A rotor-bearing system is simulated in this study to investigate the effect of worn journal bearings on the system response and to specify the eventual development of additional frequency components. The well-known symmetric Dufrane bearing wear model is used here. The main target here is the investigation of the wear influence on the system response. An experimental layout was constructed for the needs of the current research, including an artificially worn bearing. It was observed that sub- and superharmonics are revealed in the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) of the rotor-bearing system response for worn bearings.

An optimization study of trapezoidal surface texturing in slider micro-bearings, via computational fluid dynamics (CFD), is presented. The bearings are modeled as micro-channels, consisting of a moving and a stationary wall. The moving wall (rotor) is assumed smooth, while part of the stationary wall (stator) exhibits periodic dimples of trapezoidal form. The extent of the textured part of the stator and the dimple geometry are defined parametrically; thus, a wide range of texturing configurations is considered. Flow simulations are based on the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible isothermal flow. To optimize the bearing performance, an optimization problem is formulated and solved by coupling the CFD code with an optimization tool based on genetic algorithms and local search methods. Here, the design variables define the bearing geometry, while load carrying capacity is the objective function to be maximized. Optimized texturing geometries are obtained for the case of parallel bearings for several numbers of dimples, illustrating significant load carrying capacity levels. Further, these optimized texturing patterns are applied to converging bearings for different convergence ratio values; the results demonstrate that, for small and moderate convergence ratios, a substantial increase in load carrying capacity, in comparison to smooth bearings, is obtained. Finally, an optimization study performed at a high convergence ratio shows that, in comparison to the parallel slider, the optimal texturing geometry is substantially different, and that performance improvement over smooth bearings is possible even for steep sliders.

The rotordynamic behavior of a system supported by journal bearings is critical to its reliability. A suitable method of control of the orbital motion of a shaft in a journal bearing is the use of smart lubricants, in effect fluids with controllable physical properties. There are various categories of smart lubricants. One class of smart lubricants, magnetorheological fluids, are produced as a dispersion of magnetic particles in a carrier fluid, which is usually a conventional lubricant. These particles form chains under the influence of a magnetic field, which hinder the lubricant flow, thus changing its apparent viscosity. Magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) exhibit high yield stress, low delay of response, and relatively low friction while not in their active state. A subcategory of MRFs, nanomagnetorheological fluids (NMRFs) with particle size on the nanometer scale, exhibits lower yield stress than MRFs but display high viscosity. The effect of the MRFs and NMRFs on the rotordynamic behavior of a shaft is calculated through a combined finite element and computational fluid dynamics analysis. Though the MRF with the specific geometrical configuration of the bearing is not sufficiently activated and therefore does not improve the performance of the magnetorheological journal bearing, the NMRF has the ability of limiting up to 82% the amplitude of the vibrations of the shaft.

This paper presents the study of magnetic bearings regarding a linear model. Initially, the advantages of magnetic bearings are referenced, in relation to the existing technology. Subsequently, the linearized model of the system is presented and the need for closed loop and control of the system is clarified. This need leads to further analysis of linear controllers like P, I, D, PI, PD, and PID. For each of them, the stability of closed loop system is studied, using the characteristic equation of the system and the Routh-Hurwitz criterion. To this end, the boundary conditions for the existence of the stability of each of them are found and presented. After finding the controllers’ characteristic parameters which could provide stability to the system, simulation tests with existence of white noise follow. Finally, the proposed PID controller performance is examined, based on existing laboratory data, and results concerning the stability of this controller are presented.