Rotor Dynamics Setup

A Bently Nevada rotor rig that is equipped with noncontacting proximity probes and a data acquisition instrument is available. It is possible to simulate several turbomachinery configurations to predict dynamic performance in real machinery. Several malfunctions such as stator to rotor rub, oil whirl and shaft cracks can be induced and studied. The vibrational data that is collected can be viewed in a variety of formats including filtered and unfiltered, Bode plots, orbit plots, cascade diagrams, etc.

Magnetic Bearing Laboratory

The Magnetic Bearing Laboratory is a part of the Dynamic Systems Laboratory and consists of an experimental rotor rig to simulate rotating machinery. It is supported on two pairs of laminated electro-magnetic bearings that are driven in an active control loop.

Magnetic bearing The rig is equipped with noncontacting proximity transducers, a servomotor, and moveable supports. The control is achieved by means of an output card that is installed in a Pentium Personal Computer. The control algorithms are completely configurable in the software. The computer also has a pair of high resolution data acquisition cards for collecting and analyzing displacement and acceleration data. Theoretical models exist to predict the dynamic performance of such systems. This experimental setup can be used to validate and refine such analytical and computer models. Almost all the parameters of real systems can be simulated and changed in the experimental setup and hence the information gained here could be used to design a wide variety of real industrial systems.

Miscellaneous Facilities Available

• An experimental rotor test bed with proximity probes, data acquisition hardware and software, thermocouples, computer with controller, and numerous transducers.
• Two 8-pole, laminated radial magnetic bearings with amplifiers and power supplies.
• Commercial finite element packages including ANSYS and Algor.
• Oscilloscopes, signal conditioning devices, and miscellaneous electronic investigative tools.
• Rotor dynamic finite element model and bearing analysis implemented in MATLAB with free, forced, steady-state and transient response capabilities.
• Analytical and numerical model for the thermal performance of magnetic bearings implemented in Mathcad.
• PUMA 560 and PUMA 260 robots.
• Bently Nevada Data Acquisition Instrument and noncontacting proximity probes; software to log data to IBM PC compatibles.
• Software for modeling and analysis of structures and rotating machinery
• Exciter tables for dynamic testing
• Miscellaneous vibration probes, transducers and computerized data acquisition equipment
• Digital oscilloscopes, recorders, etc
• Numerous analysis software tools.