The purpose of this book can be considered threefold: to inform the reader about various dynamic phenomena that may occur during the operations of machines, to provide an intuitive understanding of these phenomena at the most basic level using the simplest possible mathematical models, and to elucidate how detailed modelling may be achieved. This is an engineering textbook written for engineers and students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Its aim is also to explain how to solve the problems and how to experiment with rotor models in software.
After an introduction, Chapter 2 gives an overview of basic vibration theory. It covers the theory required for the dynamic analysis of simple structures. Chapter 3 introduces free lateral response of some rotor-bearing systems. The use of finite elements for the analysis of rotor-bearing system and the relevant theory are reviewed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 based on Chapters 3 and 4 shows how the free lateral response of more complex rotor-bearing systems can be computed and interpreted.
In Chapter 6 the authors describe the lateral response of rotor-bearing systems to out-of-balance and other forces, and introduce critical speeds. In Chapter 7, asymmetric rotors and other causes of lateral instability are analyzed. Chapters 8 and 9 present the rotor belancing and axial and torsional vibrations of rotors, respectively. Finally, Chapter 9 briefly discusses more complex dynamic models of rotating machines.
The book is structured more for self-study than as a reference handbook and, as such, provides readers with approximately 100 worked examples and with more than 100 problems and solutions. Nevertheless, many problems are too complex for manual solution, and rotordynamic analysis software must be used.