Bifurcation and chaos analysis of a flexible rotor supported by turbulent long journal bearings

For a more precise description of rotor–bearing system, a nonlinear supported model is proposed in this paper, where a linear damping, a nonlinear elastic restoring force and a turbulent lubricant flow model are assumed. The dynamics of the rotor center and bearing center are studied. The spatial displacements in the horizontal and vertical directions are considered for various non-dimensional speed ratios. The dynamic equations are solved using the Runge–Kutta method. The analysis methods employed in this study is inclusive of the dynamic trajectories of the rotor center and bearing center, Poincaré maps and bifurcation diagrams. The maximum Lyapunov exponent analysis is also used to identify the onset of chaotic motion. The numerical results show that the stability of the system varies with the non-dimensional speed ratios. Specifically, it is found that the dynamic behaviors of the system include 2T-periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic motions. The modeling results thus obtained by using the method proposed in this paper can be employed to predict the stability of the rotor–bearing system and the undesirable behavior of the rotor and bearing center can be avoided.