To validate a new squeeze film damper (SFD) bearing design introduced in [1], a pair of 3.5 inch SFD bearings were manufactured and tested. Static spring compression test was conducted to prove the spring design stiffness calculated through the geometry parametric spring model. High cycle loading fatigue testing of the spring was conducted to validate the design spring fatigue limit. The entire SFD bearing assembly was inspected and checked through a SFD centering bench test before the rotor dynamic test.
Unbalance response correlation and logarithmic decrement (Log. Dec.) measurement using the operational modal analysis (OMA) method were employed for the rotor-dynamic tests. An agreement was seen between the analysis and the experimental measurement. It was seen that the SFD bearing provided the extra damping as expected to suppress the unbalance vibration when passing through the critical speed and also improve the stability (Log. Dec.) of the rotor. It was found that the measured SFD damping was closer to the full film damping model when the squeeze oil film was sealed with O-rings. The SFD improved the logarithmic decrement of the rotor-bearing system from 0.07 to more than 0.21 as compared to the system without SFD.
Squeeze film damper (SFD) bearings are widely used in industry to enhance rotor dynamic stability in super-critical applications. This study examines an SFD bearing design with double-ended beam centering springs placed external to the squeeze film and in parallel with O-ring seals. The purpose of the new SFD bearing design is to minimize the use of O-rings as a support and centering device, instead relying on compact external springs that can be independently adjusted to ensure centered operation. The new design is applicable to a wide range of bearing sizes and rotor weights with variable spring stiffness, damping value and envelope dimensions.
Spring stiffness and stress coefficients were generated for 3.5-inch bearing and SFD assembly from a parametric finite element analysis (FEA). High cycle fatigue of the springs was evaluated using the Soderberg criterion with an additional safety factor. Rotor-dynamic performance of the new design was analyzed using an historical rotor applying both π-film and full-film models. To evaluate the design, the same 3.5 inch SFD bearing presented in this study was manufactured and tested in succeeding work.
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