Browsing by Author "Guo, Zenglin"

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    Expert System Source Identification of Excessive Vibration
    Kirk, R. Gordon; Guo, Zenglin (Hindawi, 2003-01-01)
    The importance of vibration data in determining the condition of rotating machinery is well established in both the aircraft and the heavy equipment industries. Installation of noncontact displacement probes for shaft motion and either velocity or acceleration sensors for bearing cap or foundation motion is standard practice for equipment manufacturers. Automation of the diagnostic evaluation of certain simple faults can be easily implemented. The advances in computer languages in recent years have made it diffiucult to keep pace with the graphical capabilities available to the programmers. One major concern is the content of the knowledge base and the method of modifying the knowledge base or the procedure of evaluating the confidence of a given identified possible cause of a problem. This article addresses the application of one such expert system to a recentvibration problem on a 7-megawatt steam turbine–driven generator located at the power plant of Virginia PolytechnicInstitute.
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    Morton Effect Induced Instability in Mid-Span Rotorâ Hydrodynamic Bearing Systems
    Guo, Zenglin (Virginia Tech, 2011-05-20)
    The Morton Effect in the rotor - bearing systems may lead to an unstable operation. Up to the present, most of the established research efforts have been focused on the overhung rotor systems. In this dissertation, a systematic study on the Morton Effect induced instability in mid-span rotor systems is presented. First, the mechanism study is conducted. The simplified rotor models with isotropic linear bearing supports are adopted for the derivation of analytical expressions. The threshold speeds of instability in simple forms are obtained for the systems with the thermal imbalance acting concurrent with or perpendicular to the direction of the response displacement. For a perspective view of the system stability, a stability map for the damped rigid mid-span rotors with the thermal imbalance having arbitrary phase difference has been generated. It shows that the stable operating regions of the system are bounded by two curves of threshold of instability. The results show that the Morton Effect induced instability thresholds are actually affected by both the magnitude and relative phase of the thermal imbalance. The mechanism of the Morton Effect induced thermal instability of mid-span rotors supported by linear isotropic bearings can be explained through the fact that the Morton Effect introduces either negative stiffness or negative cross-coupled stiffness. Next, the steady-state response performance under the influence of the Morton Effect is discussed. The results show that the Morton Effect has a comprehensive impact on both the amplitude and phase lag of the steady-state unbalance response. It may shift both curves in a manner dependent on the relative magnitude and direction of the thermal imbalance. Then, the mid-span rotors supported by the hydrodynamic journal bearings are analyzed. The models to calculate the thermal bending of the shaft and the temperature distribution across the journal surface are established. The calculations of the temperature difference and its equivalent thermal imbalance are conducted and discussed with the comparison to the analytical results. It shows that the thermal imbalance may increase to the level of the mechanical imbalance and its influence on the system stability should be then included. The suggested thermal bending model also explains that the mid-span rotors are less liable to be influenced by the Morton Effect than are the overhung configurations, because of the restraining effect between the two supports. The simulation results of a symmetric mid-span rotor - hydrodynamic journal bearing system show that the inclusion of the Morton Effect may lead to an unstable operation of the system. Considering the existence of the oil film self-induced vibration due to the dynamic characteristics of fluid film bearings, the Morton Effect may make a further negative impact on the instabilities of the rotor system under some working conditions. Finally, the predictive solution method for the general mid-span rotors is discussed. The computer code, VT-MAP, is developed for the predictions of the Morton Effect induced instability of rotor systems in either mid-span and overhung configurations.
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    Test Results for Shaft Tracking Behavior of Pads in a Spherical Pivot Type Tilting Pad Journal Bearing
    Sabnavis, Giridhar (Virginia Tech, 2005-04-14)
    Most tilting pad journal bearing dynamic characteristics estimation methodologies assume perfect shaft tracking by the pads. In other words, they neglect pivot friction. In case of pads having point or line contact that operate under most normal load conditions, the pad tilting is due to a rocking motion which is not greatly influenced by friction. Hence this simplifying assumption might be acceptable. Heavier loading conditions, such as those typically encountered in gearboxes, demand the use of spherical pivots to avoid pivot failure. The spherical pivot is very attractive for this reason, but the tilting motion is rather a sliding action that must occur in the precision ball socket. A valid concern exists for verifying the soundness of assumed shaft tracking by the pads of such bearings. A "fixed test bearing, floating shaft" type of test rig previously built for determining the dynamic characteristics of bearings was accordingly modified to facilitate the testing of shaft tracking for a spherical pivot bearing. This thesis describes the modifications carried out on the rig. The special instrumentation and data acquisition systems implemented to observe the minute pad motion are also discussed. Some preliminary results of the tests are presented for various loading conditions. They show excellent shaft tracking by the pads. More detailed testing and analysis of data is required to fully understand the pad motion and tracking ability of the spherical pivot design.