Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.

in)

CHAPTER 3

TRANSVERSE VIBRATIONS OF MULTI-DOF ROTORS

Most often machinery is excited in transverse vibrations due to unbalances, which is the most
common type of fault rotating machinery, can have. In machines the rotor mass may be concentrated
at a single location or at a number of locations or alternatively distributed along the shaft length with
shaft also has flexibility. Methods available to calculate critical speeds & forced responses are (i)
method of influence coefficient (ii) transfer matrix method (iii) mechanical impedance (or receptance)
method (iv) dynamic stiffness matrix method (v) finite element method (vi) modal analysis method
(vii) Dunkerleys formula & (viii) Rayleighs method.

3.1 Method of Influence Coefficients

It is used to calculate natural frequencies and forced responses of rotating machines. Up to two-dof
system hand calculation is feasible. For more than two-dof computerized versions are more feasible.
Method is explained for three discs mounted on a flexible shaft (Figure 3.1), running in rigid bearings,
which can be extended for MDOF and for damped flexible supports.

f1

x1 ,m1

f2

f3

x2 ,m2

x3 ,m3

Figure 3.1 A MDOF rotor system

Let f1, f2 and f3 are steady forces (magnitude) on discs and x1, x2, x3 are the corresponding shaft
deflections at discs. If a force f is applied to mass m1, then deflection of m1 will be proportional to f
i.e.

x1 f

or

x1 = 11 f

(1)

Now the force f is applied to mass m2, the deflection of m1 will be proportional to the magnitude of
force i.e.

x1 f

or

x1 = 12 f

(2)

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Similarly if force f is applied at m3, the deflection at m1 will be

x1 = 13 f

(3)

If forces f1, f2 and f3 are applied at the reaction of all the masses simultaneously, then the total
deflection at m1, will be

x1 = 11 f 1 + 12 f 2 + 13 f 3

(4)

x 2 = 21 f 1 + 22 f 2 + 23 f 3

(5)

x3 = 31 f 1 + 32 f 2 + 33 f 3

(6)

Similarly

and

or

x1 11 12 13 f 1


x 2 = 21 22 23 f 2
x

3 31 32 33 f 3

(7)

The technique can be extended to account for angular movements of the disc, and for the application
of point moments M at various locations along the shaft a part of loading on discs. The equation will
take the form

{d } = [ ]{ f }

(8)

with

x1
x
2
x
{d } = 3 ;
1
2

3

f1
f
2
f
{ f } = 3
M1
M 2

M 3

and

11

[ ] =

12
22

sym

13 14
23 24
33 34
44

15
25
35
45
55

16
26
36

46
56

66

(9)

which gives

{ f } = [ ]1{d }

(10)

132

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

The analysis so far has referred only to static loads applied to the shaft. When the mass displacement
is changing rapidly with time, the applied force has to overcome the mass inertia as well as to deform
the shaft.

f1

x,
x

f1

m1
x
1

f1
(a) Disc

(b) Shaft

Figure 3.2 Free body diagrams of a disc and the shaft

In Figure 3.2 free body diagrams of a disc and the shaft is shown. f 1 and M 1 are the external force
and moment on the disc m1 whereas f 1 and M 1 are the force and moment transmitted to the shaft
(equal and opposite to the reaction force of the shaft on the mass). We have from the force and
moment balance of disc

f 1 f 1 = m1
x
1 and M 1 M 1 = I d1

(11)

where Id is the diametral mass moment of inertia about a diameter of rotor. Similarly at other disc
locations

f 2 f 2 = m2
x
2 and M 2 M 2 = I d2

2

(12)

f 3 f 3 = m3
x
3 and M 3 M 3 = I d3

3

(13)

Substituting for f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , M 1 , M 2 and M 3 from equations (11-13) and remembering that for SHM of
discs


x = n2 x and

= n2 where n is the natural frequency of the system, equation (8) gives

f1+ n2 m1 x1

2
f 2 + n m2 x2
f3 + n2 m3 x3
{d } = [ ] M + 2 I
n d1 1
1

M 2 + n2 I d 2
2

M
I

n d3 3
3

(14)

133

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

which can be expanded as

m1 x1
m x
2 2
m3 x3
{d } = [ ]{ f } + n2 [ ] I
d1 1
I d 2 2

I d33

with

f1
f
2
f
{ f } = 3
M1
M 2

M 3

(15)

which can be rearranged as

11m1

21m1
m
{d } = [ ]{ f } + n2 31 1
41m1
m
51 1
61m1

12 m2 13m3 14 I d

22 m2 23m3
32 m2
42 m2
52 m2
62 m2

15 I d

16 I d

{d }


66 I d3




(16)

which can be written in more compact form as

[ A]{d } =

n2

[ ]{ f }

(17)

with

11m1 1/ n2
12 m2
13m3 14 I d1

2
22 m2 1/ n 23m3
21m1
m
32 m2
31 1
[ A] =

41m1
m
51 1

61m1


15 I d

16 I d

66 I d3 1/ n2
3

(18)

Disc displacements x and can be calculated for known applied load (e.g. unbalance forces and
moments) as

[ R]{ f } = {d }

(19)

134

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

with

[ R] =

n2

[ A]1[ ]

(20)

where R represents receptance. In general applied forces and disc displacements will not all be in
phase with one another, since damping forces may also act upon the shaft, so a more general form of
equation (19) would be that which indicates both in-phase and quadrature terms for x and f , that is

R 0 f r d r
0 R f = d

j j

(21)

where r and j refer to the in-phase and quadrature (sine and cosine) terms, respectively. For free
vibrations right hand side of equation (17) will be zero i.e.

[ A]{d } = {0}

(22)

which only satisfy when

A =0

(23)

and it will give system natural frequencies.

Example 3.1 Obtain transverse synchronous critical speeds of a rotor system as shown in Figure 3.3.
Take the mass of the disc, m = 10 kg and the diametral mass moment of inertia, Id = 0.02 kg-m2. The
disc is placed at 0.25 m from the right support. The shaft is having diameter of 10 mm and total span
length of 1 m. The shaft is assumed to be massless. Take shaft Youngs modulus E = 2.1 1011 N/m2.
Neglect gyroscopic effects. Take one plane motion only.
Influence coefficients are defined as:

l=a+b

y 11 12 F
=

21 22 M
with

Figure 3.3 A rotor system

11 = a 2b 2 / 3EIl ;

12 = ( 3a 2l 2a 3 al 2 ) / 3EIl

21 = ab(b a ) / 3EIl ;

22 = ( 3al 3a 2 l 2 ) / 3EIl

135

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Solution: To obtain natural frequencies of the rotor system having a single disc, from equation (18),
we have

(11m 1 n2 )
[ A] =

21m

( 22 I d 1 n2 )

12 I d

From equation (23), we have

m 1 n2 )

12 I d

11

21m

I 1 n2 )

=0

22 d

which give frequency equation as

mI d 4 11 22 122 2 ( 11 m + 22 I d ) + 1 = 0

(A)

For the present problem, we have

11 = 1.137 10 4 ; 12 = 21 = 3.03 10 4 ; 22 = 1.41 10 3

Equation (A) becomes,

4 8.505 104 2 + 7.3 107 = 0

which gives two natural frequency of the system, as

n1 = 29.4 rad/sec and n 2 = 290 rad/sec

It should be noted here that the linear and angular motion are coupled for the present transverse
vibrations since the disc is offset from its midspan, however, when the disc is at the center linear and
angular motions will be decoupled. The natural frequencies for such case will be

n =
1

n 2 =

1
1
=
= 22.244 rad/s
m11
10 2.021 104

1
I d 22

1
= 248.697 rad/s
0.02 0.8084 10 3

(pure translation motion on the disc)

(pure rotational motion on the disc)

Example 3.2 Find the transverse natural frequency of a rotor system as shown in Figure 3.4. Consider
shaft as massless and is made of steel with 2.1 (10)11 N/m2 of Youngs modulus, E, and 7800 kg/m3

136

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

of mass density, . The disc has 10 kg of mass. The shaft is simply supported at ends (In Figure 3.4 all

10

30

dimensions are in cm).

40

60

Figure 3.4 Example 3.2

To simply the analysis let us consider that the angular displacement of the disc is negligible small.
From equation (23), we have

[ A] = (11m 1 n2 )

n =

which natural frequency as

1
m11

The first step would be to obtain influence coefficients. Using energy method these coefficients have
been obtained as follows:

F
EI2

EI1
0.6m

0.4m

FA

FB

Figure 3.5 Free body diagram of the rotor system.

For a load F at the disc, reactions forces at bearings can be obtained as (Figure 3.5)

+ M A = 0

+ F = 0

FA + FB = F

FB .1 F .0.6 = 0 FB = 0.6 F

137

FA = 0.4 F

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

Vx1
M x1
x
0.4F
Figure 3.6 Free body diagram of the shaft section 0 x 0.6
The bending moment in the shaft can be obtained as (Figure 3.6)

=0

M x1 0.4 Fx = 0

M x1 = 0.4 Fx

(A)

Vx2

M x2
0.6 m
x
Figure 3.7 Free body diagram of the shaft section 0.6 x 1.0
The bending moment in the shaft can be obtained as (Figure 3.7)

=0

Mx2 + F ( x 0.6) 0.4 Fx = 0

Mx2 = 0.6 F (1 x)

(B)

The strain energy can be obtained as

U =

0.6

M x21 dx
2 EI1

1.0

M x22 dx

0.6

2 EI 2

From the Castiglianos theorem, we have

0.6
U
=
=
0
F

M x1

M x1

F dx +
0.6
EI1

1.0

M x2

M x2

F dx
EI 2

(C)

On substituting equations (A) and (B) in equation (C), we get

0.6

0.6

1.0 {0.6 F (1 x )}{( 0.6(1 x )}

(0.4 Fx)(0.4 x)
dx +
dx
0.6
EI1
EI 2

2
1.0 0.36 F ( x 2 x + 1)
0.16 Fx 2
0.01152 F 0.00768 F
+
dx +
dx =
0.6
EI1
EI 2
EI1
EI 2

138

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

The stiffness of the beam given as

F 0.01152 0.00768
= =
+
k=

11 EI1
EI 2
1

With E = 2 1011 N/m 2 ; I1 =

0.14 = 4.907 106 m 4 ;

64

I2 =

0.33 = 3.976 104 m 4 , we

64

have

k=

= 8.45 107 m/N

11

Hence the natural frequency is given as

n =

1
8.45 107
=
= 2906.89 rad/s
m11
10

The influence coefficient can be also obtained by singular function approach and for more details
readers are referred to Timoshenko and Young (1968).

Exercise 3.1 Obtain the bending critical speed of a rotor as shown in Figure E3.1. The rotor is
assumed to be fixed supported at one end. Take mass of the disc m = 2 kg and diametral moment of
inertia I d = 0.05 kg-m2. The shaft is assumed to be massless and its length and its length and
diameter are 0.2 m and 0.1 m, respectively. Take Youngs modulus E = 2.1 1011 N/m2 for the shaft
material.

Shaft

Bearing

Disc
Figure E3.1

Exercise 3.2 Find the critical speeds of the rotor system shown in Figure E3.2 by the influence
coefficient method. Take EI = 2 MNm2 for the shaft and mass moment of inertia of disc is negligible.

139

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

3.0 m
1.5 m

Fixed end

80 kg

100 kg

Figure E3.2
Exercise 3.3. Obtain the bending critical speed of the rotor system as shown in Figure E3.3. Take the
mass of the disc, m = 5 kg and the diametral mass moment of inertia, Id = 0.02 kg-m2. Take shaft
length a = 0.3 m and b = 0.7 m. The diameter of the shaft is 10 mm. Neglect the gyroscopic effects.

Figure E3.3 An overhang rotor system

Exercise 3.4 Find the bending critical speeds and the mode shapes of the rotor system shown in
Figure E3.4. B1 and B2 are simply supported bearings and D1 and D2 are rigid discs. The shaft is made
of steel with modulus of rigidity E = 2.1 (10)11 N/m2 and uniform diameter d = 10 mm. The various
shaft lengths are as follows: B1D1 = 50 mm, D1D2 = 75 mm, and D2B2 = 50 mm. The mass of discs
are: md1 = 4 kg and md2 = 6 kg. Consider the shaft as massless and neglect the diametral mass moment
of inertia of both discs.

Figure E3.4

B1

B2
D1

D2

Exercise 3.5 Find all the bending natural frequencies (critical speeds) and draw corresponding mode
shapes of the rotor system shown in Figure E3.5. B1 is fixed support (with zero transverse linear and
angular (slope) displacements) and B2 and B3 are simply supported (with zero transverse linear and
angular displacements). The shaft is made of steel with Youngs modulus E = 2.1 (10)11 N/m2 and

140

Dr R Tiwari, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., IIT Guwahati, (rtiwari@iitg.ernet.in)

mass density = 7800 Kg/m3. The mass of the discs are: md1 = 1 kg, md2 = 1.5 kg, md3 = 0.75 kg. Use
both the transfer matrix method and the finite element method. Give all the detailed steps involved in
obtaining the final system equations and application of boundary conditions. Compare the order of
magnitude of the torsional and the bending critical speeds so obtained for the same system. Consider
the shaft as massless and discs as lumped masses. Neglect the gyroscopic effects.

Figure E3.5

B1

B2
D1

B3
D2

141

D3