Numerical analysis of a rigid rotor supported by aerodynamic four-lobe journal bearing system with mass unbalance

This paper presents the effect of rotor mass on the nonlinear dynamic behavior of a rigid rotor-bearing system excited by mass unbalance. Aerodynamic four-lobe journal bearing is used to support a rigid rotor. A finite element method is employed to solve the Reynolds equation in static and dynamical states and the dynamical equations are solved using Runge–Kutta method. To analyze the behavior of the rotor center in the horizontal and vertical directions under different operating conditions, the dynamic trajectory, the power spectra, the Poincare maps and the bifurcation diagrams are used. From this study, results show how the complex dynamic behavior of this type of system comprising periodic, KT-periodic and quasi-periodic responses of the rotor center varies with changes in rotor mass values by considering two bearing aspect ratios. Results of this study contribute a better understanding of the nonlinear dynamics of an aerodynamic four-lobe journal bearing system.