Closure to “Discussion of ‘A Review of the Rotordynamic Thermally Induced Synchronous Instability (Morton) Effect’” (Tong, X., Palazzolo, A., and Suh, J., 2017, ASME Appl. Mech. Rev., 69(6), p. 060801)

2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Tong ◽  
Alan Palazzolo ◽  
Junho Suh
Author(s):  
H. B. Faulkner ◽  
W. F. Strong ◽  
R. G. Kirk

Abstract This paper is in two parts, and concerns the lateral dynamics of a large turbocharger rotor with overhung wheels. Initial rotor dynamic analysis indicated no excessive motion in the operating speed range. However, testing showed excessive motion, which was initially traced to the radial-inflow turbine wheel becoming loose on the shaft, due to transient differential thermal expansion in the wheel on startup. The attachment of the wheel was modified to eliminate this problem. The discussion up to this point is in Part I of the paper, and the remainder is in Part II. The wheel attachment modification extended the range of satisfactory operation upward considerably, but excessive lateral motion was again encountered near the upper end of the operating speed range. This behavior was traced to thermal bowing of the shaft at the turbine end, known as the Morton Effect. The turbine end bearing was modified to eliminate this problem, and satisfactory operation was then achieved throughout the operating speed range.


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Tong ◽  
Alan Palazzolo ◽  
Junho Suh

The Morton effect (ME) is a thermally induced instability problem that most commonly appears in rotating shafts with large overhung masses and supported by fluid-film bearings. The time-varying thermal bow, due to the asymmetric journal temperature distribution, may cause intolerable synchronous vibrations that exhibit a hysteresis behavior with respect to rotor speed. First discovered by Morton in the 1970s and theoretically analyzed by Keogh and Morton in the 1990s, the ME is still not fully understood by industry and academia experts. Traditional rotordynamic analysis generally fails to predict the potential existence of ME-induced instability in the design stage or troubleshooting process, and the induced excessive rotor vibrations cannot be effectively suppressed through conventional balancing, due to the continuous fluctuation of vibration amplitude and phase angle. In recent years, a fast growing number of case studies of ME have sparked academic interest in analyzing the causes and solutions of ME, and engineers have moved from an initial trial and error approach to more research inspired modification of the rotor and bearing. To facilitate the understanding of ME, the current review is intended to give the most comprehensive summary of ME in terms of symptoms, causes, prediction theories, and solutions. Published case studies in the past are also analyzed for ME diagnosis based on both the conventional view of critical speed, separation margin (SM), and the more recent view of the rotor thermal bow and instability speed band shifting. Although no universal solutions of ME are reported academically and industrially, recommendations to help avoid the ME are proposed based on both theoretical predictions and case studies.


Author(s):  
Dara W. Childs ◽  
Rohit Saha

Morton Effect problems involve the steady increase in rotor synchronous-response amplitudes due to differential heating across a fluid-film bearing that is induced by synchronous response. The present work presents a new computational algorithm for analyzing the Morton Effect. Previous approaches were based on Eigen or Nyquist analyses for stability studies and predicted an onset speed of instability. The present algorithm starts with a steady state elliptical orbit produced by the initial imbalance distribution, which is decomposed into a forward-precessing circular orbit and a backwards-precessing circular orbit. A separate (and numerically intensive) calculation based on the Reynolds equation plus the energy equation gives predictions for the temperature distributions induced by these separate orbits for a range of orbit radius-to-clearance ratios. Temperature distributions for the forward and backward orbits are calculated and added to produce the net temperature distribution due to the initial elliptic orbit. The temperature distribution is assumed to vary linearly across the bearing and produces a bent-shaft angle across the bearing following an analytical result due to Dimoragonas. This bent-shaft angle produces a synchronous rotor excitation in the form of equal and opposite moments acting at the bearing’s ends. For a rotor with an overhung section, the bend also produces a thermally induced imbalance. The response is due to: (1) the initial mechanical imbalance, (2) the bent-shaft excitation, and (3) the thermally-induced imbalance are added to produce a new elliptic orbit, and the process is repeated until a converged orbit is produced. For the work reported, no formal stability analysis is carried out on the converged orbit. The algorithm predicts synchronous response across the rotor’s speed range plus the speed where the response amplitudes becomes divergent by approaching the clearance. Predictions are presented for one example from the published literature, and elevated vibration levels are predicted well before the motion diverges. Synchronous-response amplitudes due to Morton Effect can be orders of magnitude greater than the response due only to mechanical imbalance, particularly near rotor critical speeds. For the example considered, bent-shaft-moment excitation produces significantly higher response levels than the mechanical imbalance induced by thermal bow. The impact of changes in: (1) bearing length-to-diameter ratio, (2) reduced lubricant viscosity, (3) bearing radius-to-clearance ratio and (4) overhung mass magnitude are investigated. Reducing lubricant viscosity and/or reducing the overhung mass are predicted to be the best remedies for Morton Effect problems.


Author(s):  
Dara W. Childs ◽  
Rohit Saha

Morton Effect problems involve the steady increase in rotor synchronous-response amplitudes due to differential heating across a fluid-film bearing that is in turn induced by synchronous response. The present work presents a new computational algorithm for analyzing Morton Effect. Previous studies on the Morton Effect were based on Eigen or Nyquist analysis for stability studies and predicted an onset speed of instability. The algorithm starts with a steady state elliptical orbit produced by the initial imbalance distribution, which is decomposed into a forward-precessing circular orbit and a backwards-precessing circular orbit. A separate (and numerically intensive) calculation based on the Reynolds equation plus the energy equation gives predictions for the temperature distributions induced by these separate orbits for a range of orbit radius-to-clearance ratios. Temperature distributions for the forward and backward orbits are calculated and added to produce the net temperature distribution due to the initial elliptic orbit. The temperature distribution is assumed to vary linearly across the bearing and produces a bent-shaft angle across the bearing following an analytical result due to Dimoragonas. This bent shaft angle produces a synchronous rotor excitation in the form of equal and opposite moments acting at the bearing’s ends. For a rotor with an overhung section, the bend also produces a thermally induced imbalance. The response due to the initial mechanical imbalance, the bent-shaft excitation, and the thermally-induced imbalance are added to produce a new elliptic orbit, and the process is repeated until a converged orbit is produced. For the work reported, no formal stability analysis is carried out on the converged orbit. The algorithm predicts synchronous response for the speed range of concern plus the speed where the response amplitudes becomes divergent by approaching the clearance. Predictions are presented for one examples from the published literature, and elevated vibration levels are predicted well before the motion diverges. Synchronous-response amplitudes due to Morton Effect can be orders of magnitude greater than the response due only to mechanical imbalance, particularly near rotor critical speeds. For the example considered, bent-shaft-moment excitation produces significantly higher response levels than the mechanical imbalance induced by thermal bow. The impact of changes for (1) bearing length to diameter ratio, (2) reduced lubricant viscosity, (3) bearing radius-to-clearance ratio and (4) overhung mass magnitude are investigated. Reducing lubricant viscosity and/or the overhung mass are predicted to be the best remedies for Morton Effect problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongil Shin ◽  
Alan B. Palazzolo

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of misaligned journal bearing effects on the thermally induced rotor instability (Morton effect “ME”) problem. The Morton effect is caused by uneven viscous heating of the journal in a fluid film bearing, which causes thermal bending, especially in rotors with an overhung disc or coupling weight. The thermally induced bending in the shaft may cause a vibration instability, which results in an excessive level of synchronous vibration. Previous research focused on parametric studies of the rotor and bearing design parameters, including overhung mass, bearing radial clearance, and lubricant viscosity. The present study investigates the influence of journal misalignment on the Morton effect. A coupled fluid-thermal-structural, three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) is developed to simulate fluid film pressures and temperatures, and shaft temperatures and vibrations. Simulations were conducted with different ratios of journal misalignment, and different pad-pivot types to determine their effect on the phenomenon. The simulation results indicate that the amplitude of the misalignment angle affects the instability speed range (ISR) caused by the Morton effect under certain conditions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Tong ◽  
Alan Palazzolo

The Morton effect (ME) is a thermally induced instability problem that most commonly appears in rotating shafts with large overhung masses, outboard of the bearing span. The time-varying thermal bow due to the asymmetric journal temperature distribution may cause intolerable synchronous vibrations that exhibit a hysteresis behavior with respect to rotor speed. The fully nonlinear transient method designed for the ME prediction, in general, overhung rotors is proposed with the capability to perform the thermoelastohydrodynamic analysis for all the bearings and model the rotor thermal bow at both overhung ends with equivalent distributed unbalances. The more accurate nonlinear, coupled, double overhung approach is shown to provide significantly different response prediction relative to the more approximate linear method based using bearing coefficients and the single-overhung method, which assumes that the ME on both rotor ends can be decoupled. The flexibility of the bearing pad and pivot is investigated to demonstrate that the pivot flexibility can significantly affect the rotordynamics and ME, while the rigid pad model is generally a good approximation.


Author(s):  
H. B. Faulkner ◽  
W. F. Strong ◽  
R. G. Kirk

Abstract This paper is in two parts, and concerns the lateral dynamics of a large turbocharger rotor with overhung wheels. Initial rotor dynamic analysis indicated no excessive motion in the operating speed range. However, testing showed excessive motion, which was initially traced to the radial-inflow turbine wheel becoming loose on the shaft, due to transient differential thermal expansion in the wheel on startup. The attachment of the wheel was modified to eliminate this problem. The discussion up to this point is in Part I of the paper, and the remainder is in Part II. The wheel attachment modification extended the range of satisfactory operation upward considerably, but excessive lateral motion was again encountered near the upper end of the operating speed range. This behavior was traced to thermal bowing of the shaft at the turbine end, known as the Morton Effect. The turbine end bearing was modified to eliminate this problem, and satisfactory operation was then achieved throughout the operating speed range.


Author(s):  
C. S. Giggins ◽  
J. K. Tien ◽  
B. H. Kear ◽  
F. S. Pettit

The performance of most oxidation resistant alloys and coatings is markedly improved if the oxide scale strongly adheres to the substrate surface. Consequently, in order to develop alloys and coatings with improved oxidation resistance, it has become necessary to determine the conditions that lead to spallation of oxides from the surfaces of alloys. In what follows, the morphological features of nonadherent Al2O3, and the substrate surfaces from which the Al2O3 has spalled, are presented and related to oxide spallation.The Al2O3, scales were developed by oxidizing Fe-25Cr-4Al (w/o) and Ni-rich Ni3 (Al,Ta) alloys in air at 1200°C. These scales spalled from their substrates upon cooling as a result of thermally induced stresses. The scales and the alloy substrate surfaces were then examined by scanning and replication electron microscopy.The Al2O3, scales from the Fe-Cr-Al contained filamentary protrusions at the oxide-gas interface, Fig. 1(a). In addition, nodules of oxide have been developed such that cavities were formed between the oxide and the substrate, Fig. 1(a).


Author(s):  
R.T. Blackham ◽  
J.J. Haugh ◽  
C.W. Hughes ◽  
M.G. Burke

Essential to the characterization of materials using analytical electron microscopy (AEM) techniques is the specimen itself. Without suitable samples, detailed microstructural analysis is not possible. Ultramicrotomy, or diamond knife sectioning, is a well-known mechanical specimen preparation technique which has been gaining attention in the materials science area. Malis and co-workers and Glanvill have demonstrated the usefulness and applicability of this technique to the study of a wide variety of materials including Al alloys, composites, and semiconductors. Ultramicrotomed specimens have uniform thickness with relatively large electron-transparent areas which are suitable for AEM anaysis.Interface Analysis in Type 316 Austenitic Stainless Steel: STEM-EDS microanalysis of grain boundaries in austenitic stainless steels provides important information concerning the development of Cr-depleted zones which accompany M23C6 precipitation, and documentation of radiation induced segregation (RIS). Conventional methods of TEM sample preparation are suitable for the evaluation of thermally induced segregation, but neutron irradiated samples present a variety of problems in both the preparation and in the AEM analysis, in addition to the handling hazard.


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