Stability and Damped Critical Speeds of a Flexible Rotor in Fluid-Film Bearings

A method is described for calculating the threshold speed of instability and the damped critical speeds of a general flexible rotor in fluid-film journal bearings. It is analogous to the Myklestad-Prohl method for calculating critical speeds and is readily programmed for numerical computation. The rotor model can simulate any practical shaft geometry and support configuration. The bearings are represented by their linearized dynamic properties, also known as the stiffness and damping coefficients of the bearing, and the calculation includes hysteretic internal damping in the shaft and destabilizing aerodynamic forces. To demonstrate the application of the method, results are shown for an industrial, multistage compressor.