Journal Bearing Vibration and SSV Hash
Journal Bearing Vibration and SSV Hash
Journal Bearing Vibration and SSV Hash
DeCamillo is Manager of
Research and Development for
Kingsbury, Inc., in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He is responsible for
design, analysis, and development of
Kingsbury fluid film bearings for
worldwide industrial and military
applications. He began work in this
field in 1975 and has since provided
engineering support to industry
regarding application and performance of hydrodynamic
bearings. Mr. DeCamillo has developed performance and
structural bearing analysis tools during his career, establishing
design criteria used in many publications and specifications.
He has patents and has authored several papers on
bearing research, which is currently focused on advancing
hydrodynamic bearing technology in high-speed turbomachinery.
Mr. DeCamillo received his B.S. degree (Mechanical
Engineering, 1975) from Drexel University. He is a registered
Professional Engineer in the State of Pennsylvania and a member
of STLE, ASME, and the Vibration Institute.
Minhui He is a Machinery Specialist
with BRG Machinery Consulting LLC, in
Charlottesville, Virginia. His responsibilities
include vibration troubleshooting, rotor-
dynamic analysis, as well as bearing and
seal analysis and design. He is a member of
STLE, and is also conducting research on
rotordynamics and hydrodynamic bearings.
Dr. He received his B.S. degree
(Chemical Machinery Engineering,
1994) from Sichuan University. From 1996 to 2003, he
conducted research on fluid film journal bearings in
the ROMAC Laboratories at the University of Virginia,
receiving his Ph. D. (Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, 2003).
C. Hunter Cloud is President of BRG
Machinery Consulting, LLC, in
Charlottesville, Virginia, a company
providing a full range of rotating
machinery technical services. He began his
career with Mobil Research and
Development Corporation in Princeton, NJ,
as a turbomachinery specialist responsible
for application engineering, commissioning,
and troubleshooting for production,
refining, and chemical facilities. During his 11 years at Mobil, he
worked on numerous projects, including several offshore gas
injection platforms in Nigeria, as well as serving as reliability
manager at a large US refinery.
Dr. Cloud received his B.S. (Mechanical Engineering, 1991) and
Ph.D. (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2007) from the
University of Virginia. He is a member of ASME, the Vibration
Institute, and the API 684 rotordynamics task force.
James M. Byrne is currently a member of
the BRG Machinery Consulting team, in
Charlottesville, Virginia. BRG performs
research and analysis in the fields of fluid
film bearings, magnetic bearings, and
rotordynamics. Mr. Byrne began his career
designing internally geared centrifugal
compressors for Carrier in Syracuse, New
York. He continued his career at Pratt and
Whitney aircraft engines and became a
technical leader for rotordynamics. Later Mr. Byrne became a
program manager for Pratt and Whitney Power Systems managing
the development of new gas turbine products. From 2001 to 2007,
he was President of Rotating Machinery Technology, a manufacturer
of tilting pad bearings.
Mr. Byrne holds a BSME degree from Syracuse University, an
MSME degree from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from
Carnegie Mellon University.
JOURNAL BEARINGVIBRATIONAND SSV HASH
by
Scan M. DeCamillo
Manager, Research and Development
Kingsbury, Inc.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Minhui He
Machinery Specialist
C. Hunter Cloud
President
and
James M. Byrne
Machinery Consultant
BRG Machinery Consulting, LLC
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 USA
11
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT
Peculiar, low-frequency, radial vibrations have been observed in
various turbomachinery using tilt-pad journal bearings. Unlike
discrete subsynchronous spikes that often indicate a serious
problem, the vibrations are indiscrete and of low frequency and
amplitude. The low level shaft indications have raised concern in
witness tests of critical machinery, even in cases that comply with
American Petroleum Institute (API) limits, owing to uncertainty
regarding the cause and nature of the vibrations.
This paper presents shaft and pad vibration data from various
tilt-pad journal bearing tests that were undertaken to investigate and
better understand these subsynchronous indications. The vibration
characteristics are defined and compared under the influence of
speed, load, oil flow, and bearing orientation. Results are presented
for conventional and direct lube tilt-pad bearing designs, along with
discussions of parameters and methods that were successful in
reducing and eliminating these low level vibrations.
The test results indicate that the low-frequency shaft indications
are caused by pad vibration. Hypotheses and analyses are
presented and discussed in relation to the test observations.
INTRODUCTION
Many early technical papers report on the inherent stability of
tilt-pad journal bearings in overcoming oil whirl and oil whip
limitations of fixed geometry bearings. There are, however, other
vibration phenomena associated with tilt-pad bearings that are
topics of past and present research. In the late 70s, extensive
babbitt fatigue cracking of upper, unloaded pads was a major
problem in large, conventional tilt-pad journal bearings. These
were flooded designs, which incorporate end seals to restrict oil
outlet and flood the bearing cavity. A well-referenced study by
Adams and Payandeh (1983) attributes the damage to self-excited,
subsynchronous pad vibration.
Trends for larger and higher speed turbomachinery impose
greater demands on bearings and rotor dynamics. Direct lube
bearings have evolved to reduce the higher power losses, oil flow
requirements, and pad temperatures associated with higher surface
speeds. Direct lubrication is not a new concept as designs have been
used in special applications with a long history of reliability. Use of
direct lube journal bearings became more prevalent as machine size
and speed increased, eventually spawning several papers in the early
90s investigating their steady-state performance. These include
research by Booser (1990), Tanaka (1991), Harongozo, et al.
(1991), Brockwell, et al. (1992), and Fillon, et al. (1993).
The references document pad temperature reductions derived
from the efficient evacuation of hot oil from the bearing cavity.
Direct lube bearings are therefore typically designed for evacuated
operation, accomplished by opening up end seal and oil outlet
restrictions. A direct application of oil to the journal surface
prevents oil from bypassing the films, which can occur in
conventional bearings when outlet restrictions are removed. Use of
nozzles to spray oil on the journal surface between pads is one
method of direct lubrication. An additional pad temperature
advantage is gained by direct lubrication features.
Literature on vibration characteristics of direct lube journal
bearings is not as prevalent. DeCamillo and Clayton (1997) present
rotordynamic data for large, 18 inch (457 mm) generator bearings.
The tests showed comparable vibration response for conventional
and direct lube designs. Edney, et al. (1996), provide similar
information for a small, high-speed, multistage steam turbine with
4 inch (102 mm) diameter journal bearings. Peculiar, low-frequency,
radial vibrations were observed during these steam turbine tests, but
levels were low and acceptable. However, similar vibrations in a
high-speed compressor during acceptance tests in 1999 did encroach
upon acceptable API limits, and significant time and resources were
expended to address this issue (DeCamillo, 2006).
Personal experience and discussions among original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) and users over the past few years indicate
that these low-frequency vibrations have been encountered in
turbines, compressors, and gearboxes, using conventional and
direct lube tilt-pad bearing designs. The signature has also been
documented in separate research investigating stability (Cloud,
2007). Accurate stability prediction is a major topic of concern in
the industry. Kocur, et al. (2007), highlight a large spread in
predicted bearing stiffness and damping coefficients among
computer codes, and associated ramifications regarding stability
assessment of critical turbomachinery. At the same time, there are
not many codes available that address direct lube performance and
dynamic coefficients (He, 2003; He, et al., 2005).
Researchers are presently attempting to sort through some difficult
questions. What is the source of the low-frequency vibrations? Are
they attributable to direct lube bearings, pad flutter, starvation,
high speeds, or low loads? Do they affect machine stability, safety,
or reliability?
This paper presents a chronology of tests, investigations, and
theoretical analyses aimed at providing answers to some of these
questions. It is desired that the information be of value to
researchers, OEMs, users, and other personnel involved with
hydrodynamic bearings and vibration in turbomachinery.
SSV HASH, DEFINITION
Figure 1 is an example radial vibration spectrum from a high-speed
compressor test using direct lube tilt-pad journal bearings. The
main subject of this paper is the low-frequency shaft vibrations
indicated in the figure. Unlike discrete subsynchronous spikes that
often indicate a serious problem, the vibrations are indiscrete and
of low-frequency and amplitude. The plot is paused to capture
the random, broadband frequencies. In order to distinguish the
subsynchronous vibration (SSV) characteristics under consideration,
the term SSV hash is defined for use in this paper:
1
5
= Tilt angle changes on pads 1 through 5
Table 1. Stiffness Full Coefficients for the 60 Percent Offset LOP
Bearing, 11,475 rpm, 200 psi.
Each value in Table 1 represents a stiffness, either Fx or M
divided by x, y, or depending on the position in the table.
Examining a few of these Table 1 coefficients will help explain the
physical meaning behind them. Tilt angle changes of the fourth pad
(
4
) produce the largest vertical force on the shaft (F
y
), since it
has the highest value of K
y
(3.261e6 lbf/rad). This is due to the
fourth pad being on the bottom, supporting the majority of the
load. Conversely, tilt angle changes on the second pad, located in
the upper half of the bearing, produce the smallest vertical force on
the shaft (K
y
= 0.499e6 lbf/rad). The fourth pad is also the most
difficult to tilt with the highest tilting stiffness K
value (1.614e6
lbf-in/rad), while the second pad is the easiest to tilt (K
= 0.245e6
lbf-in/rad). Tilting motions of the other four pads do not directly
cause any moments on the loaded pad. The pads can only effectively
communicate to each other through the shaft.
Some of the full coefficients along with the pads polar inertia (I
p
)
form the equation of motion for pad tilting. A simplified version of
this equation, using a pads tilting stiffness K
and damping C
, is
given by:
where M
ext
is an external moment being applied. This equation can
be used to examine the frequency response characteristics of each
pads tilting motion. Each pads frequency response function (FRF)
H() is given by:
An FRFs magnitude indicates how responsive a pad is to
external moments trying to excite it. Examining the predicted
FRFs of each pad as a function of supply flowrate provides for a
direct comparison with the pad waterfall diagrams of the test data.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRTY-SEVENTHTURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM 2008 18
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Figure 23 presents the predicted H() of pad 3 in Figure A-1 as
an example, focusing on the low frequency region below 60 Hz.
Regardless of flow, the frequency response remains relatively flat
as a function of excitation frequency with no peaks present. This is
because the pads tilting motions remain overdamped for all the
flowrates examined. An overdamped system (critical damping
greater than 100 percent) has no damped natural frequency,
resulting in no peaks in its response.
Figure 23. H() with Decreasing Supply Flow.
It is unclear as to the exact cause of the 8 Hz peak in Figure
A-1s waterfall diagram for pad 3. One explanation is that there
may be a predominant excitation at this frequency. Heshmat
(1991) observed a pulse excitation at similar low frequency
levels in his starvation experiments on a sleeve bearing.
Another possibility may be that the pad is actually underdamped,
which the model has not been able to predict. In this case, a
broadband excitation would result in a definitive peak at the
pads damped natural frequency. Nothing indicates that the
peak is associated with an unstable, self-excited phenomenon,
since the pads tilting damping C
.
Figure 24 presents the calculated tilting stiffness of all five pads as
supply flow is varied. With the exception of the fourth pad,
reducing supply flow causes a decrease in all the pads tilting
stiffnesses. Below 5 gpm, the fourth pads stiffness begins to
increase as it supports more of the entire bearing load. The strength
of this tilting stiffness means the fourth pad does not easily respond
to excitations, which correlates well with its relatively low vibrations
in Figure A-1.
Figure 24. Tilting Stiffness of Individual Pads Versus Supply Flow.
When a pad becomes unloaded, it applies no pressure force on
the shaft and its full coefficient stiffness and damping terms go to
zero. The pad then moves like a rigid body and its tilting FRF is
dictated by the polar inertia. The upper pads (1 and 2) become
unloaded first as flow is reduced (Figure 24). This is because their
larger film thicknesses require the most flow to maintain a full film
along their entire surface. With smaller film thicknesses, the third
and fifth pads remain loaded until below 2 gpm. These two pads
tilting stiffness values are low in magnitude at reduced flowrates,
resulting in the increased responsiveness observed in Figure 23.
CONCLUSIONS
A series of tests and analyses were performed to investigate a
peculiar, low-frequency, low amplitude, broadband subsynchronous
vibration, termed SSV hash, that has been witnessed in different
types of turbomachinery using tilting pad journal bearings.
Based on a study of test results for conventional and direct lube
designs over a broad range of speeds, loads, and oil flows, the
following shaft SSV hash trends were found to be fairly common
for all test bearings:
There were more SSV hash indications at low flow and low
load, although amplitudes were sometimes higher at other
operating conditions.
The side pads most often correlated with shaft SSV hash
indications. The top upper pad for load-between-pad orientation
had the highest subsychronous indications in many cases, but
rarely correlated with any shaft data.
JOURNAL BEARINGVIBRATIONAND SSV HASH 19
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The following specific observations were noted in test data
comparisons of bearing types and geometries: