comparing the rotordynamic coefficients and leakage parameters of a slanted-tooth see-through labyrinth seal and a straight-tooth see-through labyrinth seal are presented. The straight-tooth labyrinth seal used in this research was originally tested by Arthur Picardo. The slanted-tooth labyrinth seal was designed and fabricated to be identical to the straight-tooth labyrinth seal in terms of pitch, depth, and the number of teeth. The angle of inclination of the teeth in the slanted-tooth labyrinth seal was chosen to be 65? from the normal axis. The seals were tested at an inlet pressure of 70 bar-a (1015 psi-a), pressure ratios of 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, rotor speeds of 10,200, 15,350, and 20,200 rpm, and a radial clearance of 0.2 mm (8 mils). The experiments were carried out at zero, medium, and high inlet preswirl ratios. The experimental results show only minute differences in the rotordynamic coefficients between the two seals. But, the slanted-tooth labyrinth seal leaked approximately 10% less than the straight-tooth labyrinth seal. A study of prediction versus experimental data was done. XLlaby was used for prediction. XLlaby was developed for a straight-tooth labyrinth seal design and did not do a good job in predicting the rotordynamic coefficients and the leakage rate.Item Diagnostics of subsynchronous vibrations in rotating machinery - methodologies to identify potential instability(Texas A&M University, 2005-11-01) Kar, RahulRotordynamic instability can be disastrous for the operation of high speed turbomachinery in the industry. Most ??instabilities?? are due to de-stabilizing cross coupled forces from variable fluid dynamic pressure around a rotor component, acting in the direction of the forward whirl and causing subsynchronous orbiting of the rotor. However, all subsynchronous whirling is not unstable and methods to diagnose the potentially unstable kind are critical to the health of the rotor-bearing system. The objective of this thesis is to explore means of diagnosing whether subsynchronous vibrations are benign or have the potential to become unstable. Several methods will be detailed to draw lines of demarcation between the two. Considerable focus of the research has been on subharmonic vibrations induced from non-linear bearing stiffness and the study of vibration signals typical to such cases. An analytical model of a short-rigid rotor with stiffness non-linearity is used for numerical simulations and the results are verified with actual experiments. Orbits filtered at the subsynchronous frequency are shown as a diagnostic tool to indicate benign vibrations as well as ??frequency tracking?? and agreement of the frequency with known eigenvalues. Several test rigs are utilized to practically demonstrate the above conclusions. A remarkable finding has been the possibility of diagnosing instability using the synchronous phase angle. The synchronous phase angle ?? is the angle by which the unbalance vector leads the vibration vector. Experiments have proved that ?? changes appreciably when there is a de-stabilizing cross coupled force acting on the rotor as compared to when there is none. A special technique to calculate the change in ?? with cross-coupling is outlined along with empirical results to exemplify the case. Subsequently, a correlation between the synchronous phase angle and the phase angle measured with most industrial balancing instruments is derived so that the actual measurement of the true phase angle is not a necessity for diagnosis. Requirements of advanced signal analysis techniques have led to the development of an extremely powerful rotordynamic measurement teststand ?? ??LVTRC??. The software was developed in tandem with this thesis project. It is a stand-alone application that can be used for field measurements and analysis by turbomachinery companies.Item Rotordynamic Performance of a Flexure Pivot Pad Bearing with Active and Locked Integral Squeeze Film Damper Including Predictions(2012-02-14) Agnew, Jeffrey ScottTests are performed on a flexure-pivot-pad tilting-pad bearing with a series integral squeeze film damper in load-between-pads configuration, with both active and locked damper. The damper effects are negated when locked, resulting in a flexure-pivot-pad bearing only. Experimental tests provide static performance data and dynamic stiffnesses from which rotordynamic coefficients are extracted. The following two excitation schemes are implemented: (1) multi-frequency, single direction excitation and (2) single-frequency, rotating load excitation (or "circular excitation"). The XLTRC2 Rotordynamics Software Suite provides stiffness and damping coefficient, eccentricity, and power loss predictions for the locked damper bearing. Test conditions include the rotor-speed range of 4000-12000 rpm and the unit-load range of 0-862 kPa (0-125 psi). Dynamic tests utilizing the multi-frequency excitation for the locked and active damper bearing configurations both show that the real portion of the dynamic stiffness is well modeled by a quadratic curve fit, and the imaginary portion representing the damping is a linear function of excitation frequency. This means that frequency independent coefficients can be obtained when an added mass term is included. While stiffness coefficients are lower for the active damper bearing, damping coefficients remain almost constant between the locked and active damper configurations. A simulation shows that, although the damping coefficients do not change significantly, the reduced stiffness provided by the damper results in greater effective damping. Static performance tests for the locked and active damper bearing indicate low cross-coupling, as shown by the eccentricity and low attitude angle measurements. Pad metal temperature measurements show a smaller temperature differential along the pad arcs for the active damper bearing, than observed for the locked damper case. Frictional power loss is estimated based on lubricant temperature rise and does not differ significantly for the two bearing configurations.Item Static, Rotordynamic, and Thermal Characteristics of a Four Pad Spherical-Seat Tilting Pad Journal Bearing with Four Methods of Directed Lubrication(2014-08-07) Coghlan, DavidStatic, dynamic, and thermal characteristics (measured and predicted) are presented for a 4-pad, spherical-seat, TPJB with 0.5 pivot offset, 0.6 L/D, 101.6 mm nominal diameter, and 0.3 preload in the LBP orientation. One bearing is tested four separate times in the following four different lubrication configurations: (1) flooded single-orifice (SO) at the bearing shell, (2) evacuated leading edge groove (LEG), (3) evacuated spray-bar blocker (SBB), and (4) evacuated spray-bar (SB). The LEG, SBB, and SB are all considered methods of ?directed lubrication?. These methods rely on lubrication injected directly to the pad/rotor interface. The same set of pads is used for every test to maintain clearance and preload; each method of lubrication is added as an assembly to the bearing. Test conditions include surface speeds and unit loads up to 85 m/s and 2.9 MPa respectively. Static data includes measured bearing clearances prior to operation (cold) and immediately after operation (hot), rotor-bearing eccentricities and attitude angles, and a new approach to locating the hot center of a bearing. Dynamic data includes: (1) impedance values calculated from measured accelerations, displacements, and excitation forces; and (2) four sets (one set for each bearing configuration) of direct and cross-coupled rotordynamic coefficients derived from measurements and fit to a frequency independent KCM model. Thermal data include measured temperatures from sixteen bearing thermocouples along with inlet, outlet, stator housing, and ambient thermocouples. Twelve of the bearing thermocouples are embedded in the babbitt layer of the pads while the remaining four are oriented at the leading and trailing edge of the loaded pads exposed to the lubricant. Bearing thermocouples provide a circumferential and axial temperature gradient. The pivot stiffness (pad and pivot in series) is measured and incorporated into predictions. Measured static, dynamic, and thermal values are compared to predictions from XL_TPJB, a computer code developed at the Texas A&M University Turbomachinery Lab for predicting bearing performance. Measurements show significant cross-coupled stiffness terms with opposite signs and magnitudes that are 20-50% of the direct terms, a max axial temperature gradient of 9.6 ?C, and attitude angles as high as 29?; all of these indicate that the tilt motion of the pad may be impeded by friction between the spherical pivot and the pad. Temperature measurements show directed lubrication, coupled with an evacuated bearing housing, reduces max bearing temperatures up to 13.9 ?C for the LEG, 10.2 ?C for the SBB, and 12.8 ?C for the SB. Although the SB and SBB reduce the max bearing temperature as intended, they can also cause an increase in temperatures at the leading and trailing edges of the loaded pads. The LEG typically reduced temperatures at all locations. Compared to the base case of the flooded SO, directed lubrication reduces the max bearing temperature. Additionally, the dynamics of the system can also be significantly impacted. Using directed lubrication can reduce direct stiffness by up to 18% for the LEG, 25% for the SBB, and 20% for the SB. Similarly, the direct damping can be reduced by up to 24% for the LEG, 45% for the SBB, and 34% for the SB.