Model-Based Control Design For Flexible Rotors Supported by Active Gas Bearings - Theory & Experiment

Model-Based Control Design for Flexible
Rotors Supported by Active Gas Bearings -

Theory & Experiment
PhD Thesis
Fabián Gonzalo Pierart Vásquez

DCAMM Special Report No. S196
January 2016
Model-Based
Flexible Control
Rotors Design
Supported for
by
Active GasExperiment
Bearings - Theory &
Kongens Lyngby 2016

DCAMM Special Report No. S196
Model-Based Control Design for Flexible Rotors Supported by Active Gas
Bearings - Theory & Experiment
January, 2016
PhD student:
Main supervisor:
Professor Ilmar Ferreira Santos
Technical University of Denmark

c 2016 Fabián Gonzalo Pierart Vásquez

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Building 404, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Phone: +45 45 25 42 50, Fax: +45 45 93 14 75
E-mail: info@mek.dtu.dk, URL: www.mek.dtu.dk
ISBN 978-87-7475-442-8
DCAMM Special Report No. S196, ISSN 0903-1685
Summary
Gas journal bearings have been increasingly adopted in modern turbo-machinery

due to their numerous indisputable advantages. They can operate at higher
speed than most bearing designs, almost without noise or heat generation and
in most cases, as in this work, the gas used is air which is cheap, abundant and
clean. Nevertheless, this technology has important drawbacks: the low viscosity
of the lubricant results in a low load carrying capacity and gas bearings also
presents low damping properties, which often lead to a reduced stability range
and make dangerous running close to, or across the critical speeds. In order to
overcome such limitations, a mechatronic device has been proposed as a possible
solution. This device named hybrid active radial gas bearing or simply active
gas bearing, combines an aerodynamic gas journal bearing with piezoelectrically
controlled injectors. In the present work, the control signal design is based on
a theoretical model. This approach enables easy modications of any of the
numerous physical parameters in the system if needed. The theoretical model
used is based on a modied version of Reynolds equation where an extra term
is added in order to include the eect of external pressurization. In order to
validate the theoretical model, a test rig is used, which consists of a exible
rotor supported by a ball bearing and the active gas bearing.
This thesis has three main focuses and original contributions: Firstly, contribute
to improving a existing theoretical model for active gas bearings, with special
attention to the modelling of the injection system. Secondly, experimentally
validate the improved mathematical model in terms of static properties (journal
equilibrium position and resulting aerodynamic forces) and dynamic proper-
ii
ties (natural frequencies and damping ratios of the rotor-bearing system) is

performed and nally to design controllers that allows improvement of the dy-
namic properties of the rotor-active gas bearings system and lets the system
to safely cross the critical speeds, using the theoretical model as a design tool.
The results show a signicant increase in the damping ratios of the system (10
times), which enables the exible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds
and up to 50 % over the second critical speed, without any instability problems.
The theoretical and experimental results in the active cases clearly show the
eciency of having a theoretical model as a design tool for testing dierent con-
trollers and also show the advantage of applying active lubrication techniques
to gas lubricated bearings.
Resumé (Dansk)
Gaslejer bliver benyttet i stigende grad i moderne turbomaskineri på grund af

deres indiskutable fordele. De kan operere ved højere hastigheder end de este
andre lejetyper, stort set uden at generere støj og varme, og i de este tilfælde,
som i dette arbejde, er den benyttede gas atmosfærisk luft som er billig, nemt
tilgængelig og ren. Ikke desto mindre har lejekonceptet ere ulemper: den lave
viskositet af smøremidlet resulterer i en lav bæreevne og gaslejer byder også på
lave dæmpningsegenskaber, hvilket ofte leder til et reduceret stabilitetsområde
og gør drift tæt på, eller igennem, de kritiske hastigheder farligt. For at kunne
komme uden om sådanne begrænsninger, er en mekatronisk anordning foreslå-
et. Anordningen, under navnet Aktivt hybrid-radialgasleje eller blot aktivt
gasleje, kombinerer et aerodynamisk baseret gasglideleje med piezo-elektrisk
kontrollerede indsprøjtningsdyser. I det foreliggende arbejde er kontrolsignalet
til den piezo-elektrisk kontrollerede indsprøjtning baseret på en teoretisk model.
Denne tilgang muliggør en nem ændring af enhver af de talrige fysiske parametre
i systemet, hvis dette er påkrævet. Den benyttede teoretiske model er baseret
på en modiceret udgave af Reynolds ligning, hvor et ekstra led er tilføjet for at
kunne inkludere eekten af ekstern tryksætning. Til at validere den teoretiske
model, er benyttet en testrig, hvilken består af en eksibel rotor understøttet af
et kugleleje og det aktive gasleje.
Afhandlingen har tre hovedfokusområder og originale bidrag: Først og fremmest,
forbedring af den eksisterende teoretiske model for aktive gaslejer, med særligt
fokus på modelleringen af indsprøjtningssystemet. For det andet, en eksperimen-
tel validering af den forbedrede matematiske model i form af statiske egenskaber
v
i
(sølens ligevægtsposition og de resulterende aerodynamiske kræfter) og dynami-

ske egenskaber (egenfrekvenser og dæmpningsfaktorer af rotor-leje-systemet).
Afslutningsvis, udførelsen af et modelbaseret design af controllerne der tillader
en forbedring af de dynamiske egenskaber for rotor-gasleje-systemet og dermed
lader systemet krydse de kritiske hastigheder. Resultaterne viser en signikant
stigning i systemets dæmpningsfaktorer, hvilket muliggør at den eksible rotor
kan køre igennem de kritiske hastigheder og op til 50 % over den anden kritiske
hastighed, uden stabilitetsproblemer. De teoretiske og eksperimentelle resultater
i de aktive tests viser tydeligt eektiviteten af at have en teoretisk model som
designværktøj til at teste forskellige controllere, men også fordelen af at anvende
aktive smøreteknikker til gassmurte lejer.
Preface
This thesis was prepared at the department of Mechanical Engineering, Solid

Mechanics Section (MEK-FAM) at the Technical University of Denmark in par-
tial fullment of the requirements to obtain a Ph.D degree in Construction, Pro-
duction, Civil Engineering and Transport. The research activities were carried
out from the 1st of May 2012 to the 31st of January 2016, under the supervision
of Professor Dr. Ing. Ilmar Ferreira Santos. The thesis consists of a summary
report and a collection of four research papers.
Part of the research work was conducted over an external stay period, at the
GMSC department, Institute Pprime, University of Poitiers, under the guidance
of Dr. Ing. Mihai Arguir. I would like to thank him and everyone in the GMSC
department for a very warm welcome and a pleasant stay, especially Franck
Balducchi for all his help.
I want to sincerely thank my PhD supervisor Prof. Ilmar Santos for trusting me,
for always pushing me to give my best, for all his advice and guidance and for
being a wonderful person from whom I have personally learned many lessons.
I am especially grateful to my colleagues: Alejandro Cerda and Lukas Theisen
for their multiple conversations and discussions related to the topics presented
in this work. Also thank to Christian Christiansen, Nikolaj Dagnæs-Hansen
and Alejandro de Miguel Tejada for the comments on an earlier draft of this
manuscript.
Many other DTU colleagues have also contributed either directly or indirectly
vi
to this study: Andreas Voigt, Sergio de Almeida, Jorge Gonzalez, Jon Steen
Larsen, Søren Enemark, Suguang Dou, Bo Bjerregaard, Konstantinos Poulios,
Shravan Janakiraman, Marco Túlio Santana, Troy Snyder, Jonas Lauridsen,
Cesar Fonseca and Geraldo Roboucas, I want to thank all of them for their
valuable contribution.
I would also like to thank to my parents: Lidia Vasquez and Armando Pierart
and my sisters Tamara Pierart and Valentina Pierart. Thanks to their support
and love, I have become the person who I am today. I know that for you it has
been as dicult to be so far from me.
And nally and most importantly, thanks to my wife Norma Melgarejo and my
future daughter Julieta, who are the reason I wake up every morning feeling like
the luckiest man in the world, you are the love of my life and for you I want to
be a better person every day. Thanks for being with me, trusting me and for
joining me on this adventure. Without you I probably would not be here.
Lyngby, 31-January-2016

List of papers
The below papers, written during the project, form part of the thesis. The
listing is based on submission date.
J1: Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Steady state characteristics of an adjustable
hybrid gas bearing Computational uid dynamics , modied Reynolds
equation and experimental validation. Proceedings of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology, 229(7)
(2015), 807822.
J2: Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Adjustable Hybrid Gas Bearing Inuence
of Piezoelectrically Adjusted Injection on Damping Factors and Natural
Frequencies of a Flexible Rotor Operating Under Critical Speeds. Pro-
ceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of
Engineering Tribology, 2016, (published online).
J3: Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Active lubrication applied to radial gas jour-
nal bearings. Part 2: Modelling improvement and experimental validation.
Journal of Tribology International, 96 (2016), 237246.
J4: Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Lateral vibration control of a exible over-
critical rotor via an active gas bearing theoretical and experimental
comparisons. Journal of Sound and Vibrations, 2016, (Accepted with
revisions).
The below publications were presented in international conferences.

viii
C1 : Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Improvement of Dynamic Performance
of Hybrid Gas Bearings via Adjustable Lubrication. 12th EDF - Pprime
Workshop: Solutions for performance improvement and friction reduction
of journal and thrust bearings, 2013. Presented at: 12th EDF - Pprime
Workshop, 2013, Futuroscope, France.
C2 : Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Lateral Dynamics of Flexible Rotors Sup-
ported by Controllable Gas Bearings Theory & Experiment. Proceedings
of the 11th International Conference on Vibrations in Rotating Machines,
2015. Presented at: 11th International Conference on Vibrations in Ro-
tating Machines, 2015, Magdeburg.

x
i
x Contents
Contents
Summary i
Resumé (Dansk) iii
Preface v
List of papers vii
Nomenclature xiii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 State of the art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.1 Externally pressurized bearing studies . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.2 Active gas bearings studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Originality of the thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Structure of the thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Experimental facilities 9
2.1 Test rig description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.1 Flexible rotor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.2 Bearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.1.3 Gas turbine and exible coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2 Sensors and actuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.1 Displacement sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.2 Incremental encoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.3 Air injection pressure and ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.4 Piezoelectric actuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
xii CONTENTS
2.3 Data acquisition and signal processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2.3.1 Run-out subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3 Mathematical modelling 23
3.1 Fluid lm and injection model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.1.1 CFD analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Global system nite element model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.2.1 State space formulation for the system and actuator model 30
3.2.2 Main assumptions summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Control design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4 Theoretical and experimental results 35

4.1 Theoretical model validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.2 Control design results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5 Conclusions and future aspects 47

5.1 Future work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
A Steady state characteristics of an adjustable hybrid gas bearing

- Computational uid dynamics, modied Reynolds equation
and experimental validation 49
B Adjustable Hybrid Gas Bearing - Inuence of Piezoelectrically
Adjusted Injection on Damping Factors and Natural Frequen-
cies of a Flexible Rotor Operating Under Critical Speeds 67
C Active lubrication applied to radial gas journal bearings. Part
2: Modelling improvement and experimental validation 81
D Lateral vibration control of a exible overcritical rotor via an
active gas bearing theoretical and experimental comparisons 93
Bibliography 113
Nomenclature
Greek symbols
λ Eigenvalues [-]
μ Air viscosity [Pa s]
Ω Rotor angular velocity [rad/s]
ω Excitation frequency [rad/s]
ωni Natural frequencies [rad/s]
ρ Air density [kg/m3 ]
θ Absolute circumferential coordinates [rad]
ζi Damping ratio [-]
Latin symbols
ṁ Air mass ow rate [m3 /s]
A System matrix [-]
B Control matrix [-]
C Output matrix [-]
xiv NOMENCLATURE
D Damping matrix [Ns/m]

K Stiness matrix [N/m]
M Mass matrix [kg]
Q State space bearing dynamic matrix [-]
q Generic coordinate vector for the rotor bearing FE model [m]
R State space rotor dynamic matrix [-]
z State space vector [m]
u Control vector [V]
y Output vector [m]
z State space coordinate vector [-]
Cd Correction factor [-]
d Piezoactuator position relative to the bearing wall [m]
eX Vertical shaft eccentricity [m]
eY Horizontal shaft eccentricity [m]
h Air lm thickness [m]
Kd Derivative gain [Vs/m]
Ki Integral gain [V/ms]
Kp Proportional gain [V/m]
L Gas bearing length [m]
p Pressure [Pa]
R Gas bearing internal nominal radius [m]
t Time [s]
U Journal surface speed [m/s]
u Input voltage [V]
Vinj Air injection velocity [m/s]
NOMENCLATURE xv
X Vertical direction in Cartesian coordinate system [m]

x Radial direction in curvilinear coordinate system [m]
Y Horizontal direction in Cartesian coordinate system [m]
y Circumferential direction in curvilinear coordinate system [m]
Z Axial direction in Cartesian coordinate system [m]
z Axial direction in curvilinear coordinate system [m]
Sub- and superscripts

G Global system
H Active gas bearing
inj Air injection
Abbreviations
CF D Computational uid dynamics
FE Finite element
M RE Modied Reynolds equation
P ID Proportional integral derivative
xvi NOMENCLATURE
Chapter 1
Introduction
Rotating machines are a crucial part of most of the industrial production process,
with bearings considered essential components. These elements constrain the
relative motion to only the desired motion and separate the moving parts by
reducing friction.
Higher and more ecient production demand has pushed engineers to look for
machines capable of operating at higher angular velocities and, at the same
time, be as light as possible [1]. In order to full both of these requirements at
the same time, machines have become more exible.
When clean environments and low levels of noise and temperature are also
sought, gas bearings are a very good option. These bearings have also the ad-
vantage that the working uid, normally air, is ample, cheap and non ammable.
These characteristics make gas bearings suitable for many industry applications,
for example in medical, aeronautical or food industries.
Nevertheless, gas bearings present very low damping properties that lead to high
amplitude vibrations while crossing the critical speeds, even higher for exible
rotating machines. Furthermore, the low damping properties often lead to whirl
instabilities which limit the maximum angular velocity of a rotor supported by
2 Introduction
gas lubricated bearings [2].
In this context, new machine components for dissipating vibration energy are
needed, in order to keep safe vibration levels. Because bearings are usually the
main source of damping and stiness of the system, it is natural to focus on
these elements to improve the dynamic characteristics of machinery.
1.1 State of the art
Dierent solutions have been proposed in order to overcome the main limitations
of gas lubricated bearings, among the passive solutions, we can cite:
a) Foil gas bearings use bump foils to provide structural compliance and dry
friction damping to increase rotor dynamic stability [3, 4, 5].
b) Tilting pad gas bearings have a number of pads, typically four or ve. Each
pad in the bearing is free to rotate about a pivot. They are used to avoid rotor
dynamic instabilities, reducing the cross-coupled force coecients. [6, 7].
c) Externally pressurized bearings combine the hydrodynamic and hydrostatic

external pressurization eects. Bearing static properties at the start-up and
shut-down conditions and load carrying capacity can be signicantly improved
by using hybrid lubrication [8, 9].
All these proposals help to solve some of the gas bearing limitations, but not
all of them at the same time. In this work an externally pressurized bearing is
studied due to the improvement of the static properties and due to the possibility
of controlling the externally pressurized uid injection.
1.1.1 Externally pressurized bearing studies
The correct determination and enhancement of the dynamic characteristics of

hybrid gas bearings have been extensively investigated in the literature. Lund
was one of the rst authors to investigate the static [10] and dynamic [8] char-
acteristics of hybrid gas bearings. He proposed a theoretical model based on
the Reynolds equation where the discrete feeding holes are represented by con-
tinuous feeding lines around the bearing in the circumferential direction. Lund
1.1 State of the art 3
[10] produced design charts for the variation of the load carrying capacity with
journal speed for various supply pressures and feeding parameters, concluding
that when the journal angular velocity increases, the load-carrying capacity is
also increased. He also studied [8] the instability threshold for hybrid gas bear-
ings as a function of the bearing geometrical parameters. He showed that for
some particular geometrical characteristics the instability threshold is higher
for hybrid bearings than self-acting or hydrodynamic bearings. Whadwa et al.
[11] employed the formulation presented by Lund [10], but they proposed to
include the external pressurization in terms of the radial injection ow. Sti-
ness and damping bearing coecients were determined using a perturbation
method. From their results, the authors argued that hybrid gas bearings are
dynamically more stable than hydrodynamic gas bearings. Subsequently, au-
thors have proposed dierent solutions to obtain the dynamic coecients in gas
bearings, e.g. Belforte [12, 13] used the time-dependent solution of Reynolds
equation to predict these coecients.
For incompressible ows it has been demonstrated that the external injection
can be simulated assuming a simple parabolic prole [14, 15]. However, for
compressible ow it has been found that the external injection inclusion has
important eects on the results. Mori and Miyamatsu [16] compared dierent
theoretical ow-models for externally pressurized gas bearings and suggested
that it is necessary to include ow patterns and pressure changes in the radial
ow to compensate the pressure drops experimentally found. Belforte et al.[17]
presented an experimental study where correction factors are proposed in order
to incorporate the pressure drop eects in the air ow. They also provide a
CFD model in comparison with the experiments [18], showing good agreement.
Horvat and Braun [19] also presented a CFD model for the injection system of
hybrid gas bearings with shallow and deep pockets. They investigated the inlet
ow and pressure, and a good correlation with experiments was found. With
the help of dierent mathematical models, many authors have investigated the
static and dynamic characteristics of hybrid gas bearings as a function of de-
sign parameters. Chen et al. [20] studied the inuence of the number and type
of injector on the stability range of a rigid rotor supported by two hybrid gas
bearings. They found that the system threshold stability using inherent restric-
tion is higher than using an orice restriction despite the number of orices.
Zhang and Chang [21] studied the use of annular shallow pockets in order to
improve the stability of rigid rotor-bearing systems. Pal and Ma judmar stud-
ied the inuence of porous surfaces on the rigid rotor-bearing system stability
[22]. The use of pockets was theoretically as well as experimentally studied by
San Andres [23], taking into account inertia eects and turbulence when large
levels of external pressurization were used. The results showed good accuracy
4 Introduction
when compared to the experimental results. Morosi and Santos [24] presented
an adjustable hybrid gas bearing where the air ow through the external injec-
tors is modied using piezoactuators. They developed a theoretical model to
predict the bearing dynamic behaviour, but no correction of the external ow
was included and no experimental validation was performed.
A standard method to identify damping and stiness force coecients is aided
by transient excitation applied directly to the rotating shaft. Using the shaft re-
sponse, the excitation signal and a known structure of the mathematical model
for describing its dynamic behaviour, the coecients can be estimated. Methods
using this basic approach have been used by many researchers since presented
by Morton[25] in 1975 and used by Nordmann[26] in 1986 to identify bearing
dynamic coecients of a exible rotor supported by oil lm bearings. More
recently the methodology has been applied to gas lm bearings by Arghir and
collaborators [27, 28, 29] with the aim of identifying the dynamic force coe-
cients of aerodynamic and hybrid gas bearings. They identied the inuence
of the excitation frequency, where the main experimental limitation that they
found was the large signal noise obtained at high frequencies, when a hammer is
used as an excitation source. Critical speed and damping ratios have also been
experimentally identied for gas bearings [30, 31]. The authors found that an
increase in the pressure supply in hybrid gas bearings leads to an increase in
the critical speed and a decrease in the damping ratio of the system.
1.1.2 Active gas bearings studies
The rst active gas bearing was introduced by Horikawa and Shimokohbe [32] in
1992. In their prototype, the rotor radial vibrations are controlled by varying the
position of four pads using piezoelectric actuators. Their experimental results
show how eectively the uid lm thickness prole is modied and thereby how
the rotor position is controlled.
Qiu et al. [33] presented an experimental study where a PID controller is imple-
mented. The active gas bearing is a tilting-pad type with embedded piezoelec-
tric actuators. The results show how the self-excited vibration can be eectively
suppressed if the gains of the controller are properly tuned.
In 1996, Mizumoto et al. [34] presented an experimental study, where three
small piezoactuators are embedded in a thrust bearing and four in a radial
bearing. These actuators work as inherent restrictors controlling the injected
1.2 Originality of the thesis 5
pressure jet. Their results show that the vibration levels are eectively reduced.
Al Bender and collaborators [35, 36] presented an active thrust bearing where
two actuators operate locally around the bearing plate, modifying the plate
with conicity and thereby the uid forces. In the present work, the lateral
vibrations are controlled using hybrid lubrication where the aero-static external
radial injection is controlled using piezoactuators.
Regarding this type of active gas bearing, most of the investigations have been
focused on experimental results and model-free controllers. Morosi and Santos
[37] implemented a PD controller on a rotor-gas bearing system that was empiri-
cally tuned based on experimental waterfall diagrams. Using two piezoactuators,
the authors demonstrated that the controller was able to eectively reduce the
lateral vibrations. In 2014, Theisen et al. [38, 39] identied a reduced model for
the same system studied by Morosi and Santos [37], using the well-known grey
box identication tools. The equivalent reduced model was used as a control
design tool, bypassing the necessity of obtaining more sophisticated mathemat-
ical models based on the principles and axioms of mechanics. Results show a
signicant increase in the damping ratio of the rotor-bearing system. In 2015
the authors [40] designed a H∞ control. They used the experimentally identied
model [38] as a design tool. By using this control, the rst two critical speeds
of the system were crossed.
In contrast to the previous works presented in [37, 38, 40], the main contribution
of this work is to obtain a design tool based on a mathematical model anchored
to physical laws instead of experimental identication procedures.
It is worth to mention, that active gas bearings are a relatively new technology,
where most of the works can be found only in the last 20 years and there is still
plenty of research work to be carried out, before such a concept nds industrial
applications.
1.2 Originality of the thesis
This thesis proposes to show how active gas bearings can be the solution to
many of the common problems of gas lubricated bearings, which prevent the
widespread use of them. In order to do that, a mathematical model is developed
and used as design tool for controllers applied to a piezoelectrically actuated gas
lubricated bearing. Experimental results are used to validate the model and the
6 Introduction
controllers.
This thesis is paper-based, where its main body is composed of published articles
written in this PhD work [[J1-J4]. In the following paragraphs the original
contribution of each paper is highlighted.
Regarding the rst paper [J1]:
- Comparison between the model presented by Morosi and Santos [24] and a
CFD model developed in this work.
- Improvement of the theoretical model by adding a correction factor or discharge
coecients to the simplied jet prole model to keep under 5% the dierences
between MRE and CFD in terms of mass ow rate in the injection zone.
- Experimental validation of the improved model in terms of the static force and
static equilibrium position of the journal.
In the second paper [J2]:
- Experimental validation of the improved model described in the rst paper

[J1], in terms of natural frequencies and damping ratios using dierent injection
strategies.
- Theoretical and experimental study of the inuence of the piezoactuators input
voltage and the journal angular velocity in the dynamic properties of the exible
rotor-active gas bearing system.
In the third paper [J3]:
- Model based design of a simple proportional controller using the mathematical

model previously presented as a design tool.
- Expansion of the theoretical model where the actuator eect is included by
taking into account a linear relationship between the input voltage and the
applied force. The coecients dening this relationship are calculated using a
quasi-static test.
- Experimental validation of the controller for under-critical speed conditions.
In the fourth and last paper [J4]:
- Model-based design of two dierent controllers using the theoretical model as a

design tool. i) A PID controller and ii) a state feedback controller with observer
and integral action.
- Experimental validation of the theoretical model using these two controllers
1.3 Structure of the thesis 7
for critical and over-critical speed conditions.

- Experimental conrmation of the feasibility of using model-based active gas
bearings to cross safely the rst two critical speeds of a exible rotor-gas bearing
system.
1.3 Structure of the thesis
This manuscript is divided into six chapters and an appendix. In the rst
chapter an introduction, a brief state-of-the-art, the originality of the thesis and
the structure of the following chapters are presented.
Chapter 2 is devoted to the description of the test-rig used in this work with
the goal of validating a mathematical model developed to predict the dynamic
behaviour of the exible rotor-bearing system. Moreover, the test rig is used
to verify the feasibility of controlling the dynamic and static properties of the
system.
In chapter 3, the mathematical model is described. The chapter is divided

into three sections where the rst describes the uid lm and injection model,
including the CFD model and the corrections applied to the model. The second
section explains the nite element model formulation with emphasis in the model
assumptions, and the last section gives an example of a control design using the
theoretical model as design tool.
In chapter 4, an overview of the main theoretical and experimental achievements

is presented and discussed.
In chapter 5 the main ndings are addressed and future aspects of the research
activities are outlined.
Finally, in the appendix, a collection of four articles is included. Three of them

have already been reviewed by international referees and published in dierent
journals and the last one was submitted to an international journal and it is in
review process.
8 Introduction
Chapter 2
Experimental facilities
In this chapter a detailed description of the test rig is presented. The main
structure of this test rig was previously presented by Morosi and Santos [41].
In the rst section of this chapter the components of the test rig are presented
with special attention to the gas bearing and its subcomponents. In the second
chapter a description of the sensors and actuators included in the test rig is given.
In the third and nal section the data acquisition system and the necessary signal
processing are described.
2.1 Test rig description
In Fig. 2.1 the test set-up designed for the investigation of active gas bearings is
presented. This consists of a exible shaft (iv) with a rigid disc (i) mounted to
one end. The shaft is supported by a ball bearing (v) and an active gas bearing
(iii). The system is driven by a gas turbine (viii) which is coupled to the system
via a exible coupling (vi). The gas bearing works with external pressurization,
which can be opened and closed using a valve (ix) for each of the four injectors.
These components are described in the following subsections.
10 Experimental facilities
vii
v
ix
vi viii
iv
iii
ii
i
X Z
Figure 2.1: Picture of the test rig. (i) - disc; (ii) - eddy current displacement
sensors (iii) - active gas bearing; (iv) - exible shaft; (v) - ball
bearing; (vi) - exible coupling; (vii) - incremental encoder; (viii)
- gas turbine; (ix) - supply ow valve.
2.1.1 Flexible rotor
Fig. 2.2 shows the exible rotor, which consists of a shaft with a disc mounted
to one end. Figs. 2.2a and 2.2b present two photos of the exible rotor taken
from dierent angles. In Fig. 2.2c a schematic drawing of the rotor, with the
main dimensions of the shaft and disc, is illustrated.
The exible shaft material is austenitic stainless steel type 314. A special shrink-
tted sleeve is located in the shaft section where the active gas bearing is placed.
This sleeve is highlighted in Fig. 2.2b. The sleeve is made of 34CrNiMo6
hardening steel, nitride treated in order to achieve a surface hardness of 800
HV. This treatment is made to minimize damage of the component in case
of contaminants during operation or touch-down events. The disc material is
carbon steel, with a total weight of 1.5 kg and as can be seen from Fig. 2.2b,
the disc has 16 threaded holes where small screws can be inserted, adding mass
in order to balance the exible rotor.

2.1 Test rig description 11
(a)
(b)

(c)
Figure 2.2: Flexible rotor set-up. a) Picture of the exible rotor, b) picture of
the exible rotor, highlighting the shrink-tted sleeve, c) schematic
drawing of the rotor, with the main dimensions of the shaft and
disc.
2.1.2 Bearings
The shaft is supported by a ball bearing and a active gas bearing. These two
bearings are shown in Figs. 2.3a and 2.3b, respectively.
2.1.2.1 Ball bearing
The ball bearing is a SKF self aligning ball bearing type 1200ETN9. The ball
bearing is supported by a solid and rigid housing as shown in Fig. 2.3a.
(a) (b)
Figure 2.3: Bearings in the system. a) Ball bearing b) active gas bearing.
2.1.2.2 Active gas journal bearing
The active gas bearing is the main component of the test rig and it is also the
component with the highest inuence in the system dynamics. The bearing can
be separated into ve subcomponents, as shown in Fig. 2.4: 1) an aluminium
housing, 2) a bronze alloy sleeve, 3) four injection systems, 4) two aluminium
adjustable mounts and 5) an aluminium sub-plate.
The aluminium housing holds the bronze sleeve and the four injection systems.
The bronze sleeve is designed to be easily deformable and absorb most of the
2.1 Test rig description 13
damage produced by a touch-down. In this manner, this component can be

replaced with the costs kept to a minimum. The aluminium adjustable mounts
and the sub-plate are used to support the main body of the bearing. The ability
of being adjustable is necessary for alignment purposes. The injection systems
are detailed below.
3
1
2 2
1
(b)
(a)
3 4
5
(c) (d)
Figure 2.4: Gas bearing system - aluminium housing (1), bronze sleeve (2),
adjustable injectors (3), adjustable mounts (4) and sub-plate (5).
a) Schematic view of the active gas bearing, b) Picture of the alu-
minium housing with the bronze sleeve, c) Picture of one injector
system and d) Picture of the bearing as part of the test rig.
Table 2.1: Main properties of the adjustable gas bearing.

Properties Values
Bearing diameter (D) 40 mm
Bearing length (L) 40 mm
Nominal clearance (h ) 25 μm
Orices radius (r ) 1 mm
0
0
Injection system: One of the injection subsystems is presented in detail in

Fig. 2.5. The piezoactuator (7) pushes the plastic pin (8) in the direction of the
gas bearing centre. The piezoactuator is not capable of pulling the pin back,
therefore a Belleville spring (9) is used. An O-ring seal is used to ensure that
the pressurized air escapes only through the orice, and a metallic structure (6)
is used to support the whole actuation system. The orices have a diameter of 2
mm and each of the injection orices is fed by pressurized air from a compressed
air network with a maximum supply pressure of P = 8 bar. A detailed view
of the injection zone is presented in Fig. 2.5c, where it can be seen that the
sup
vertical movement of the plastic pin pushed by the piezoactuator is capable of

changing the distance d, closing the area of injection, hence reducing the injected
air ow. The initial distance d is set to 45 μm for the four injectors. The main
properties of the gas bearing and the piezoactuators are presented in Tables 2.1
and 2.2.
2.1.3 Gas turbine and exible coupling
The system is driven by a gas turbine (12); this turbine is a component of a

turbocharger, model Holset HX42F. The turbine is mounted on an aluminium
plate dynamically isolated from the test rig using rubber bushings. The turbine
is supported by an oil bearing and requires a lubrication oil pump. The turbine
air supply is provided by a 64 bar pressure tank. This tank is fed by a compressor
Burckhardt Basel C4N3F. It is important to mention that the operational time
of the turbine is limited by the pressurized air supply tank capacity. This time
is between 15 to 20 minutes. In order to avoid the transmission of the turbine
vibrations to the test rig, a exible coupling (10) is incorporated. Initially, this
coupling was designed as a metal exible coupling but due to the high vibrations
levels, this coupling was broken and replaced by a more exible plastic coupling,
as can be seen in Fig. 2.6. In the same gure a small ywheel (11) is also visible,
this wheel is included to add inertia to the system, in order to keep the velocity
as constant as possible when this is required.
2.2 Sensors and actuators 15
6
Pinj
7
7
6 d
8
9
9 8
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 2.5: Gas bearing injection system - (a) photo of the main parts of the
adjustable gas bearing injection system ; (b) schematic view of
the the main parts assembly of the active gas bearing injection
system. Piezoactuator (7), plastic pin (8), Belleville spring (9),
and aluminium support (6); (c) Detailed view of the plastic pin
interaction with the rotor.
2.2 Sensors and actuators
2.2.1 Displacement sensors
The rotor lateral displacement is one of the most important parameters needing
to be measured in order to evaluate the dynamic and static properties of the
system and also to be used as input in the control design. The rotor lateral
position is monitored by using two Eddy current displacement probes mounted
circumferentially around the disc (see Fig. 2.1), orthogonally to each other in
vertical and horizontal directions. This type of sensor presents better measure-
ment results when the surface is ferromagnetic than when it is not. For that
reason the sensors are placed around the disc, the only ferromagnetic compo-
nent of the test rig. The gap between the sensor and the disc is approximately
1 mm (see Fig. 2.7a). The proximity transducers are of the type TQ102 with a
IQS603 signal conditioner.
12
11
10
Figure 2.6: Driving system - exible coupling (10), ywheel (11) and gas tur-
bine (12).
2.2.2 Incremental encoder
The rotor angular velocity and angular position are measured by means of an
incremental encoder mounted at the end of the shaft, as can be seen in Fig.
2.7b. The angular velocity is obtained indirectly from the encoder signal. The
encoder is a three channel optical incremental encoder Agilen AEDB-9140 Series.
It consists of an encoder wheel with 500 CPR and an optical sensor.
2.2.3 Air injection pressure and ow
The external pressure is measured with a pressure transducer type: Danfoss

AKS 32. The transducer is positioned in the inlet pressure pipeline. Next to
the pressure transducer, a ow meter is located. The ow meter is of the type:
Festo SFAB 50U. These two transducers can be seen in Fig. 2.7c and Fig. 2.7d.
2.2.4 Piezoelectric actuators
As mentioned in the injection system description, four piezoactuators are used

to control the air injection into the hybrid gas bearing and indirectly the rotor
2.2 Sensors and actuators 17
(a) Proximity probe. (b) Incremental encoder.
(c) Flow meter. (d) Pressure transducer.
Figure 2.7: Sensors installed in the test rig - a) Proximity probe, b) incremen-
tal encoder, c) pressure transducer, d) ow transducer.
lateral vibrations. The main properties of these actuators are presented in Table
2.2.
2.2.4.1 Piezoactuator initial position
One crucial parameter of the injection system is the initial distance of the piezo-
actuator head relative to the orice wall. This distance has to be set to 45 μm
(maximum elongation of the piezo-actuator used) to allow a fully closing of the
air ow, when the maximum voltage is applied to the piezo-actuator. To achieve
the accuracy needed for the initial positioning of the actuator head, a mounting
device with a micrometer installed on it is used. The device is illustrated in Fig.
2.8. In Fig. 2.8a a photo of the device installed in the horizontal injector of the
Table 2.2: Main properties of piezoactuator type P-841.3B.

Properties Values
Open/close loop travel 45μm
Maximum voltage applied (u ) 10 V
Pushing force up to 1000 N
T
Pulling Force 50 N
Unloaded resonant frequency 10 kHz ± 10 %
Length 68 mm
gas bearing is shown. The main components of the device are presented in Fig.
2.8b.
13
14
(a) (b)
Figure 2.8: Device to set the initial distance of the piezo-actuator; (a) photo
of the device installed in the test rig; (b) Schematic view of the
device, where (14) is the structure to support the micrometer and
(13) it is the micrometer.
2.2.4.2 Piezoactuator hystersesis

The piezoactuator equilibrium position can change ≈ 15% due to the hystere-
sis. A characterization of the hysteresis is developed by applying a stairwise
increasing and then decreasing input voltage to a piezo valve. Fig. 2.9 shows
measured equilibrium positions as a function of applied input voltage. Seeking
to counteract valve hysteresis and increase performance, local PD controllers
are designed with discrete time gains K = 18.2[V /V ], K = −0.187[V s/V ].
P D
2.3 Data acquisition and signal processing 19
The piezoactuator vertical position using this PD controller is also shown in Fig.
2.9, where it is easily seen that the hysteresis eect has been eliminated. For
more detail of this procedure refer to [38].
10
No control
9 With PD control
8
7
Valve position [μm]
6
5
4
10
3
voltage [V]
2 5
Input
1 00 5 10 15 20 25
0 Time [s]
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Input voltage [V]
Figure 2.9: Piezoactuators position as a function of input voltage. Response in
open-loop showing the piezoactuator hysteresis and in close-loop
using a PD controller and eliminating hysteresis eect.
2.3 Data acquisition and signal processing
For data acquisition, a dSPACE DS1104 R&D controller board with CP1104
connector panel was used. A schematic illustration of the panel is shown in
Fig. 2.10, where the dierent connector channel names are indicated. The mea-
surement and control instrumentation was connected to the CP1104 connector
panel, as follows:
• Two proximity probes are connected to the channels ADCH1 and ADCH2.
• The ow and pressure transducers are connected to the ports ADCH3 and
ADCH4.
• The four piezoactuators are connected to the channels ADCH5, ADCH6,
ADCH7 and ADCH8 to monitor the piezoactuator position.
• The piezoactuator feedback is connected to the channels DACH1, DACH2,
DACH3 and DACH4.
• The incremental encoder is connected to the connectors: Digital I/O and
Inc1.

Figure 2.10: Schematic gure of the acquisition connector panel dSPACE

CP1104.
For management and control purposes, ControlDesk software is used. This soft-
ware allows experimental data to be monitored and modied in real-time. The
controller board dSPACE allows a Matlab/Simulink environment to be used. By
using Matlab tools, dierent mathematical operations can be performed. e.g.,
the run-out subtraction and the control implementation. These results can then
be loaded on the board after having been compiled in C++ and the processed
signal is sent back to the actuators.
2.3 Data acquisition and signal processing 21
2.3.1 Run-out subtraction
The lateral vibration signals need to be pre-processed to eliminate the inuence

of the disc surface run-out imperfections and unbalance. An initial signal data
set is collected at the same angular velocity of the respective experiment, but
without any external excitation. Such a signal data set is subtracted from the
signal with impacts using a trigger based on the encoder angle. The signals
without and with run-out compensation are presented in Figs. 2.11a and 2.11b
respectively.
20 20
10 10
Amplitud (μm)
Amplitud (μm)
0 0
-10 -10
-204.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 -204.2 4.4 4.6 4.8
Time (s) Time (s)
(a) (b)
Figure 2.11: Time response to an impulsive force - (a) without run-out sub-
traction, (b) with run-out subtraction.
Chapter 3
Mathematical modelling
One of the main goals of this thesis is to obtain a precise mathematical model.
Such a model has to enable the accurate prediction of the dynamic behaviour
of the exible rotor-active gas bearing systems in order to use it as a controller
design tool. For this, a previously proposed model [24] is improved and experi-
mentally validated. This chapter is divided into three sections. The rst section
is focused on the description of the previously proposed model of the uid lm
and injection system and the improvements made to this formulation using a
CFD model. In the second part, a nite element model of the rotor-bearing
system is presented. This global model is written in state space form, where
the inuence of sensors and actuators is included. Finally, an example of how
a controller is designed, using the improved global model, is given. For more
details on the mathematical model formulation, the reader is advised to refer to
the collection of papers presented in the appendix of this thesis.
24 Mathematical modelling
3.1 Fluid lm and injection model
The mathematical model commonly used to describe the pressure prole in

the hydrodynamically lubricated bearings is the equation known as Reynolds
equation [42]. This equation is derived from the Navier-Stokes equation and the
continuity equation under the assumptions of laminar, Newtonian, inertia-less
and thin-lm ows. For a journal bearing in curvilinear coordinates, dened in
Fig. 3.1 (x, y, and z ), the Reynolds equation is presented in Eq. (3.1). From this
equation it can be seen that the pressure ( p) in the bearing surface is dependent
on the journal surface speed (U ), the air viscosity (μ) and the bearing geometry,
particularly the uid lm thickness ( h).
X
x z
Z
y
Y
Figure 3.1: Coordinate system. Inertial reference frame in Cartesian coordi-
nates X , Y and Z . Moving reference frame in curvilinear coordi-
nates x, y and z .

∂ ρh3 ∂p ∂ ρh3 ∂p ∂ ∂(ρh)
∂y μ ∂y
+
∂z μ ∂z
= 6U (ρh) + 12
∂y ∂t
(3.1)
If the gas is also considered ideal and isothermal, Eq. (3.1) can be rewritten
as shown in Eq. (3.2),

∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ∂(ph)
∂y μ ∂y
+
∂z μ ∂z
= 6U (ph) + 12
∂y ∂t
(3.2)
where ρ is the air density.
In order to include the external injection, the standard compressible form of the
3.1 Fluid lm and injection model 25
Reynolds equation (Eq. (3.2)) is modied adding an extra term as shown in

Eq. (3.3), where the injection velocity ( Vinj ) by simplicity is given by Eq. (3.4),
known as the Hagen-Poeiseuille formula. This formulation gives good results
for hybrid gas bearings, where an incompressible uid is used.

∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ∂(ph) p
∂y μ ∂y
+
∂z μ ∂z
= 6U (ph) + 12
∂y ∂t
+ 12 Vinj
μ
(3.3)

1 ∂p(y, z, t)
Vinj (y, z, t) = −Cd
4μ ∂x
Fi (3.4)
where
d0 2
Fi =
4
− (y − yi )2 − (z − zi )2 (3.5)
for
d20
(y − yi )2 − (z − zi )2 ≤
4
(3.6)
This formula formally applies to incompressible uids in a laminar ow ow-
ing through a cylindrical pipe of constant cross section. However, this thesis
concerns cases where the uid is compressible, the ow is not always laminar
and as can be seen in Fig. 2.5c, the geometry is more complex than a cylinder.
To compensate these dierences and other eects that are not incorporated in
Eq. (3.3) named as the modied Reynolds equation or MRE, i.e. inertia ef-
fects, a correction factor or discharge coecient Cd is added. This coecient
is obtained from the comparison between the mass ow rate calculated using
the MRE and the CFD model presented by Pierart and Santos [J1]. The CFD
model is considered closer to the reality and allows for an easy comparison to
be made without the need for experimental tests. The Cd coecient is dened
ṁCF D
Cd =
ṁM RE
(3.7)
where ṁ is the ow rate and the subscripts refer to the method used to calculate
it.
3.1.1 CFD analysis
In order to study the assumption regarding the externally-pressurized gas in-

jection, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is developed and the
injection mass ow rate, using both methods, is compared.
3.1.1.1 Solution procedure
The governing equations (compressible Navier-Stokes equations) have been solved

for steady-state conditions using the open source CFD code OpenFOAM-2.0.1.
For pressure calculations in the compressible case, the rhoSimplecFoam solver is
used. This solver is based on the SIMPLEC pressure correction scheme, which
is an enhancement of the SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked
Equations) algorithm.
3.1.1.2 Boundary conditions and meshing
The boundary conditions are illustrated in Fig. 3.2, where the inlet boundary
condition is set as a constant pressure equal to the injection pressure and the
outlet as atmospheric pressure. The temperature is also xed at the inlet and
outlet equal to 300 K (27◦ C) . The bearing wall is represented as a xed wall
boundary condition and the rotor surface as a moving wall. To simplify the
Inlet pressure
Outlet
Rotating wall Fixed wall
Figure 3.2: Isometric view of the CFD model, with main boundary conditions.
3.1 Fluid lm and injection model 27
meshing process, the curvature of the bearing and rotor is unwrapped consid-
ering a linear geometry and imposing a cyclic boundary condition on the edges.
The geometry is meshed using a decomposition of the domain geometry into
a set of three-dimensional hexahedral blocks. The unwrapped circle contains
200 grid points in the circumferential y-direction, with a higher density close to
the injector, where the changes in the uid properties are more important, and
there are 6 grid points in the radial x-direction of the clearance; this number
was chosen after conducting a grid convergence analysis.
Based on the CFD results, it is found that the coecient Cd is dependent
on two main parameters, the position of the shaft relative to the position of
the bearing surface and the injection pressure ( pinj ). The reason for these
dependencies is mainly due to the inertia eect that becomes more signicant
for higher injection pressure and less important when the shaft is closer to the
bearing surface, because viscous eects become predominant. However, it is also
important to highlight that the MRE formulation does not take directly into
account the piezoactuator position, d, (see Fig. 2.5c) and this eect is indirectly
incorporated using the coecient Cd . When the piezoactuator input voltage is
increased, the air passage is reduced, reducing the inlet mass ow rate. The
mathematical model is initially implemented using a fully open position of the
injector (piezoactuator input voltage equal to u=0 volt); when the input voltage
is higher, Cd has to be smaller to create this air ow reduction.
In order to nd an unique expression for the Cd coecient, a curve is tted
onto a set of calculated Cd values while the shaft vertical position and the input
voltage are varied, keeping a constant level of injection pressure. The results
from this analysis are shown in Fig. 3.3.
A weighted least-squares regression is employed to t the set of data into a
unique mathematical expression. A third-order polynomial weighting for the
shaft eccentricity (eX ) and a linear weighting for the input voltage ( u) are
assumed. The general equation for Cd (eX , u) is presented in Eq. (3.8),
Cd (eX , u) = p00 + p10 (eX /h) + p01 (u/uT )

+ p20 (eX /h)2 + p11 (eX /h)(u/uT ) + p30 (eX /h)3
+ p21 (eX /h)2 (u/uT ) (3.8)
where:
×10−5
7
0V
6 5V
9V
5
Correction factor Cd
4
3
2
1
0
-0.5 0 0.5
ex / h
Figure 3.3: Correction factor or discharge coecient Cd for dierent values of

eccentricity ratio (eX /h) and input voltage (u).
p00 = 4.5x10−5 p21 = 2.1x10−9

p10 = −1.8x10−7 p11 = 1.6x10−7
p01 = −4.5x10−5 p30 =4.4x10−12
p20 =2.0x10−9
3.2 Global system nite element model
The exible shaft is modelled using the nite element method with 17 shaft
elements and 18 nodes (see Fig. 3.4), the amount of elements was chosen after
a convergence analysis. Only lateral and tilting motions are modelled yielding 4
degrees of freedom (dof) per node. The disc is considered as rigid and its mass
is incorporated into the model by adding inertia to the second node, where it is
placed. The ball bearing is located at node 15 and the adjustable gas bearing
at node 6. The dynamics of both bearings are included as linear damper and
3.2 Global system nite element model 29
spring elements acting on the rotor. A complete description of the FE model

can be found in Morosi and Santos [24].
16 15
17
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
BBall BGas
Figure 3.4: FEM model discretization. The position of the two bearings is
stated as BBall for the ball bearing and BGas for the gas bearing.
The interaction between the rotor and the bearings is included in the model
through linear damping and stiness force coecients. To solve the MRE, a
perturbation method is employed. This linearized approach was introduced by
Lund [43]. The solution of the rst order perturbation equations for the per-
turbed pressures (pX , pY ) is straightforward, as these are linear PDEs. Given
a zeroth order eld p0 , they are solved via a nite dierence scheme and subse-
quently integrated over the bearing surface to determine the force represented
by the stiness KH and damping DH matrices, as shown in Eq. (3.9),
L 2π
H H pX cos θ pX sin θ
K + iωD = RdθdZ (3.9)
0 0 pY cos θ pY sin θ
where θ is the absolute circumferential coordinates and ω is the excitation

frequency, which can be synchronous, ω =Ω or asynchronous ω = Ω. In this
work, by simplicity, the synchronous excitation frequency was chosen. Super-
imposing the mass, stiness, gyroscopic and damping matrices of each element,
the global model of the rotor-bearing system can be obtained and described by
Eq.(3.10)
MG q̈(t) + DG q̇(t) + KG q(t) = Q (3.10)
where the superscript G refers to the global system, M is the mass matrix,
D is the damping and gyroscopic matrix, K is the stiness matrix and q is
the generalized coordinate vector. Solving Eq. (3.10) using eigenvalue problem
( λi = λRi + λIi ), nally natural frequencies ( ωni ) and damping ratio ( ζi ) are
obtained, where:
ωni = λIi (3.11)

ζi = −λRi / λ2Ri + λ2Ii (3.12)
3.2.1 State space formulation for the system and actuator

model
Eq. (3.10) can be written in state space form [44], leading to the following
equation:

q̇(t) 0 I q(t) 0
=− +
q̈(t) M−1 K −M−1 ΩG q̇(t) M−1 F(q, q̇, u)

ż(t) R z(t) Q(z(t),u(t))
ż(t) = −Rz(t) + Q(z(t), u(t)) (3.13)

where the matrix R describes the dynamics of the rotating exible elements
(shaft, disc) and Q(z(t), u(t)) the bearing dynamics. It is important to highlight
that for passive conventional gas bearing Q(z(t), u(t)) becomes simply Q(z(t)).
For controllable gas bearings the dependency of Q on the input signals u cannot
be neglected. In general Eq.(3.13) can be written as a non-linear function f , as
shown in Eq. (3.14).
ż(t) = f (z(t), u(t)) (3.14)
In the present work a linearized solution of the non-linear Eq. (3.14) is employed.
The linearization is made upon the understanding of the limitations imposed by
the underlying assumptions. It is assumed that the state variables z(t) and the
input function u(t) are close to stationary variables z0 and u0 , as shown in Eq.
(3.16):
z(t) = z0 + Δz(t) (3.15)
u(t) = u0 + Δu(t) (3.16)
It is also assumed that the function f is dierentiable to the rst order in time.
The function f is expanded into a Taylor series about the nominal values, where
all terms of order higher than one are discarded. The series expansion is dened
∂f (z0 , u0 ) ∂f (z0 , u0 )
ż(t) = ż0 + Δż(t) ∼
= f (z0 , u0 ) + Δz(t) + Δu(t) (3.17)
∂z
∂u

A B
where A and B matrices are named the system and the control matrix respec-
tively. Combining Eqs. (3.13), (3.14) and (3.17) A and B can be written as
shown in Eqs. (3.18) and (3.19).
∂(−Rz(t)) ∂(Q(z(t), u(t)))
A= + (3.18)
∂z ∂z
3.2 Global system nite element model 31
The rst term in Eq. (3.18) is related to the rotordynamics and the second
with the bearing dynamics. The same is done with the matrix B, where the
rst term related to the rotordynamics is not dependent on the input voltage,
so the derivative term is equal to zero and the second term denes the actuator
dynamics.
*0
∂(−Rz(t)) ∂(Q(z(t), u(t)))
B=
∂u
+
∂u
(3.19)
Solving Eq. (3.20) and considering that the vector u(t) is dened by two ele-
ments: the input voltage in horizontal direction ( uY ) and the input voltage in
vertical direction (uX ), it is possible to describe the matrix B as shown in Eqs.
(3.20) and (3.21).
B=
0
M−1 B∗
(3.20)
where:
⎡ ⎤
0((i−1)∗4)×1 0((i−1)∗4)×1
⎢ ⎥
B∗ = ⎢
⎣
BXX
BY X
BXY
BY Y
⎥
⎦ (3.21)
0(N ∗4−(i−1)∗4−s)×1 0(N ∗4−(i−1)∗4−s)×1 N ∗4×s
The B matrix size is N ∗ 4 × 2 where N is the total number of nodes and s the
∗
number of outputs, in this case two: the displacement in vertical and horizontal
directions. This formulation leads to the linearized system of equations:
Δż(t) = AΔz(t) + BΔu(t) (3.22)
In the same manner, the system of equations which denes the outputs is
dened by Eq. (3.23).
Δy(t) = CΔz(t) (3.23)
Where C is dened as:

C=
01×((n−1)∗4)
01×((n−1)∗4)
1
0
0 0 0
1 0 0
(3.24)
2×N ∗4∗2
Where the two non-zero terms are related to the two measured outputs: the
vertical and horizontal positions, as shown in Fig. 2.1.
3.2.2 Main assumptions summary
Assumptions on the gas in the gas bearing model.

• Laminar ow.
• Newtonian ow.
• Inertia-less.
• Thin lm ow.
• Ideal gas.
• Isothermal gas.
• No-slip boundary condition
Assumptions related to the rotor model

• No axial movement.
• Perfectly aligned.
• Linear behaviour.
• Perfectly rigid ball bearing.
• The rotor is decoupled from the turbine.
• Gyroscopic eect only due to the disc rotation.
Assumptions on the piezoelectrically actuated injection model

• The injection pressure is the same for all injectors.
• The inner gas bearing wall is perfectly circular.
• Piezoactuator force is linearly dependent on the voltage.
• The dynamics of the piezoactuator are neglected.
3.3 Control design
In order to increase the damping of the system and allow the rotor to cross
safely over the critical speeds three dierent controllers have been proposed
and designed based on the theoretical model presented in this work. As a rst
approach a simple proportional control is design, followed by a more complete
but still simple proportional integral derivative (PID) control and nally a state
feedback control with integral action and observer was selected. The election of
this controller was made because it is an optimal controller, but it presents an
easy implementation. The theoretical design of the PID control will be shown
in this section as an example of the model-based control design.
3.3 Control design 33
A unique operational condition has to be selected in order to linearize the system

as dened in Eq. 3.22. The conditions selected are: rotor angular velocity equal
to 8000 rpm (value selected between the two critical speeds), external injection
pressure equal to 4 bar and input voltage equal to 5 bar for the four actuators.
For a faster and easier implementation, the linearized model dened in Eqs.
(3.22) and (3.23) is reduced using a pseudo-modal reduction [45], where only
the rst 8 eigenvalues are kept. The applied voltage u(t) presented in Eq.
3.2 is obtained using a PID controller in a decoupled manner for vertical and
horizontal directions as shown in Eq. (3.25).
t
KpX e(t) + KiX e(t)dt + KdX de
u(t) =
uX
uY
= 0t dt
de
(3.25)
KpY e(t) + KiY 0 e(t)dt + KdY dt
Where KpX and KpY are the vertical and horizontal proportional gain, KdX
and KdY are the vertical and horizontal derivative gain, KiX and KiY are the
vertical and horizontal integral gain and e is the error between the measured
displacement and a reference. The choice of the controller gains depends on the
goal of the controller. In this case, the goal is to increase the damping of the
system. The eect of varying the PID-gains in the eigenvalues of the system
is investigated by using a root locus. The root locus is presented in Fig. 3.4
for the rst two roots of the system. In Fig. 3.5, the poles related to the rst
mode (backward) and second mode (forward) are highlighted using a triangle
and square respectively. The eect of both control gains has a dierent eect
on each pole. In the bottom part of the plot, the eect of the gains in the rst
pole is illustrated more clearly, using blue arrows. In the top part of the plot
the same is done for the second pole. The proportional gain Kp = KpX = KpY
is varied in the range Kp =[0 to −4 × 106 ] [V/m] and the derivative gain Kd =
KdX = KdY in the range Kd =[0 to 250] [Vs/m]. Damping lines are added to
the plot to illustrate how the gains aect this parameter. Results show how
an increase in the proportional gain ( Kp ) makes the system in general softer
(smaller imaginary part) and more stable (higher damping ratio). Nevertheless,
when the proportional gain is too high, the rst root of the system becomes less
stable (smaller damping ratio). The derivative gain ( Kd ) produce a more stable
system for the two roots. The combination of values for Kd and Kp is tuned to
obtain a more stable response, taking into account the saturation limit of the
actuators. The chosen values are: KdX = 10 [Vs/m], KpX = −0.18 × 106 [V/m],
KdY = 20 [Vs/m] and KpY = −0.34 × 106 [V/m]. The integral gain is manually
tuned, based on the model. Dierent values were tested to nd which produce
the faster restore of the signal to a given reference. The selected integral gains
are KiX = KiY = −7 × 102 [V/ms].
1500
Initial (Backward) 0.085
0.13 0.04
0.19
Initial (Forward) 0.26
1000 Kp increase
Kd increase
0.38
0.54
500
0.8
Imag(λ)
0.8 Kp increase
-500
0.54
0.38
Kd increase
-1000 0.26
0.19
0.13 0.085 0.04
-1500
-450 -400 -350 -300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0
Real(λ)
Figure 3.5: Real and imaginary part of the rst four eigenvalues of the system.
Chapter 4
Theoretical and
experimental results
This chapter is intended to give an overview of the theoretical and experimental

achievements obtained during this PhD work. Most of these results were already
published in the collection of papers composing the main body of this paper-
based PhD thesis. The results shown in this chapter are focused on two main
areas: i) The validation of the mathematical model and ii) the behaviour of
controls designed using this model.
4.1 Theoretical model validation
Theoretical model validation is achieved in terms of the equilibrium position,

natural frequencies and damping ratios of the system for dierent operational
conditions.
In Fig. 4.1 the rotor vertical equilibrium position is shown for three values
of pressure injection 4,6 and 8 bar in a speed range of 200-4000 rpm. It is
36 Theoretical and experimental results
worth mentioning that the angular velocity is not further increased because for
higher angular velocities the hydrodynamic eect is dominant and the Reynolds
equation is able to accurately predict the journal static equilibrium position.
8
6 4 bar Experim.
Vertical equilibrium position (μm)
6 bar Experim.
8 bar Experim.
4 4 bar Theor.
6 bar Theor.
2 8 bar Theor.
0
-2
-4
-6
1000 2000 3000 04000 5000
Rotational velocity (rev/min)
Figure 4.1: Vertical equilibrium position (μm) for angular velocity from 50 to
4000 rpm and injection pressure equal to 4, 6 and 8 bar.
It can be clearly seen that in the analysed speed range, the predicted equilibrium
position values are very close to the experimental values (with dierences under
2 μm).
In Figs. 4.2a and 4.2b the natural frequencies and damping ratios, in rotor
angular velocity range of 2000-5000 rpm, are shown. The injection pressure
used for the four injectors is equal to 7 bar and the piezoactuators voltage is
kept to 5 bar. The results are illustrated for the rst two vibration modes
(backward and forward).
A comparison between theoretical and experimental models shows: 1) A very
good accuracy for natural frequencies with discrepancies below 5 % and 2) Ac-
ceptable discrepancies for damping ratios with dierences below 50 %. This is
considered acceptable due to the diculty to obtained an accurate determina-
tion of damping ratios for a low damped system.
4.1 Theoretical model validation 37
0.07
Natural frequency (Hz)
155 Theor. forward mode Theor. forward mode

Theor. backward mode 0.06 Theor. backward mode
Damping ratio (-)

150 Exp. forward mode Exp. forward mode
145 Exp. backward mode 0.05 Exp. backward mode
140 0.04
135
0.03
130
0.02
125
120 0.01
2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Angular velocity (rpm) Angular velocity (rpm)
(a) (b)
Figure 4.2: Theoretical versus experimental results for dierent rotor angular
velocities - (a) Natural frequencies, (b) Damping ratios.
Natural frequencies and damping ratios of the rotor-bearing system are also
calculated in terms of the input voltage applied to the piezoactuators. This is
done for two dierent conditions: (A) the air is injected from a single orice
positioned at the bottom of the bearing and (B) the air is injected through four
radial injectors equally pressurized.
The theoretical and experimental behaviour of natural frequencies and damping
ratios associated with the rst backward mode are illustrated in Fig. 4.3 for cases
A and B.
Fig. 4.3d shows that the higher the value of the piezoactuator input voltage, the
lower the natural frequencies associated with the forward mode. This behaviour
is also found for the natural frequencies associated with the forward mode in
case B. The reason for the natural frequencies reduction when the piezoactuator
input voltage increases can be found in the reduction of the uid lm stiness.
Higher input voltages mean strangulation of the air passage reducing the air
ow rate; this produces a reduction in the external radial uid forces, leading
to a more exible system. For the backward mode in case A (Fig. 4.3c), there
is not a clear tendency of how the natural frequencies as a function of input
voltage change. In this case the natural frequencies are almost constant, not
being aected by the injection.
The comparison between the theoretical and experimental natural frequencies
%
%
4.2 Control design results 39
system is more damped for case A than for case B, as can be seen in Figs. 4.3a
and 4.3b. By using one single injector positioned at the bearing bottom, the
damping ratio associated with the rst mode shape can be increased ten-fold
when compared to 4 injectors equally pressurized.
The input voltage of the piezoactuator and the journal angular velocity in case
B have a higher inuence on the damping ratio than in case A, where the
damping ratio is barely aected by these parameters. In case B, the higher the
piezoactuator input voltage, the higher the damping ratio of the system. The
reason for the increase in the damping ratio when the input voltage increases,
can be found in the reduction of the injection air ow. When the injection
air ow is reduced the journal squeeze eect is increased, which is the main
source of damping in gas journal bearings, leading to an increase in the system
damping ratio. The same argument can explain why in case A (one injector)
the system presents higher damping ratios than case B (four injectors). The
comparison between experimental and theoretical damping ratios shows that
the higher discrepancies (65 %) are found for the more damped cases.
These discrepancies are attributed to the fact that the theoretical formulation
based on the Reynolds equation considers that the radial injection ow incor-
porated into the modied Reynolds equation is assumed to have a laminar and
parabolic prole or a parabolic pattern. Nevertheless, such a ow pattern, when
calculated based on the CFD model, shows some deviations from the parabolic
pattern. The damping ratios of the rotor-bearing system are highly dependent
on these ow patterns. Nevertheless the general behaviour of the damping ra-
tios obtained experimentally can be caught by the theoretical model and the
results are very satisfactory considering all typical and well-known diculties
in identifying damping in mechanical systems.
Theoretical and experimental results show qualitatively as well as quantitatively

that the injector position and the injection ow (dependent on the piezoactuator
input voltage), have an important inuence on the dynamic characteristics of
the rotor-bearing system.
4.2 Control design results
To improve the dynamic properties of the system, diverse control techniques can
be implemented using the theoretical model as a design tool. This work presents
3 simple model based control designs. A proportional control, a proportional-
integral-derivative control and a state feedback control with integral action and
observer. The experimental and theoretical results using these three controllers
are shown in terms of the dynamic response of the system.
The proportional controller is designed for the system in under-critical speed
conditions. The frequency response of the exible rotor-gas bearing system to
an impulsive force is theoretically and experimentally obtained and depicted in
Figs. 4.4 and 4.5. The response is evaluated for dierent values of proportional
gain in the range [0.5 ×105 -2.0×105 ] V/m. The journal angular velocity is kept
equal to 2000 rpm.
0.04
No control
0.035
Control Kp = 0.5e5 V/m
0.03
= 1.5e5 V/m
Amplitude (mm/N)
Control Kp
0.025
0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 4.4: Theoretical frequency response in horizontal direction for Kp =

5 5 5
0 × 10 V/m, Kp = 0.5 × 10 V/m, Kp = 1.0 × 10 V/m, Kp =
1.5 × 105 V/m and Kp = 2.0 × 105 V/m.
These gures illustrate the accuracy of the theoretical model when compared
with the experimental results. Results also show how the system response be-
comes more damped for higher values of proportional gain. This increase in
damping is produced because proportional gain create a softening of the gas lm
(changes in the mass ow rate that allow a softer response), allowing higher dis-
sipation of energy due to the gas lm squeeze eect. When the system becomes
softer, the stiness of the system is reduced, as well as the natural frequencies.
0.04
No control
0.035 Control Kp = 0.5e5 V/m
0.03 Control Kp = 1.5e5 V/m
Amplitude (mm/N)

0.025
0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 4.5: Experimental frequency response in horizontal direction for Kp =

0 × 105 V/m, Kp = 0.5 × 105 V/m, Kp = 1.0 × 105 V/m, Kp =
1.5 × 105 V/m and Kp = 2.0 × 105 V/m.
In Figs. 4.6a and 4.6b the theoretical and experimental unbalanced response in
time domain is shown for rotor angular velocities from 1000 rpm to 11000. The
response without the controller is depicted with a black colour and in dark and
light grey the response using the SF and PID control are shown respectively.
For a better visualization of the results shown in Fig. 4.6a, the oscillation lines
due to the unbalance are omitted and only the maximum and minimum values
of such oscillations are seen. Moreover, a horizontal line is included to show
the vibration level of the rotor necessary to hit the bearings wall (displacement
limit). In Fig. 4.6a the critical speed range (between 7000 and 8000 rpm) is
clearly seen and also how the amplitude is drastically increased in this range,
exceeding the displacement limit and hence predicting a touchdown of the rotor
and bearing wall. For that reason in Fig. 4.6b the experimental response is
replaced by the theoretical one in that range. From the theoretical results, it
can be seen that both controllers predict a signicant and similar decrease in the
vibration level in the critical velocity range and a slight increase at low angular
velocities.
Results from Fig. 4.6b show that both controllers achieve their goals, and the
critical speed can be safely crossed. The controllers are able to add damping to
the system and the vibration levels are lower than the response without control
in the entire velocity range studied. However, some discrepancies can be found,
especially for the optimal controller. One important source of error is the fact
that a linearisation is made around one operational condition (angular velocity
equal to 8000 rpm) and the controllers are not able to perform as modelled,
when this condition has changed. Another discrepancy derives from the lack
of model accuracy related to the damping ratio as mentioned before. This fact
explains why the optimal controller behaves worse than the PID controller. The
SF controller requires a precise prediction of the model, while the PID is not so
dependent on the model accuracy.
In Figs. 4.7 and 4.8 the frequency response to the unbalanced forces is shown.
Results are calculated using the system without controller in the range of ve-
locities 1000 to 7000 rpm (before the critical speed) and with a PID controller
in the range 7000 to 11000 rpm (during and after the critical speed). Fig. 4.7
shows the theoretical response and Fig. 4.8 the experimental results.
Results from Figs. 4.7 and 4.8 show good agreement. The main dierence
between the two results is that in the experimental response the second multiple
of the synchronous vibration is visible. This is due to the misalignment in the
system, which is not incorporated in the theoretical model. Theoretical and
experimental results show the advantage of using control techniques to extend
the operational range of the system, up to double in this case.
μ μ
10
Amplitude [μm]
0
700
600
500 With control
400
300
200
Time [s] 100 Without control
0
80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 4.7: Theoretical umbalance response of the rotor in frequency domain,

for velocities from 1000 rpm to 11000 rpm; comparison of the
response without controller and using a PID controller
10
Amplitude [μm]
0
600
With control
500
400
300
200
100
Time [s] Without control
0
80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 4.8: Experimental unbalance response of the rotor in frequency do-

main, for velocities from 1000 rpm to 11000 rpm; comparison of
the response without controller and using a PID controller
Chapter 5
Conclusions and future
aspects
The purpose of the current study has been to improve a previously proposed
theoretical model and use it as a design tool to elaborate controllers applied to
the exible rotor-active gas bearing system. The most signicant ndings to
emerge from this study are described in the published papers that composed
the main part of this thesis and are summarized in this chapter as follows:
1. In [J1] a comparison of the theoretical model based on the Reynolds equa-

tion and a CFD model has been presented. It has been found that cor-
rection factors to accommodate the jet gas are necessary. By introducing
such factors into the modied Reynolds equation, good agreement with
experiments has been achieved in terms of journal equilibrium position
and resulting aerodynamic forces.
2. In [J2] two dierent injection congurations were used to investigate the
dynamic behaviour of a exible rotor-bearing system as a function of con-
stant values of input signal supplied to the piezoelectric actuator and jour-
nal angular velocity. Good agreement for natural frequencies and damping
ratios is achieved. This study has also found that the injector position and
48 Conclusions and future aspects
the injection ow have an important inuence on the dynamic character-

istics of the rotor-bearing system and can lead to a ten-fold increase in
damping ratios.
3. In [J3] and [J4], three model-based controllers were designed aided by

the theoretical model: a proportional controller, a proportional integral
derivative controller and a state feedback controller with integral action
and observer. These last two were designed for overcritical speed con-
ditions. The results of this investigation show a signicant increase in
damping ratio of the system, which in the two last cases enables the ex-
ible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds and up to 50 % over the
second critical speed, without any instability problems. The results of this
research support the idea of having a theoretical model as a design tool
for testing dierent controllers and also the advantage of applying active
lubrication techniques to gas lubricated bearings.
5.1 Future work
In the light of the nding gathered through this PhD work, it is recommended:
• To implement and test new and more sophisticated controllers, in order

to evaluate the performance of the mathematical tool proposed.
• Further experimental investigations at higher rotor angular velocities are

needed to evaluate the stability range threshold with and without control.
• It would be interesting to assess the eects of dierent methods to include

the radial external injection into the Reynolds equation model.
A
Appendix
Steady state characteristics

of an adjustable hybrid gas
bearing - Computational
uid dynamics, modied
Reynolds equation and
experimental validation
Original Article
Proc IMechE Part J:

J Engineering Tribology
Steady state characteristics of 2015, Vol. 229(7) 807–822
! IMechE 2015
an adjustable hybrid gas bearing – Reprints and permissions:

sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
Computational fluid dynamics, DOI: 10.1177/1350650115570404

pij.sagepub.com
modified Reynolds equation

and experimental validation
Fabian G Pierart and Ilmar F Santos
Abstract
To include the effect of external pressurization in hybrid gas bearings an extra term is added to Reynolds Equation to
accommodate the gas jet. Two cases are considered: cylindrical and annular flow profiles. Validation of theoretical results
obtained using the modified version of Reynolds equation for compressible fluid against computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) model is presented in terms of pressure and flow rate considering pressurization levels, journal eccentricities and
angular velocities. Correction factors for the jet discharge coefficients are necessary and calculated added by CFD
model. By introducing such coefficients into the modified Reynolds equation, good agreement with experiments is
achieved in terms of journal equilibrium position and resulting aerodynamic forces.
Keywords
Gas bearings, computational fluid dynamics analysis, steady state response, controllable lubrication, modified Reynolds
equation
Date received: 15 September 2014; accepted: 30 December 2014
with same geometric and operating parameters. A gen-

Introduction eral method was used by Kazimierski and Trojnarski5 to
Gas journal bearings have been increasingly adopted in study the external pressurized air bearing used in differ-
modern turbo-machinery due to their numerous indis- ent feeding systems and wherein the mass flow rate of
putable advantages. They can operate at higher speed the Reynolds equation of each orifice was recognized
than most bearing designs,1 almost without noise or as one source. Additionally, the results of Trojnarski
heat generation. In most cases, as in this work, the gas were experimentally validated. Belforte et al.6 proposed
used is air, which is cheap, abundant and clean. approximation functions to determine the values of
Currently, gas bearings are used in air management sys- discharge coefficients, which are a function of the
tems for aircrafts, in micro-gas turbines as independent Reynolds number and the feeding systems geometric
power generators, in turbo-compressors, micro- parameters, for both annular and cylindrical orifices.
machinery tools, among other applications. However, The effect of the flow and geometrical characteristics
one of the main disadvantages is that these bearings of an external injector have been studied theoretically
are prone to instability under certain operating con- and experimentally.9,10 These results show for example,
ditions.2,3 Many authors4–8 have adopted analytical, that for a higher external hole diameter, higher is the
numerical and experimental methods to study the carrying capacity. In 2010, the authors7 studied the
static, dynamic and stability characteristics of various influence of the number and locations of orifices on
types of gas bearings designs, considering rigid as well as
compliant surfaces, with and without external gas pres-
surization. Considering rigid bearing surfaces, Wadhwa Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of
et al.4 adopted the finite element method and perturb- Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
ation method to calculate the dynamic coefficients and
Corresponding author:
whirl instability. They proved that bearings with exter- Ilmar F Santos, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical
nal injection of air would have a higher load capacity University of Denmark, Nils Koppels Alle, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
and greater stability than aerodynamic journal bearing Email: ifs@mek.dtu.dk
Downloaded from pij.sagepub.com at DTU Library - Tech. inf. Center of Denmark on January 5, 2016
808 Proc IMechE Part J: J Engineering Tribology 229(7)
the stability of a rotor-aerostatic bearing system empha- to simulate a controllable gas jet system.24 Using a
sizing the effects of the design changes. Considering rigid simple Proportional derivative (PD) controller, they
bearing surfaces and pockets, i.e. hybrid gas bearings theoretically demonstrated the feasibility of create an
which combine the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic active gas journal bearing which responds to the feed-
effects, significant improvements in start-up and shut- back of displacement sensors installed to measure the
down can be achieved. Moreover, substantial increase lateral movements of the journal. When dealing with
in the threshold speed of rotor instabilities has been multi-physic modelling, i.e. linking the dynamics of
shown.8 Lund11 analysed a three-lobe and a four shoe flexible rotors, interacting with fluid film and piezoelec-
pad air journal bearing, and obtained, using a theoret- tric actuators, the complexity of models has to be kept
ical method based on first order perturbation method, as simple as possible without missing the capability of
load capacities as well as the stiffness and damping coef- accurately predicting the dynamics of the global
ficients that were used to verify the instability threshold. coupled system. In this framework the MRE with an
Zhang and Chang12 studied the use of annular shallow additional term accommodating the pressurized jet has
pockets in order to improve the stability of hybrid gas proven to be very useful for incompressible fluids.25
bearings. The use of pockets was theoretically as well as For compressible flow and the different geometry of
experimentally studied by Kim and San Andres,13 the injector head attached to the piezoelectric actu-
taking into account inertia effects and turbulence when ator,22,23,24 jet model refinements and validation seem
large levels of external pressurization were used. The to be required. Thus, the main objective of the present
results showed good accuracy with respect to experi- work is to validate the theoretical model based on the
mental results. More recently, Amine Hassini et al.14 MRE22 against CFD and develop a theoretical proced-
presented a theoretical model to predict the dynamic ure for correcting the jet discharge coefficients, when
characteristics of the hybrid gas bearing with shallow and if necessary, depending on the journal eccentricity
pockets based in bulk-flow equations. This solution and velocity, and of course, on the jet supply pressure.
was improved using a computational fluid dynamics To validate the theoretical procedure, experiments are
(CFD) model for accommodating the injection of gas. carried out in a test rig with the main objective of
The results were compared with experimental results,15 accurately predicting the journal eccentricity under
showing satisfactory agreement. Considering compliant several state-state conditions.
bearing surfaces, Vleugels et al.1 presented a model to
predict the steady behaviour of a foil bearing, showing
Test facilities
that a foil gas bearing is more stable than a rigid aero-
dynamic journal bearing with similar geometry. The test rig used in this paper was firstly presented by
Authors16–18 studied the effects on the performance of Morosi and Santos23 and it is illustrated in Figure 1.
gas foil bearings including: external side pressurization, The system consists of a rotor supported by two types
misalignment and other effect. Other authors propose of bearings, a ball bearing 3 and a gas bearing 5. The
other design solutions in order to improve the perform- rotor is driven by a gas turbine 1 and the torque from
ance of gas bearings, for example the usage of flexure the turbine is transmitted to the shaft 4 with the aid of
pivot-tilting pad gas bearings19 and pressure-dam bear- flexible couplings 2. A rigid disc 6 is attached to the
ings.20 Another design solution to improve the charac- end of the shaft. Two inductive proximity sensors are
teristics of gas bearings considers the implementation fixed to the holder around the disc 8, and four piezo-
of control systems. A hybrid flexure pivot gas bearing actuators 7 are installed to create a controllable gas
with controllable supply pressure is investigated by San bearing.
Andres.21 Their strategy is to employ electro-pneumatic
air regulators combined with simple open and closed
loop control rules in order to modify the supply pressure
Rotor and disc
level in relation with the rotational speed of the machine. The main dimensions of the flexible shaft and the disc
Theoretical and experimental tests are in good agree- of the rotor-bearing test rig are shown in Figure 2.
ment. The use of feedback control in hybrid bearings The total length of the shaft is 500 mm, with the main
is theoretically as well as experimentally demonstrated diameters of 40, 30 and 22 mm. The shaft is made of
by Morosi and Santos.22,23,24 The theoretical model for stainless steel type 314, with a total weight of 2.04 kg.
hybrid gas journal bearing is presented based on the The disc is made of steel, its outer diameter is 140 mm
modified Reynolds equation (MRE) for compressible and the total weight is 1.5 kg.
flow. An extra term is added to the Reynolds equation
to accommodate the gas injection, considering the fully
Hybrid gas bearing
developed cylindrical Hagen–Poiseuille flow in the injec-
tion pipeline. Using the simplified model, the authors The rotor is supported by a gas journal bearing which
investigated how different geometries can improve the consists of three main parts, as it is shown in
dynamic characteristics of the bearing. Using the theor- Figure 3(a): an aluminium housing 1, a bronze
etical model presented by Morosi and Santos,22 the sleeve 2 and four adjustable injectors 3, equally dis-
authors included the dynamics of four piezo-actuators tributed around the bronze sleeve.
Pierart and Santos 809
Figure 1. Test rig and its components. 1 – gas turbine; 2 – flexible coupling; 3 – ball bearing; 4 – flexible shaft; 5 – actively controlled
gas bearing; 6 – disc; 7 – piezo-actuators; 8 – eddy current displacement sensors.
horizontal injector of the gas bearing is shown, in

Figure 4(b), the main components of the device are
presented.
Theoretical model
To obtain the aerodynamic forces and the steady state
equilibrium position of the rotor-bearing system, it is
Figure 2. Schematic view of the mechanical system and necessary to calculate the pressure profile over the
principal dimensions in mm. bearing surface. This is achieved by solving the
Reynolds equation according to the procedure
described by Morosi and Santos.24 The compressible
Reynolds equation is shown in equation (1).
Gas journal bearing injection system. The gas journal

bearing injection system consists of four independent @ h3 @p @ h3 @p
þ
subsystems. These subsystems have a piezo-actuator @y @y @z @z
which controls the injection of externally pressurized ð1Þ
@ @h
air jet. One of these injection subsystems is presented ¼ 6U ðhÞ þ 12
@y @t
in detail in Figure 3(c) and (d). The piezo-actuator 5
pushes the plastic pin 6 in the direction of the gas To relate the density with the other state variables,
bearing centre. The piezo-actuator is not capable of the ideal gas law is used,
pulling the pin back, therefore a Belleville washer 7 is
used. An O-ring seal is used to ensure that the pres- pM
¼ ð2Þ
surized air escapes only through the orifice, and a RT
metallic structure 4 is used to support the whole actu-
ation system. The orifices have a diameter of 2 mm where M is the molar mass, R the universal gas con-
and each of the injection orifices is fed by pressurized stant and T the gas temperature. Considering also the
air from a compressed air network, the maximum assumption that gas bearing works in near-isothermal
supply pressure is 8 bar. The supply pressure is mea- conditions, and using equation (2) in equation (1), it
sured by a pressure indicator and can be adjusted by can be written in a general form:
manually closing/opening a ball valve. One crucial

parameter of the injection system is the initial distance @ ph3 @p @ ph3 @p
þ
of the piezo-actuator head relative to the orifice wall. @y @y @z @z
This distance has to be set to 45 mm (maximum elong- ð3Þ
@ @ph
ation of the piezo-actuator used) to allow a fully clos- ¼ 6U ð phÞ þ 12
@y @t
ing of the air flow, when the maximum voltage is
applied to the piezo-actuator. To achieve the accuracy In order to include the externally-pressurized
need for the initial positioning of the actuator head, gas injection, the Reynolds equation is modified.
a mounting device with a micrometer installed on it The injection flow is considered to be laminar, incom-
is used. The device is illustrated in Figure 4. In pressible and fully developed and as such is described
Figure 4(a) a photo of the device installed in the by the parabolic Hagen–Poiseuille formula
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 3. Gas bearing system – (a) scheme illustrating the hybrid gas bearing and its main components: aluminium housing 1, bronze
sleeve 2, and adjustable injectors 3; (b) photo of the hybrid gas bearing; (c) schematic view of the assembling of the main parts of the
adjustable gas bearing injection system, piezo-actuator 5, plastic pin 6, Belleville washer 7, and aluminium support 4; (d) photo of the
main components of the adjustable gas bearing injection system.
(a) (b)
Figure 4. Device to set the initial distance of the piezo-actuator; (a) photo of the device installed in the test rig; (b) schematic view of
the device, where 8 is the structure to support the micrometer and 9 it is the micrometer.
(see Figure 5a). The resulting equation of the injection Density changes along the injector are considered to
flow is given by equation (4). be negligible. This assumption allows a further simpli-
fication, namely that the variation of injection pressure
Vinj ð y, z, tÞ along the injector length is linear and proportional to
the difference between supply and journal pressures:
1 @p d20 ð4Þ
¼ ð y yi Þ2 ðz zi Þ2
4 @x 4 @p Pinj pð y, z, tÞ
ð5Þ
@x l0
The boundary conditions for the steady-state are

(a) (b)
defined by:
p0 ð y, 0Þ ¼ p0 ð y, LÞ ¼ Patm
p0 ð0, zÞ ¼ p0 ð2Rb , zÞ
ð10Þ
@p0 ð0, zÞ @p0 ð2Rb , zÞ
¼
@y @y
Figure 5. Injector scheme – (a) injection assumption used in For a given operation condition and initial eccen-
MRE initially; (b) real injection geometry. tricity, the nonlinear PDE (8) is solved using a finite
difference approximation on the discretized domain.
The pressure field is integrated over the bearing sur-
This assumed parabolic profile (equation (4)) leads face, which in turn imposes vertical and horizontal
to good results for incompressible flow.25 In this lubrication reaction forces:
paper such profile must be corrected because the
Z L Z 2
geometry chosen for the injector is closer to an annu-
lus than a cylinder, as it is shown in Figure 5. The new Fx ¼ ð p0 Patm ÞcosðÞRb ddz ð11Þ
0 0
injection flow described by the annular Hagen–
Poiseuille formula is presented in equation (6), Z L Z 2
Fy ¼ ð p0 Patm Þ sinðÞRb ddz ð12Þ
0 0
1 @p d20
d 2
Vann ð y, z, tÞ ¼
4 @x 4 4 To achieve the static equilibrium position of the
2 ð6Þ rotor inside the gas bearing, the Newton Raphson
d0 d2int lnðd0 =d Þ
method is used, considering that the weight of the
4 4 lnðd0 =dint Þ
rotor-disc system acts in x-direction. It is assumed
that the rotor moves like a rigid body. This claim is
where dint is the internal diameter of the annulus. In based on the fact that the first bending natural fre-
this case, dint is 1.7 mm, which is the diameter of the quency of the shaft-disc is 759 Hz.24
final section of the plastic pin shown in Figure 3(c).
The diameter d is the radial distance in cylindrical
CFD analysis
coordinates.
Adding an extra term into Reynolds equation (3), In order to study the assumption regarding the exter-
to accommodate the pressurized gas jet, one obtains nally-pressurized gas injection, a CFD model is
the following partial differential equation (PDE): developed.

@ ph3 @p @ ph3 @p
þ Solution procedure
@y @y @z @z
ð7Þ The governing equations (compressible Navier–
@ @ph p
¼ 6U ð phÞ þ 12 þ 12 Vann Stokes) have been solved for steady-state conditions
@y @t
using the open source CFD code OpenFOAM-2.0.1.
Considering the steady-state condition 12@ph
@t ¼ 0, For pressure calculations in the compressible case, the
the equation to be solved becomes: rhoSimplecFoam solver is used. This solver is based in
the SIMPLEC pressure correction scheme, which is

@ ph3 @p @ ph3 @p an enhancement of the Semi-Implicit Method for
þ
@y @y @z @z Pressure Linked Equations (SIMPLE) algorithm.
ð8Þ Regarding convergence criteria, for all cases the resi-
@ p
¼ 6U ð phÞ þ 12 Vann dual of the continuity and momentum equation has to
@y
fall below 104. To improve convergence, the under-
The film thickness function h depends on the pos- relaxation factors are selected between 0.1 and 0.3 for
ition of the centre of the journal according to equa- the density and pressure, and between 0.3 and 0.7 for
tion (9): velocity and enthalpy.
h ¼ h0 þ ex cos þ ey sin ð9Þ

Geometry, boundary conditions and meshing
where h0 is the nominal clearance of the bearing. The Exploiting symmetry in the axial direction, the model
pressure distribution in the bearing is continuous in is simplified using only a half of the geometry. For
the circumferential coordinate and equal to the this particular validation, only one injection chamber
atmospheric value (Patm) at the bearing edges. is taken into account, this is illustrated in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Isometric view of the CFD model, with main boundary conditions.
(a) (b)
Figure 7. CFD model – (a) schematic CFD unwrapped model; (b) position of the rotor in the gas bearing.
The inlet boundary condition is set as a constant pres- circumferential y-direction, with a higher density close
sure equal to the injection pressure and the outlet as to the injector, where the changes in the fluid proper-
atmospheric pressure. The temperature is also fixed at ties are more important, and six grid points in the
the inlet and outlet equal to 300 K (27 C). The bear- radial x-direction of the clearance, this number is
ing wall is represented as a fixed wall boundary con- chosen after conducting a grid convergence analysis.
dition and the rotor surface as a moving wall. To For the purpose of this validation, the journal is set in
simplify the meshing process, the curvature of the three different positions in relation with the bearing
bearing and rotor is unwrapped considering a linear housing; with an eccentricity ex of 5 mm, 10 mm and
geometry as shown in Figure 7(a), and imposing a 15 mm in x-direction. No eccentricity is considered in
cyclic boundary condition on the edges. The geometry the y-direction, as is shown in Figure 7(b). Using these
is meshed using a decomposition of the domain geom- three positions it is possible to get 20%, 40% and
etry into a set of three-dimensional hexahedral blocks. 60% of eccentricity levels. The injector is positioned
The unwrapped circle contains 200 grid points in the in the bottom of the bearing.
Figure 8. Pressure distribution with CFD model for journal angular velocities of 2, 6 and 10 krpm, injection pressures of 3, 5 and
7 bar, and eccentricity of 40%.
velocity is kept constant at 10 krpm, and the influence

Results and analysis of eccentricity level on the pressure distribution is
calculated for 3, 5 and 7 bar of injection pressure
CFD results and 20%, 40% and 60% of eccentricity. From
In pursuance of validating the theoretical model based Figure 9 detail A, it is possible to see that for lower
on the MRE, the pressure profile in the middle section eccentricity level, 20% (red line), the pressure drop is
between the bearing and the rotor is calculated using more pronounced and for high eccentricity, 60%
the CFD model. The CFD results for different oper- (green line) the pressure drop is negligible. This is
ational inlet pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, journal angu- explained considering that, for a smaller gap and
lar velocities of 2, 6 and 10 krpm, and eccentricity of higher eccentricity, the viscous effects are predomin-
40%, are shown in Figure 8. Figure 8 shows with a ant over the inertia effects. In Figure 10, the velocity
solid line the pressure distribution for an injection component of flow in radial direction is illustrated as
pressure equal to 3 bar, for velocities 2 krpm (blue a function of the circumferential position around the
line), 6 krpm (red line) and 10 krpm (green line). The injection zone (fuchsia line), for operational inlet pres-
dashed line illustrates the case of injection pressure sures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, angular velocities of 2, 6 and
equal to 5 bar and the dash-dot line of injection pres- 10 krpm, and eccentricity of 40%. It can be seen that
sure equal to 7 bar. For this last case, a zoomed view the velocity is close to zero in the middle section of the
(detail A) is also presented, showing the zone where injector (between B and C) and the air flows mainly
the air flows from the injector into the bearing gap. around the extremities of the injector walls (between
There is a pressure drop, known as pressure depres- A and B, and C and D). This is explained considering
sion6,10,26 caused by inertia effects. As the injection that the geometry of the injector (Figure 7a) is close to
pressure increases, the inertia effects become more sig- an annulus and because the air flows at higher velocity
nificant, causing a pressure drop even more clearly. In close to the gap. For injection pressure equal to 3 bar
Figure 8, it is also possible to see the amplitude and (solid line), the air velocity is positive in the upstream
behaviour of the pressure profile in the circumferen- zone, in the same manner as for the other two injec-
tial direction in the upstream and downstream zone, tion pressure levels (5 bar and 7 bar). Nevertheless, in
i.e. left and right side of the injector. In the upstream the downstream zone (detail A), the air velocity has
zone, the pressure is lower for higher angular veloci- also negative values. This can be understood by eval-
ties and in the downstream zone the pressure is higher uating the flow-lines shown in Figure 11. In Figure 11,
for higher angular velocities. This is explained con- two cases are investigated: (a) when the Couette flow
sidering that after the injector the flow produced by induced by the moving wall is stronger than the jet
the injection and the flow produced by the angular flow induced by the external pressurization; (b) when
velocity work in concert, but before the injector the the jet flow is stronger than Couette flow. In the case
two main flows work in opposite directions, produ- (a) with low injection pressure of 3 bar, the Couette
cing a diminished velocity profiles due to the com- flow hits the edge of channel wall due to small length
bined effects. This is consistent with results shown difference between the piezo-actuator head and chan-
by Horvat and Braun.26 In Figure 9, the angular nel wall. A recirculation zone is created as depicted in
Figure 9. Pressure distribution with CFD model for eccentricity of 20%, 40%, 60%, injection pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and angular
velocity equal to 2 krpm.
Figure 10. Velocity distribution with CFD model for angular velocity of 2, 6 and 10 krpm, injection pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and
eccentricity of 40%.
Figure 11(a) (left hand side), immediately before both significant recirculation zone can be seen, once the
flows find the tight path into the bearing clearance jet pressure is increased from 3 to 7 bars. A relative
downstream. The flow velocity in y-direction, i.e. in smooth transition pattern between the two flows can
the same direction as the induced Couette flow, be seen in Figure 11(b) (left hand side), immediately
increases from 20 m/s in front of the channel wall to before both flows find the tight path into the bearing
40 m/s in the bearing clearance. In x-direction, i.e. in clearance downstream. The flow velocity in y-direc-
the same direction of the jet, recirculation inside the tion increases from 15 m/s in front of the channel
channel can also be seen, as illustrated in Figure 11(a) wall to 40 m/s in the bearing clearance. Figure 11(b)
(right hand side). In the case (b), the Couette flow (right hand side) shows in x-direction that recircula-
does not hit the edge of channel wall and no tion inside the channel disappears.
Cylindrical profile. In Figure 12, the pressure distribu-

Comparison with MRE tion over the bearing surface from /2 to 3/2, for
To compare MRE and CFD results, pressure distri- CFD and MRE using cylindrical profile, is compared.
bution, velocity profiles, aerodynamic force and mass Injection pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, angular velocity
flow rate are calculated. In the case of MRE, two of 10 krpm, and eccentricity of 40% are used. It is
different assumptions for the injection flow are used: evident that MRE is not able to predict the pressure
equation (4) for a cylindrical profile and equation (6) depression downstream, due to the fact that inertia
for an annular profile. effects are neglected. In Figure 12 detail A, it can be
seen that the inertia effects are more important for
higher injection pressures, so the discrepancies are
more significant for those pressure levels. In addition,
as it is analysed in Figure 9, the inertia effects are also
predominant for smaller levels of eccentricity, i.e. the
(a)
discrepancies in aerodynamic force for those levels of
eccentricity are also higher. This is clearly reported in
Table 1, where the aerodynamic forces in x-direction
calculated by means of CFD and MRE are presented,
for constant angular velocity equal to 10 krpm, injec-
tion pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and eccentricity levels
of 20%, 40% and 60%. When the injection pressure is
small (3 bar) the inertia effects are very small in rela-
(b) tion to viscous effects, so the discrepancies between
the two models are smaller. In Figure 13, the velocity
in the injection zone (2 mm around ¼ ) is compared
using CFD and MRE models, for constant angular
velocity equal to 10 krpm, injection pressures of 3, 5
and 7 bar, and eccentricity level of 40%. Figure 13
shows that the assumption of a cylindrical injector
with a fully developed flow leads to close values of
velocity in relation with CFD results. It is also pos-
sible to see that the profile is not parabolic, because
@p
Figure 11. Streamline plot for the velocity in x- and y-direc- the predominant term in equation (4) is @x , and
tion, using CFD model – (a) injection pressures of 3 bar, because the pressure in the middle section is almost
eccentricity of 40% and angular velocity 10 krpm; (b) injection equal to the injection pressure, the flow in the middle
pressures of 7 bar, eccentricity of 40% and angular velocity section is close to zero. The differences between MRE
10 krpm.
and CFD are produced because the MRE model does
Figure 12. Pressure distribution in the circumferential direction from /2 to 3/2, for journal angular velocity of 10 krpm, 40% of
journal eccentricity, and injection pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar. Comparison between CFD and MRE model using a cylindrical geometry
assumption.
Table 1. Vertical aerodynamic force (N) comparison using CFD and MRE with cylindrical injector for pressure of
3, 5 and 7 bar, angular velocity of 10 krpm, and eccentricity of 20%, 40% and 60%.
Ecc. 3 bar 3 bar Diff 5 bar 5 bar Diff 7 bar 7 bar Diff
% CFD MRE % CFD MRE % CFD MRE %
20 58.5 72.2 23.5 116.3 163.6 40.7 166.6 260.2 56.2

40 54.2 64.7 19.4 115.5 148.5 28.6 171.7 238.9 39.1
60 42.8 53.0 23.9 97.2 123.5 27.1 153.8 201.0 30.7
Figure 13. Air velocity in radial direction, for journal angular velocity of 10 krpm, 40% of journal eccentricity, and injection pressures
of 3, 5 and 7 bar. Comparison between CFD and MRE model using a cylindrical geometry assumption.
Table 2. Mass flow rate (105 m3/s) comparison using CFD and MRE for pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and velocity
of 10 krpm.
20 2.08 3.47 66.8 5.43 10.4 91.5 9.98 20.8 108.4

40 1.18 1.56 32.2 3.21 4.68 45.8 6.00 9.37 56.2
60 0.46 0.51 11.1 1.36 1.53 13.3 2.56 3.06 20.6
not take into account the recirculation and also the effects and considering cylindrical fully-developed
error in the prediction of the pressure affects the vel- injection velocity profile in the injector zone.
ocity. In Table 2, the mass flow rate comparison
between CFD and MRE is presented, for injection Annular profile. The geometry of the injector is close to
pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and eccentricity levels of an annulus, as is possible to see in Figure 7(a), in this
20%, 40% and 60%. Table 2 shows that the lower the section CFD results are compared with MRE using an
journal eccentricity, the higher the discrepancies; the annular profile according to equation (6). Figure 14
same behaviour is shown for higher levels of injection illustrates the pressure distributions over the bearing
pressure, in the same manner than the vertical aero- surface from /2 to 3/2, calculated by means of CFD
dynamic force presented in Table 1. The differences in model and MRE, using both cylindrical and annular
mass flow rate between the two models are a combin- profile. As it can be seen, the differences in pressure
ation between the error produced by neglecting inertia between MRE with cylindrical and annular profile are
Figure 14. Pressure distribution in the circumferential direction from /2 to 3/2, for journal angular velocity of 10 krpm, 40% of
journal eccentricity, and injection pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar. Comparison between CFD and MRE model using cylindrical and annular
geometries.
Table 3. Vertical aerodynamic force (N): comparison using CFD and MRE with annular injector, for pressure of
3, 5 and 7 bar, angular velocity of 10 krpm, and eccentricity of 20%, 40% and 60%.
20 58.5 71.1 21.6 116.3 161.4 38.8 166.6 257.0 54.2

40 54.2 64.1 18.2 115.5 147.2 27.4 171.7 236.9 38.0
60 42.8 52.6 22.8 97.2 122.8 26.3 153.8 199.9 30.0
very small (under 1%). From this result, it is possible when using MRE. Recirculation can also be seen
to conclude that both annular and cylindrical profiles using the CFD model, for low injection pressure
behave equally in terms of pressure distribution. As it (3 bar). In Table 4, the comparison of mass flow
is expected, the vertical aerodynamic force is also very rate, in case of CFD and MRE for annular injection
similar between the annular and cylindrical injector, is presented. Injection pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, and
as it can be seen in Table 3. In Figure 15, the velocity eccentricity levels of 20%, 40% and 60% are investi-
profile comparison between CFD and MRE is gated. As it can be seen in Table 4, the differences in
presented for injection pressures of 3, 5 and 7 bar, mass flow are also very close to the values when a
journal angular velocity of 10 krpm and eccentricity cylindrical injector is used. Because the use of annular
level of 40%. Using the fully-developed annular vel- injector produce better results than the cylindrical one
ocity profile a small improvement in the prediction of and the real geometry is also closer to an annulus, the
the velocity behaviour is achieved, see Figure 15. rest of the analysis presented in this paper is using the
Using the annular geometry, as it is expected, the annular profile.
air flows from the extremities of the injector head
into the bearing gap, in the same manner that the
Discharge coefficients–correction factor
CFD model predicts. In relation with the case with
cylindrical injection the only differences are that for To correct the remaining differences between CFD
the annular case the flow is more developed in the and MRE using an annulus profile, a discharge coef-
extremes of the injector. The differences that remain ficient function Cd is included in equation (6). To esti-
are due to the more complex nature of the velocity mate the discharge coefficient, the differences in mass
profile, deviating from the parabolic profile assumed flow rate using CFD and MRE with an annular
Figure 15. Air velocity in radial direction, for journal angular velocity of 10 krpm, 40% of journal eccentricity, and injection pressures
of 3, 5 and 7 bar. Comparison between CFD and MRE model using an annular geometry.
Table 4. Mass flow rate (105 m3/s): comparison using CFD and MRE with annular injector, for pressure of 3, 5
and 7 bar, angular velocity of 10 krpm, and eccentricity of 20%, 40% and 60%.
20 2.08 3.43 64.9 5.43 10.2 87.8 9.98 20.6 106.4

40 1.18 1.55 31.4 3.21 4.64 44.5 6.00 9.29 54.8
60 0.46 0.51 10.0 1.36 1.52 11.8 2.58 3.04 17.8
Figure 16. Correction factor Cd – difference in aerodynamic force (%), using injection pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, angular velocity
constant equal to 10 krpm and eccentricity of 20%, 40% and 60%.
injector are calculated while varying Cd. The results 2 krpm. In the operational range presented in
are shown in Figure 16 and covers different levels of Figure 16, it is clear to see that difference in mass
eccentricity (20%, 40% and 60%), injection pressure flow rate is less dependent on the journal eccentricity
(3, 5 and 7 bar) and constant angular velocity of and significantly dependent on the injection pressure.
An increase in injection pressure leads to a larger used together with MRE, correcting for the mass flow
differences in mass flow rate. Setting the injection rate. These results are shown in Table 5.
pressure constant, two values of Cd can be found for
2
the case of zero mass flow rate difference. Calculating 1 @p d0 d2
Vann ð y, z, tÞ ¼ Cd
a mean value for the case of 3 bar one obtains 4 @x 4 4
Cd ¼ 0.0145. For the injection pressures 7 bar, one 2 ð14Þ
d d 2
lnðd0 =d Þ
obtains Cd ¼ 0.007. Although not illustrated in 0 int
4 4 lnðd0 =dint Þ
Figure 16, for the case of 5 bar one obtains
Cd ¼ 0.009. Based on these three mean coefficients
a function Cd(Pinj) can be derived as shown in
equation (13): From Table 5 it is possible to see that the difference
in mass flow rate can be significantly reduced, almost
Cd ¼ 4:8 1014 P2inj 6:3 108 Pinj þ 2:9 102 under 5%. Using an annular profile and correction
factors for the flow, it is possible to improve the pre-
ð13Þ
dictions of mass flow rate. Nevertheless, MRE does
not include the inertia effects and due to the more
Introducing the discharge coefficient Cd into equa- complex nature of the velocity profile, deviating
tion (14), the annular velocity profile is corrected and from the parabolic profile assumed, the differences
cannot be completely eliminated.
Experimental validation
Table 5. Mass flow rate difference (%) between CFD and
MRE with annular injector and correction factor Cd, for With the aim of validating the MRE with the dis-
pressure of 3, 5 and 7 bar, eccentricity of 20%, 40% and 60%, charge coefficients for the annular injector, steady-
and angular velocity of 10 krpm. state conditions are used, namely the journal
Ecc. 3 bar 5 bar 7 bar equilibrium position. Figure 17 depicts the vertical
% Diff. % Diff. % Diff. % equilibrium position of the journal in case of zero
angular velocity. In such a condition the effect of
20 1.11 0.85 0.22 the injection can be isolated and carefully evaluated,
40 3.37 1.12 2.50 without the influence of the flow induced by the jour-
60 0.73 4.23 1.16 nal angular velocity. The experimental results with
Figure 17. Vertical equilibrium position (mm) for no angular velocity and injection pressure 3–8 bar.
Figure 18. Vertical equilibrium position (mm) for angular velocity from 50 to 4000 r/min and injection pressure 4, 6 and 8 bar.
uncertainty bounds are presented in blue. The bounds can be seen in Figure 17, red curve compared to
take into account only the uncertainty due to the blue curve. The effect of the jet together with the jour-
proximity probe. For the theoretical results two nal angular velocity together is analysed in Figure 18.
approaches are used: in red, the variable discharge The vertical equilibrium position is measured for three
coefficient is given by equation (13) and in green, a different levels of injection pressure (4 bar, 6 bar and
constant value Cd ¼ 0.0097 is chosen, a simple average 8 bar), from a few r/min to 4 krpm. It is shown that
coming from the cases of 3, 5 and 7 bar. Theoretical the vertical equilibrium position of the journal can be
model with both discharge coefficients approximate accurately predicted by the MRE with annular injec-
the experimental results reasonably well. Unexpected tor and the discharge coefficients. It is worthy to men-
is the fact that the MRE with constant discharge coef- tion that the angular velocity is not further increased
ficient Cd ¼ 0.0097 leads to a better description of the because for higher angular velocities the hydro-
journal equilibrium than with the variable discharge dynamic effect is dominant and Reynolds equation
coefficient. In this framework it is important to high- is able to accurately predict the journal static equilib-
light that the bearing housing is built with four injec- rium position. The vertical equilibrium position
tors, as mentioned in the section ‘Test facilities’. The obtained using the corrected MRE with annular injec-
injection pressure value is measured upstream the four tor and constant correction factor presents results in
injectors, not separately and independently from each the range of uncertainty of the experiments for this
other. During the experimental tests with the vertical range of rotational velocity.
injector in the bottom of the housing, small leakage
flow is observed in the three additional injectors.
Conclusion
Pressure and flow are strongly dependent. For high
injection pressure (over 5 bar) the amount of leakage In the present study, the accuracy of the model pre-
flow through the three injectors is negligible in com- sented in Morosi and Santos22 for adjustable hybrid
parison with the main flow through the injector in the gas bearing under steady-state conditions is carefully
bottom of the housing. It means that pressure mea- investigated. Special attention is paid to the assump-
sured upstream the four injectors is the correct pres- tions made to accommodate the gas jet into the MRE.
sure used as input data for equations (14) and The analysis is supported by CFD calculations and
equation (13). Nevertheless, for low values of pressure experiments.
(under 5 bar) the leakage flow through the three injec- The model presented in Morosi and Santos22
tors becomes a more significant part of the total flow. describes with accuracy the behaviour of journal bear-
It means that the injection pressure in the bottom of ings with cylindrical capillary injectors. Once the
the bearing might be lower than the pressure mea- injector dimensions deviate from capillary tubes, cor-
sured. Using higher values of injection pressure as rections for describing the jet flow are needed.
input data for equation (14) and equation (13) will Although the equation, as presented in Morosi and
lead to higher vertical position of the journal, as it Santos,22 (MRE with cylindrical injector assumption)
it is able to predict the pressure distribution with 5. Kazimierski J and Trojnarski Z. Investigations of exter-
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Conflict of interest 17. Song JH and Kim D. Foil gas bearing with compression
None declared. springs: analyses and experiments. J Tribol 2007; 129(3):
628–639.
Funding 18. Zhu X and San Andres L. Rotordynamic performance
of flexure pivot hydrostatic gas bearings for oil-free
This research received no specific grant from any funding turbomachinery. J Eng Gas Turbines Power 2007;
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 129(4): 1020–1027.
19. Al-Jughaiman B and Childs D. Static and dynamic
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ings. J Micromech Microeng 2006; 16(9): 282–289. controlled supply pressure to eliminate rotor vibrations
2. Fleming DP, Cunningbum RE and Anderson WJ. while crossing system critical speeds. J Eng Gas
Stability analysis for unloaded externally pressurized Turbines Power 2008; 130(6): 062505.
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York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. aerostatic-gas journal bearings. Proc IMechE, Part J:
4. Wadhwa SS, Sinhasant R and Singh DV. Analysis of J Engineering Tribology 2011; 225(7): 641–653.
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Tribol Int 1983; 16: 203–211. active air bearings. In: Proceedings of ASME turbo
expo. Copenhagen, Denmark, 11–15 June 2012, paper controllable lubrication: comparison between theoret-
No. GT2012-68766, pp.901–910. New York: ASME. ical and experimental results. Tribol Int 2013; 58:
24. Morosi S and Santos IF. Active lubrication applied to 8597.
radial gas journal bearings. Part 1: Modeling. Tribol Int 26. Horvat FE and Braun MJ. Comparative experimental
2011; 44(12): 1949–1958. and numerical analysis of flow and pressure fields inside
25. Cerda A, Nielsen BB and Santos IF. Steady state deep and shallow pockets for a hydrostatic bearing.
characteristics of a tilting pad journal bearing with Tribol Trans 2011; 54(4): 548–567.
Steady state characteristics of an adjustable hybrid gas bearing -
Computational uid dynamics, modied Reynolds equation and
66 experimental validation
Appendix B
Adjustable Hybrid Gas
Bearing - Inuence of
Piezoelectrically Adjusted
Injection on Damping
Factors and Natural
Frequencies of a Flexible
Rotor Operating Under
Critical Speeds
Original Article
Proc IMechE Part J:

J Engineering Tribology
Adjustable hybrid gas bearing – Influence 0(0) 1–12
! IMechE 2016
of piezoelectrically adjusted injection Reprints and permissions:

sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
on damping factors and natural DOI: 10.1177/1350650116630913

pij.sagepub.com
frequencies of a flexible rotor

operating under critical speeds
Fabian G Pierart and Ilmar F Santos
Abstract
Damping factors and natural frequencies of a flexible rotor supported by a gas bearing with piezoelectrically adjusted
flow, are theoretically determined using a rotor finite element model coupled with the modified Reynolds equation.
An extra term is added to the standard formulation of Reynolds equation aiming at incorporating the effect of the
adjustable external pressurized inlet flow. Two different configurations are theoretically as well as experimentally studied:
(a) the air is injected from a single orifice positioned at the bottom of the bearing and (b) the air is injected through four
radial injectors equally pressurized. For the two configurations, the theoretical results are experimentally validated as a
function of the piezoactuators input voltage and the journal angular velocity. Results show a good agreement for natural
frequencies and damping factors. Theoretical and experimental results show qualitatively as well as quantitatively that the
injectors position and the injection flow (dependent on the piezoactuator input voltage) have an important influence on
the dynamic characteristics of the rotor-bearing system. By using one single injector positioned at the bearing bottom,
the damping factor associated with the first mode shape can be increased by 10 times when compared to four injectors
equally pressurized.
Keywords
Hybrid gas bearings, natural frequencies, damping factors, modified Reynolds equation, experimental validation, adjust-
able external pressurization
Date received: 30 May 2015; accepted: 14 January 2016
Introduction
conditions and increase of load-carrying capacity.9
Gas journal bearings are a good option when high The correct determination and enhancement of bear-
speed applications and clean environment conditions ings dynamic characteristics of hybrid gas bearings
are required. However, the low viscosity of the lubri- have been extensively investigated in the literature.
cant results in a low load-carrying capacity, even more Lund10,11 was one of the first authors to investigate
pronounced at low angular velocities. Gas journal the static and dynamic characteristics of hybrid gas
bearings are also characterized by low damping prop- bearings. He proposed a theoretical model based on
erties, which enable self-excited instabilities (whirl the Reynolds equation, where the discrete feeding
instability) to be easily initiated limiting the maximum holes are represented by continuous feeding lines
angular velocity and making dangerous running close around the bearing in the circumferential direction.
to, or across the critical speeds.1,2 Different solutions Lund10 produced design charts for the variation of
have been adopted in order to overcome such limita- the load-carrying capacity with journal speed for
tions, among the most commons we can cite: foil gas
bearings,3,4 tilting pad gas bearings,5,6 controllable
gas bearings,7,8 and externally pressurized gas bear- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of
ings. The present study is focused on this last type Denmark, Denmark
of solution, where the external injection can be
Corresponding author:
adjusted using piezoelectric actuators. Externally Ilmar F Santos, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical
pressurized or hybrid gas bearings present good fea- University of Denmark, Nils Koppels Alle, Lyngby 2800, Denmark.
tures as reduction of friction and wear at startup Email: ifs.mek.dtu.dk
various supply pressures and feeding parameters, con- showed good accuracy compared to experimental
cluding that when the journal angular velocity results. Morosi and Santos24 presented an adjustable
increases, the load-carrying capacity also increases. hybrid gas bearing, where the air flow through the
He also studied11 the instability threshold for hybrid external injectors is modified using piezoactuators.
gas bearings as a function of the bearing geometrical They developed a theoretical model to predict the
parameters. He showed that for some particular geo- bearing dynamic behavior, but no correction of the
metrical characteristics, the instability threshold is external flow was included and no experimental val-
higher for hybrid bearings than self-acting or hydro- idation was performed.
dynamic bearings. Wadhwa et al.12 employed the for- Experimental validation of these theoretical models
mulation presented by Lund,10 but they proposed to is necessary. Experimental identification of damping
include the external pressurization in terms of the and stiffness force coefficients in gas bearing was
radial injection flow. Stiffness and damping bearing extensively studied. A standard method to identify
coefficients were determined using a perturbation these coefficients is aided by transient excitation
method. From their results, the authors argued that applied directly to the rotating shaft. Using the shaft
the hybrid gas bearing is dynamically more stable response, the excitation signal and a known structure
than hydrodynamic gas bearings. Later, authors of the mathematical model for describing its dynamic
have proposed different solutions to obtain the behavior, the coefficients can be estimated. Methods
dynamic coefficients in gas bearings, e.g. Belforte using this basic approach have been used by many
et al.13,14 used the time-dependent solution of researchers for years since presented by Morton25 in
Reynolds equation to predict these coefficients. Mori 1975 and used by Nordmann26 in 1986 to identify
and Miyamatsu15 compared different theoretical flow- bearing dynamic coefficients of a flexible rotor sup-
models for externally pressurized gas bearings and ported by oil film bearings. More recently, the meth-
suggested that it is necessary to include flow patterns odology is applied to gas film bearings by Arghir and
and pressure changes in the radial flow to compensate collaborators27–29 with the aim of identifying the
pressure drops experimentally found. Belforte et al.16 dynamic force coefficients of aerodynamic and
presented an experimental study where correction fac- hybrid gas bearings. They identified the influence of
tors are proposed in order to incorporate the pressure the excitation frequency, where the main experimental
drop effects in the air flow. They also provide a limitation that they found was the large signal noise
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to obtained at high frequencies, when a hammer is used
compare with the experiments,17 showing good agree- as excitation source. Critical speed and damping fac-
ment. Horvat and Braun18 also presented a CFD tors have also been experimentally identified for gas
model for the injection system of hybrid gas bearings bearings.30,9 The authors found that an increase in
with shallow and deep pockets. They investigated the the pressure supply in hybrid gas bearings leads to
inlet flow and pressure, and a good correlation with an increase in the critical speed and a decrease
experiments was found. Pierart and Santos19 pre- in the damping factor of the system.
sented a CFD model to study the adjustable hybrid In such a framework, the main contribution of the
gas bearing injection. Discharge coefficients were present paper is related to study the natural frequen-
included into the modified Reynolds equation cies and damping factors of the flexible rotor-bearing
(MRE) to compensate the geometry effects and pres- system, as a function of the piezoelectric input volt-
sure drops. A successful experimental validation was age. This effect is studied for two configurations: (a)
performed in term of the static properties of the rotor- the air is injected from a single orifice positioned at
bearing system. With the help of different mathemat- the bottom of the bearing and (b) the air is injected
ical models, many authors have investigated the static through four radial injectors equally pressurized. The
and dynamic characteristics of hybrid gas bearings as theoretical model used in this work is based on
a function of design parameters. Chen et al.20 studied the model presented by Morosi and Santos24 using
the influence of the number and type of injector on the the corrections proposed by Pierart and Santos.19
stability range of a rigid rotor supported by two This work is presented as one fundamental step,
hybrid gas bearings. They found that the system before using feedback control laws which will dynam-
threshold stability using inherent restriction is higher ically control the injection flow into the bearing gap.
than using an orifice restriction despite the number of
orifices. Zhang and Chang21 studied the use of annu-
lar shallow pockets in order to improve the stability of
Test facilities
rigid rotor-bearing system. Figure 1 depicts a schematic view of the experimental
Pal and Majudmar22 studied the influence of test rig. It consists of a flexible shaft supported by a
porous surfaces on the rigid rotor-bearing system sta- ball bearing and an adjustable gas bearing. A rigid
bility. The use of pockets was theoretically as well as disc is attached to the end of the shaft and two dis-
experimentally studied by San Andres,23 taking into placement sensors are mounted circumferentially
account inertia effects and turbulence when large around the disc, orthogonally to each other in vertical
levels of external pressurization were used. The results (x) and horizontal (y) directions. The rotor is driven
40
22
30
30
16
19
10
Gas bearing Ball bearing
8
Disc
Coupling 1716 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32 1
Encoder
500
Figure 3. FEM model discretization and shaft main dimen-

sions in mm. The position of the two bearings is state with RBall
Displacement sensors
for the ball bearing and RGB for the gas bearing.
Figure 1. Schematic view of the experimental setup.

Table 1. Main properties of the adjustable gas bearing.
Properties Values

(a) (b)
Bearing length (L) 40 mm
1
Nominal clearance (h0) 25 m
2 4 Diameter of orifices (d0) 2 mm
Working fluid air
5
6
3
7
Table 2. Main properties of piezoactuator type P-841.3B.
Properties Values
Figure 2. Adjustable hybrid gas bearing using piezoactuators Open/close loop travel @ 0-100 V 45m
– (a) Schematic view of the bearing and main components:
Pushing force up to 1000 N
aluminium housing (1), bronze sleeve (2) and adjustable injec-
tors (3); (b) Injection system components: aluminium support Pulling force 50 N
(4), piezoactuator (5), plastic pin (6) and Belleville washer (7). Unloaded resonant frequency 10 kHz 10 %
Pierart and Santos 19. Length 68 mm
by a gas turbine and the angular velocity of the shaft

is measured by using an incremental encoder mounted modeled yielding 4 degrees of freedom (DOF) per
at the end of the shaft before the flexible coupling. The node. The disc is considered as rigid and its mass is
test rig has been previously presented,8,19,31 where the incorporated into the model by adding inertia to the
different components are explained in detail. second node, where it is placed. The ball bearing is
The main element of the test rig is the adjustable located at node 15 and the adjustable gas bearing at
gas bearing illustrated in Figure 2(a). The bearing is node 6. The dynamics of both bearings are included as
composed of an aluminium housing (1), a bronze linear damper and spring elements acting on the rotor.
sleeve (2) and four injectors positioned 90 to each A complete description of the FE model can be found
other (3). A detailed view of one of these injectors is in Morosi and Santos.24
illustrated in Figure 2(b).
It can be seen that each injector consists of four
Active gas bearing
main components: an aluminium holding structure
(4), a piezoactuator (5), a plastic pin (6), and a The interaction between the rotor and the bearings is
spring (7). The piezoactuator pushes the plastic pin included into the model through linear damping and
and the spring pulls it back to its original position; stiffness force coefficients. To obtain these dynamic
in this manner, the air flow passage is adjusted. The coefficients of the gas bearing, it is necessary to calcu-
main properties of the gas bearing and the piezoac- late the pressure profile in the bearing surface, this is
tuators are presented in Tables 1 and 2. done by solving the MRE presented in equation (1)

@ ph3 @p @ ph3 @p
Theoretical model þ
@y @y @z @z
The flexible shaft is modeled using the finite element ð1Þ
@ @ ð phÞ p
(FE) method with 17 shaft elements and 18 nodes ¼ 6U ð phÞ þ 12 þ 12 Vinj
@y @t
(see Figure 3). Only lateral and tilting motions are
where p is the air pressure, the air viscosity, U the

(a) (b)
journal lineal velocity and x, y, and z the coordinates
defined in Figure 1. In order to include the external
injection, the standard compressible form of Reynolds
equation is modified adding the last extra term in
equation (1), where the injection velocity (Vinj) by sim-
plicity is given by equation (2), known as Hagen–
Poeiseuille formula.
1 @pð y, z, tÞ
Vinj ð y, z, tÞ ¼ Cd ð ÞFi ð2Þ
4 @x
Figure 4. Schematic view of the parameters studied in the
CFD model. Vertical eccentricity ratio eY =db and gap between
where
plastic pin and injector wall hp.
d20
Fi ¼ ð y yi Þ2 ðz zi Þ2 ð3Þ
4
for 7
0 volt
6 5volt
d20
)
ð y yi Þ2 ðz zi Þ2 4 ð4Þ 9 volt
4 5
Correction factor (
4
This formula formally applies to incompressible
3
fluids in a laminar flow flowing through a cylindrical
pipe of constant cross section. In this case, not all 2
these requirements are fulfilled and in order to com- 1
pensate these differences and other effects that are not
0
directly incorporated in the MRE (inertia effects), a -0.5 0 0.5
correction factor or discharge coefficient Cd is added.
This coefficient is obtained from the comparison
between the mass flow rate calculated using the Figure 5. Correction factor or discharge coefficient Cd for
MRE and the CFD model presented by Pierart and different values of eccentricity ratio (eY =h0 ) and input voltage.
Santos,19 where the CFD model was validated against
experiments. Using the CFD model to obtain the Cd
coefficient allows to have a design tool without the inlet mass flow rate. Because the mathematical
need of experimental tests. The Cd coefficient is model is initially implemented using a fully open pos-
defined as shown in equation (5) ition of the injector (piezoactuator input voltage equal
to v ¼ 0 V) when the input voltage is higher, Cd has to
m_ CFD be smaller to generate this air flow reduction.
Cd ¼ ð5Þ
m_ MRE The value of Cd ðeY , vÞ is theoretically obtained for
different values of vertical eccentricity eY =h0 (see
where m_ is the flow rate, and the subscripts refer to the Figure 4(a)) and different input piezoactuator voltage
method used to calculate it. Based on the CFD v (0 V, 5 V, and 9 V), as shown in Figure 5.
results,19 it is found that the coefficient Cd is depend- Figure 5 shows that the higher the voltage, the
ent on two main parameters, the position of the shaft smaller the Cd coefficients and when the shaft is
relative to the position of the bearing surface (This closer to the bearing surface (higher eccentricity) Cd
position can be characterized by eY =h0 ) and the injec- is higher as it is expected. In order to find an unique
tion pressure, which for this analysis is remained con- expression for the Cd ðeY , vÞ, a curve is fitted onto a set
stant and equal to 7 bar. The reason of these of calculated Cd values. To do this, a weighted least-
dependencies is mainly due to the inertia effect square regression is used, assuming a third-order
which becomes more significant for higher injection polynomial weighting for the shaft eccentricity (eY)
pressure and less important when the shaft is closer and a linear weighting for the voltage (v). The general
to the bearing surface, because viscous effects become equation for Cd ðeY , vÞ is presented in equation (6)
predominant. However, it is also important to high-
light that the MRE formulation does not take directly
Cd ðeY , vÞ ¼ p00 þ p10 ðeY =h0 Þ þ p01 ðv=vT Þ
into account the position of the piezoactuator (hp) and
this effect is indirectly incorporated using the coeffi- þ p20 ðeY =h0 Þ2 þ p11 ðeY =h0 Þðv=vT Þ ð6Þ
cient Cd. When the piezoactuator input voltage is þ p30 ðeY =h0 Þ3 þ p21 ðeY =h0 Þ2 ðv=vT Þ
increased, the air passage is reduced, reducing the
where
Close
Open
5 9
p00 ¼ 4:5 10 p21 ¼ 2:1 10
p10 ¼ 1:8 107 p11 ¼ 1:6 107 A B
p01 ¼ 4:5 105 p30 ¼ 4:4 1012
p20 ¼ 2:0 109
It is important to highlight that, for different orifice

arrangements, supply pressure, input voltage, and Figure 6. Cases studied A: only bottom injector open; case B:
journal angular velocity new discharge coefficients all injectors open.
have to be recalculated. In the present study, the
supply pressure is kept constant. For that reason
equation (6) does not depend on this parameter. If (forward and backward), a model with known struc-
such parameter is altered, the coefficient Cd can be ture (mass-spring-damper model), but unknown
obtained following the methodology described in.19 parameters (four mass coefficients, four damping
To solve the MRE (equation (1)), a perturbation coefficients and four stiffness coefficients), is assumed.
method is employed. This linearized approach was The general identification method is well documented
introduced by Lund.11 The solution of the first and explained by Nordmann.26 This method is called
order perturbation equations for the perturbed pres- gray-box modeling, because unlike black-box model-
sures (pX, pY) is straightforward, as these are linear ing, in this method you have a previous knowledge of
PDEs. Given a zeroth order field p0, they are solved the system.7 In order to obtain the unknown param-
via a finite difference scheme and subsequently inte- eters, a Prediction Error Method (PEM) is used, this
grated over the bearing surface to determine the force method needs a known experimental input and the
represented by the stiffness KH and damping DH measurement outputs from the system. A complete
matrices, as shown in equation (7) description of this method can be found in the litera-
ture7,32 and a schematic flow chart is illustrated in the
Z Z
L 2 pX cos pX sin Appendix.
KH þ i!DH ¼ Rddz
0 0 pY cos pY sin
ð7Þ Description of the experiments
In order to obtain good model parameter estimation,
where is the absolute circumferential coordinate and vertical and horizontal impact excitations (impulses)
! is the excitation frequency, which can be synchron- are used. Such excitations are applied to the shaft
ous, ! ¼ or asynchronous ! 6¼ . Superimposing close to the disc position as shown in Figure 13 and
the mass, stiffness, gyroscopic, and damping matrices the force signal are registered by a piezoelectric force
of each element, the global model of the rotor-bearing transducer. It is chosen to apply an impulsive force,
system can be obtained and described by equation (8) because allows to excite a large range of frequencies in
a simple manner, the force applied using the hammer
MG q€ ðtÞ þ DG q_ ðtÞ þ KG qðtÞ ¼ Q ð8Þ is restricted in order to always have a maximum rotor
amplitude in the bearing position, lower than 30 % of
where the superscript G refers to the global system, M the bearing gap, to guarantee a linear behavior.
is the mass matrix, D is the damping and gyro- Using a hammer with a plastic head, it is possible
scopic matrix, K is the stiffness matrix, and q is the to excite the mode shapes associated with the natural
generalized coordinate vector. Solving equation (8) frequencies up to approximately 600 Hz, as it can be
using eigenvalue problem (lj ¼ lRj þ ðlIj Þi, finally seen in Figure 12(b). In this range only the first four
the damped natural frequency (!dj) and damping mode shapes can be excited with the plastic head,
factor (j) are obtained as according to theoretical investigations presented in
the Appendix. The four first natural frequencies are
!dj ¼ lIj ð9Þ around !1 ¼ 120 Hz, !2 ¼ 140 Hz, !3 ¼ 269 Hz, and
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi !4 ¼ 290 Hz. Only !2 and !4 are illustrated in Figures
j ¼ lRj = l2Rj þ l2Ij ð10Þ 12(b) and 13. Due to the characteristics of the mode
shapes 3 and 4 and the excitation and measurement
positions, i.e. close to a modal node, only the first two
modes (1 and 2) are significantly excited. This support
Experimental results
the hypothesis of a 2-DOF system used in the experi-
In order to experimentally identify the natural fre- mental identification procedure. Two different config-
quencies and damping factors of the rotor-bearing urations are studied: (a) the air is injected from a
system, associated with the first two mode shapes single orifice positioned on the bottom of the bearing,
Horizontal response Vertical response

40 40
Experiments Experiments
Amplitude (mm)
Amplitude (mm)
20 Prediction 20 Prediction
Horizontal 0 0
excitation
-20 -20
-40 -40
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Time (s) Time (s)
40 40
Amplitude (mm)
Amplitude (mm)
Vertical
excitation 0 0
-20 -20
-40 -40
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Time (s) Time (s)
Figure 7. Horizontal and vertical time response to a horizontal and vertical impact.
Horizontal response Vertical response
8 8
Amplitude (mm)
Amplitude (mm)
Horizontal 4 4
excitation
2 2
0 0
100 150 200 100 150 200
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
8 8
Experiments
Amplitude (mm)
Amplitude (mm)
6 Prediction 6
Vertical
4 4
excitation
2 2
0 0
100 150 200 100 150 200
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)
Figure 8. Horizontal and vertical response in frequency domain (FFT of Figure 7) to a horizontal and vertical impact.
while the other three injectors remain closed and (b) For each configuration, four different journal angular
the air is injected through four radial injectors equally velocities in the interval [2;5] krpm and four different
pressurized. The two configurations are illustrated in levels of input voltage [3;7] volts are studied. The injec-
Figure 6. tion pressure, as mention, is kept constant at 7 bar.
(a) 150 134

Theor. 0 volt

Theor. 2 volt

145 Theor. 5 volt
130
Theor. 7 volt
140 Exp. 0 volt
126 Exp. 2 volt
135 Exp. 5 volt
Exp. 7 volt
122
130
125 118
2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
(b) 120 75
Theor. 4 volt

Theor.5volt
65 Theor.7volt
Exp.4volt
115 Exp.5volt
Exp.7volt
55
110
45
105 35
2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Figure 9. Damped natural frequencies as a function of piezoactuator input voltage and journal angular velocity – (a) Forward mode
of case A (left); backward mode of case A (right) (b); forward mode of case B (left); backward mode of case B (right).
(a) 0.045 0.06

Theor. 0 volt
Theor. 2 volt
Damping Factor (-)
0.05 Theor. 5 volt

Damping Factor (-)
0.035
Theor. 7 volt
0.04 Exp. 0 volt
0.025 Exp. 2 volt
0.03 Exp. 5 volt
Exp. 7 volt
0.015
0.02
0.005 0.01
2000 3000 4000 5000 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
(b) 0.25 1
Theor. 4 volt
Damping Factor (-)
Damping Factor (-)
0.9 Theor.5volt
0.2 Theor.7volt
0.8 Exp.4volt
Exp.5volt
0.7 Exp.7volt
0.15
0.6
0.1 0.5
0.4
0.05
2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Figure 10. Damping factors as a function of piezoactuator input voltage and journal angular velocity – (a) Forward mode of case A
(left); backward mode of case A (right) (b); forward mode of case B (left); backward mode of case B (right).
excitation, such a signal data set is subtracted from

Signal processing
the signal with impacts using a trigger based on the
The two output signals from horizontal and vertical encoder angle.
displacement sensors are pre-processed with the aim
of removing the stationary run-out as well as the resi-
dual mass unbalance response. An initial signal data
Model identification
set is collected at the same angular velocity of the The optimal model parameters are identified using the
respective experiment, but without any external PEM.8,32 The optimization is non-linear and to ensure
9 113.2 Hz
8 Bottom injector
Left injector 8
7 Measurement position
Rigth injector 6
6
Input voltage (V)
Top injector 4
5 2 Excitation position
4 0
3 -2
2 -4
1 -6
-8
0 4
10 0 10 20 30 40 50 2
Injector displacement, ( m) 0
15 20
-2 10
-4 0 5
Figure 11. Input voltage versus injector displacement hp – Node nr.
experimental results for the four injectors. 293.8 Hz
Measurement position
2
Excitation position
1.5
1
(a) (b) 0.5
0
Amplitude (N)
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
1
0.5
0 20
Frequency (Hz) -0.5 10 15
-1 0 5
Node nr.
Figure 12. Impact hammer – (a) Picture of the impact
hammer with plastic head, (b) signal from the piezoelectric
Figure 13. Illustration of the first two theoretical forward
force transducer in frequency domain.
mode shapes and the excitation and measurement positions.
convergence to the optimal parameters, good initial

parameter estimates are required. experimentally extracted to be compared with their the-
These initial estimates are initially found assuming oretical counterparts.
that the rotor-bearing system is decoupled in the
orthogonal directions, leading to two natural frequen-
cies and two mode shapes horizontally and vertically
Comparison and discussion
decoupled. The estimates for all parameters including Natural frequencies and damping factors of the rotor-
the cross coupling terms, initially set equal to zero, are bearing system are calculated for the same conditions
iteratively refined. The identification procedure is ter- specified for the experiments using equations (9) and
minated when the differences of the model parameters (10). In case A, when the three air passages are
between iterations are less than 1%. blocked (valves are closed), the theoretical model
Figures 7 and 8 show a comparison between model assumes one single orifice exists at the bottom of the
responses using the predicted coefficients (gray-box mod- bearing surface. The theoretical and experimental
eling method) and experiments in time and frequency behavior of natural frequencies associated with the
domains using the processed signal (stationary part first backward and forward modes are illustrated in
removed), when the rotor is excited with an impulse in Figure 9 for cases A and B. Figure 9(a) (left) shows
the vertical and horizontal directions. These results are that the higher the piezoactuator input voltage is, the
illustrated for a single particular configuration, i.e. case B lower the natural frequencies associated with the for-
when the journal angular velocity is equal to 3 krpm and ward mode will be. This behavior is also found for the
the input voltage is kept 0 V. Such an identification natural frequencies associated with the forward and
procedure is carried out for all cases presented in this backward modes in case B (see Figure 9(b)).
work. Results show an excellent agreement. Using The reason of the natural frequencies reduction
the 2-DOF identified model (orthogonally coupled), when the piezoactuator input voltage increase, can
two natural frequencies and two damping factors are be found in the reduction of the fluid film stiffness.
1. Collect the data set
2. Choose the model structure

5. Prediction error
3. Model parametrization
Initial guess
6. Update
7. Cost function
Figure 14. Flow chart with the step to explain the model identification procedure.
Higher input voltages mean strangulation of the air It is important to highlight that the dynamic
passage reducing the air flow rate, this produce a response of the rotor-bearing system is more damped
reduction in the external radial fluid forces, leading for case A than case B, as can be seen in Figure 10(a)
to a less stiff system. For the backward mode in and (b). In such figures, it is also shown that damping
case A (Figure 9(a) right), there is though not a factors associated with backward modes are higher
clear tendency of how the natural frequencies as a than damping factors associated with forward modes.
function of input voltage changes. In this case, the The input voltage of the piezoactuator and the journal
natural frequencies are almost constant, not being angular velocity in case B have a higher influence on
affected by the injection. The comparison between the damping factor than in case A, where damping
the theoretical and experimental frequencies shows a factor is almost not affected by these parameters. In
very good accuracy with discrepancies under 5% case B, the higher piezoactuator input voltage, the
for all cases illustrated in Figure 9(a) and (b). higher the damping factor of the system is. The
Larger discrepancies than 5% are only found for the reason of the increase in the damping factor when
particular case of very low angular velocities in case A the input voltage increases, can be found in the reduc-
(Figure 9(a) right). Such discrepancies might be linked tion of the injection air flow. When the injection air
to the characteristic of the identification procedure on flow is reduced the journal squeeze effect is increased,
time domain and the short time response of a highly which is the main source of damping in gas journal
damped mode. The natural frequencies associated bearings, leading to an increase in the system damping
with the backward and forward modes in case B are factor. The same argument can explain why in case A
not significantly affected by the journal angular vel- (one injector) the system presents higher damping fac-
ocity, as it is illustrated in Figure9(b). tors than case B (four injectors). The comparison
The theoretical and experimental behavior of between experimental and theoretical damping factors
damping factors associated with the first backward shows that the higher discrepancies (65 %) are found
and forward modes are illustrated in Figure10 for for the more damped cases. These discrepancies could
cases A and B. The standard deviation for the high be attributed to the fact that the theoretical formula-
damped cases is presented. The deviation is significant tion based on Reynolds equation consider that the
only for these cases. For damping factor smaller than radial injection flow incorporated into the MRE is
0.1, the standard deviation is less than 6% of the assumed to have a laminar and parabolic profile or a
damping value. parabolic pattern. Nevertheless, such flow pattern,
(a) 12 (b) 7
10 6
Displacement [ m]
8 5
Force [N]
6 4
4 3
2 2
0 1
-2 0
-4 -1
-6 -2
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0 0.005 0.01 0.015
Time [s] Time [s]
(c) 8 (d) 8
6 7
Displacement [ m]
4 6
5
Force [N]
2
4
0
3
-2
2
-4 1
-6 0
-8 -1
-10 -2
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0 0.005 0.01 0.015
Time [s] Time [s]
(e) 4 (f) 10
2
8
Displacement [ m]
0
Force [N]
-2 6
-4
4
-6
-8 2
-10
0
-12
-14 -2
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0 0.005 0.01 0.015
Time [s] Time [s]
Figure 15. Impact signal and system response in time domain – (a) system response in time domain for 33 different impacts for a low
damped case, (b) impact signal in time domain for 33 different impacts for a low damped case, (c) system response in time domain for
48 different impacts for a medium damped case, (d) impact signal in time domain for 48 different impacts for a medium damped case,
(e) system response in time domain for 52 different impacts for a high damped case, (f) impact signal in time domain for 52 different
impacts for a high damped case.
when calculated based on the CFD model, shows some theoretically and experimentally determined. Two dif-
deviations from the parabolic pattern. The damping ferent configurations are studied and the main conclu-
factors of the rotor-bearing system are highly depend- sions are summarized below:
ent on these flow patterns. Nevertheless, the general
behavior of the damping factors obtained experimen- 1. The comparison between theoretical and experi-
tally can be caught by the theoretical model, and the mental natural frequencies show a very good agree-
results are very satisfactory taking into account all typ- ment with discrepancies under 5% for 80% of the
ical and well-known difficulties in identifying damping cases investigated in the ranges of [2–5] krpm and
in mechanical systems, when noisy measurement signal [2–7] volts of piezoactuator input voltage.
(vibration amplitudes of a few microns) further con- 2. Higher discrepancies can be found comparing the-
taminated by run-out imperfections of rotating sur- oretical and experimental damping factors, these
faces is considered. discrepancies are clearer for higher levels of damp-
ing factor. Such cases are normally linked to high
journal eccentricities. Such discrepancies can be
Conclusion explained by the fact that the theoretical formula-
Damping factors and natural frequencies of a flexible tion based on the MRE combined with the
rotor supported by an adjustable gas bearing are discharge coefficient Cd does not accurately
compensate for the more complex air flow patterns 2. Lund JW. Calculation of stiffness and damping proper-
around the injection orifices, which can signifi- ties of gas bearings. J Lubr Technol 1968; 90: 793–803.
cantly affect the damping factor of the rotor-bear- 3. Peng JP and Carpino M. Coulomb-friction damping
ing system. Also the cases with higher damping are effects in elastically supported gas foil bearings. STLE
Tribol Trans 1994; 37: 91–98.
the cases with higher standard deviations.
4. Kim TH and San Andres L. Effect of side feed pressur-
Nevertheless, such discrepancies are under 65% ization on the dynamic performance of gas foil bear-
for all the studied cases and in the best cases less ings: a model anchored to test data. J Eng Gas Turb
than 8%, which is considered a good estimation Power 2009; 131: 012501.
for damping factors. 5. Sim K and Kim D. Design of flexure pivot tilting pads
3. External pressurization produces extra radial gas bearings for high-speed oil-free microturbomachin-
forces which increase the fluid film stiffness, ery. J Tribol 2006; 129: 112–119.
which explains why natural frequencies are 6. Zhu X and San AL. Rotordynamic performance of
higher for case B (four injectors) than case A flexure pivot hydrostatic gas bearings for oil-free turbo-
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Experimental grey box model identification of an active
paring the backward mode in case A (! ¼ 70 Hz,
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case B (! ¼ 133 Hz, see Figure 9(b) right) at the radial gas journal bearings Part 1: modeling. Tribol Int
same angular velocity (5 krpm) and high level of 2011; 44: 1949–1958.
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4. Case A present damping factors up to 10 times of simple gas hybrid bearings for oil-free turbomachin-
higher than case B. The reason of these differences ery. J Eng Gas Turb Power 2006; 128: 626–633.
is explained in the reduction of the journal squeeze 10. Lund JW. The hydrostatic gas journal bearing with
capability when the system is pressurized with four journal rotation and vibration. J Basic Eng 1964; 86:
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the external air pressurization. 11. Lund JW. A theoretical analysis of whirl instability and
pneumatic hammer for a rigid rotor in pressurized gas
5. When only one injector valve is opened and the
journal bearings. ASME Trans J Lubr Technol 1967; 89:
external flow through this valve is very low, it can 154–163.
be said that the hydrodynamic effect is more pre- 12. Wadhwa SS, Sinhasant R and Singh DV. Analysis of
dominant. In the opposite case, when all the four orifice compensated externally pressurized gas bearings.
valves are opened with the maximum flow and low Tribol Int 1983; 16: 203–211.
angular velocity, it can be said that the hydrostatic 13. Belforte G, Raparelli T and Viktorov V. Modeling and
effect is more important. Comparing this two identification of gas journal bearings: self-acting gas
cases, it can be conclude that the hybrid gas bear- bearing results. J Tribol 2002; 124: 716–724.
ings with predominant hydrodynamic effect pre- 14. Viktorov V, Belforte G and Raparelli T. Modeling
sent higher level of damping factors than the and identification of gas journal bearings: externally
hybrid gas bearings with predominant hydrostatic pressurized gas bearings results. J Tribol 2005; 127:
548–556.
effect. In order to obtain further improvements of
15. Mori H and Miyamatsu Y. Theoretical flow-models for
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17. Belforte G, Raparelli T, Viktorov V, et al. Numerical
analysis on the supply hole discharge coefficient in aero-
Declaration of conflicting interests static bearings. In: Proceedings of the 5th
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with InternationalTribology Conference, AITC-AIT 2006,
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of 20–22 September 2006, Parma, Italy, p. 9.
this article. 18. Horvat FE and Braun MJ. comparative experimental
and numerical analysis of flow and pressure fields inside
Funding deep and shallow pockets for a hydrostatic bearing.
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, Tribol Trans 2011; 54: 548–567.
authorship, and/or publication of this article. 19. Pierart FG and Santos IF. Steady state characteristics
of an adjustable hybrid gas bearing -Computational
fluid dynamics, modified Reynolds equation and experi-
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25. Morton PG. The derivation of bearing characteristics by where K, D, and B are the matrices that contains
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29. Rudloff L, Arghir M, Bonneau O, et al. Experimental 9. And finally using R*, the optimal model is found.
analysis of the dynamic characteristics of a hybrid aero-
static bearing. J Eng Gas Turb Power 2012; 134: 1–8.
30. Osborne A and San Andres L. Comparison of rotordy-
The equivalent 2-DOF model fitted from the rotor
namic analysis predictions with the test response of
simple gas hybrid bearings for oil free. J Eng Gas
transient response leads to unphysical values of mass,
Turb Power 2006; 128: 634–643. damping and stiffness coefficients, very common artifact
31. Morosi S and Santos IF. Experimental investigations of from experimental modal analysis. Gyroscopic effect
active air bearings. In: Proceedings of ASME turbo expo, and bearing damping coefficients as well as shaft flexural
Copenhagen, Denmark, 11–15 June 2012, paper stiffness and bearings stiffness coefficients are fully con-
No. GT2012-68766, pp.901–910. New York: ASME. densed inside of the damping and stiffness matrices of 2-
32. Ljung L. Prediction error estimation methods. Circ Syst DOF model. No insight into real physical values of the
Signal Process 2002; 21: 11–21. system parameters is possible. Nevertheless, the equiva-
33. Santos IF. On the future of controllable fluid film bear- lent 2-DOF model is able to accurately reproduce the
ings. Mećanique Ind 2011; 12: 275–281. system dynamic in the frequency range of interest, i.e.
damping ratios and natural frequencies. By calculating
the eigenvalues of the 2-DOF model, the natural fre-
quencies and the damping ratios are accessed based on
Appendix equations (8) and (10).
Figure 11 illustrates the experimental displacement of
the four piezoactuators as a function of the input
voltage applied.
Experimental reproducibility
The hammer and the signal from the piezoelectric In order to study the reproducibility of the experimen-
force transducer in frequency domain are shown in tal results, in Figure 15, several impacts and the time
Figure12(a) and (b). In Figure 12(b), it is possible to response to them are shown. Three different conditions
see the frequency range in which the rotor-bearing are studied: a low damped response where 33 impacts
system can be excited by the impulse excitation, i.e. are used, a medium damped case where 48 impacts are
up to 600 Hz. The natural frequencies associated with used, and a high damped case with 52 impacts. It can
the first four modes (two backward and two forward) be clearly seen that the experiments can be reproduced.
are inside of this frequency range. The two first for- For the high damped case, the damping factor estima-
ward mode shapes are presented in Figure 13. The tion is very sensitive and these small differences, seen in
measurement and excitation position are highlighted. Figure 15(e) can lead to differences in the damping
factor prediction, as shown in Figure 10(a). All this
impacts are performed using the impact hammer with
Experimental parameters identification plastic head. The impacts were performed in the excita-
To obtain natural frequencies and damping factors tion position shown in Figure 13 and for this analysis is
experimentally, system identification is performed only shown the vertical response.
Adjustable Hybrid Gas Bearing - Inuence of Piezoelectrically Adjusted
Injection on Damping Factors and Natural Frequencies of a Flexible Rotor
80 Operating Under Critical Speeds
Appendix C
Active lubrication applied to
radial gas journal bearings.
Part 2: Modelling
improvement and
experimental validation
Tribology International 96 (2016) 237–246
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint
Active lubrication applied to radial gas journal

bearings. Part 2: Modelling improvement
and experimental validation
Fabian G. Pierart, Ilmar F. Santos n
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
a r t ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Actively-controlled lubrication techniques are applied to radial gas bearings aiming at enhancing one of
Received 31 July 2015 their most critical drawbacks, their lack of damping. A model-based control design approach is presented
Received in revised form using simple feedback control laws, i.e. proportional controllers. The design approach combines three
29 October 2015
main domains: tribology, dynamics and control. The Reynolds equation with radial injection, including
Accepted 2 December 2015
Available online 17 December 2015
piezoelectrically controlled jet, describes the non-linear interaction between bearing surface and rotating
shaft. Dynamics of the flexible shaft and rotating parts are modelled aid by finite element method and
Keywords: the global model is used as control design tool. Active lubrication allows for significant increase in
Active bearing damping factor of the rotor-bearing system. Very good agreement between theory and experiment is
Gas lubricated bearing
obtained, supporting the multi-physic design tool developed.
Finite-element method
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hybrid lubrication
1. Introduction how effectively the fluid film thickness profile is modified, thereby
the rotor position is controlled. Qiu et al. [10] presented an
Due to the increasing demand of high performance rotating experimental study, where a PID control is implemented, the active
machine, growing attention has been paid to the design of relatively gas bearing is a tilting-pad type with embedded piezoelectric
new active devices able to control vibrations and improve the actuators. The results show how the self-excited vibration can be
dynamic behavior of machinery. Several authors have proposed effectively suppressed if the gains of the controller are properly
different types of active devices, e.g. magnetic bearings [1], piezo- tuned. In 1996, Mizumoto et al. [12] presented an experimental
electric bearing pushers [2], hydraulic actuator journal bearings [3], study, where three small piezoactuators are embedded in a thrust
variable impedance bearings [4], active journal bearings with flex- bearing and four in a radial bearing. These actuators work as
ible sleeves [5], active lubricated bearings [6,7], among others. inherent restrictors controlling the injected pressure jet. Their
Active lubrication applied to gas bearings is presented as a solution results show that the vibration levels are effectively reduced. Al
for modern turbo-machinery applications where high speeds and bender [11] and Aguirre et al. [13] presented an active thrust
clean environments are required. By using active lubrication, it is bearing where two actuators operate locally around the bearing
possible to avoid common drawbacks associated with gas bearings, plate, modifying the plate conicity and thereby the fluid forces. In
namely poor carrying capacity and low damping properties, which the present work the fluid film thickness is controlled using hybrid
often lead to a reduced stability range [8]. To control the rotor lubrication. The external air flow applied using radial injectors is
dynamic properties, active gas bearings work modifying the fluid controlled using piezoactuators mounted on the back of the bear-
film thickness. In order to do that different methods have been ing. The piezoactuators action modifies the inlet area of the injector,
proposed, some of the most commons are mentioned next. Hor- modifying the injection flow and the inlet pressure. In this manner
ikawa and Shimokohbe [9] introduced for the first time in 1992 the the rotor equilibrium position is modified. Regarding this type of
concept of active gas bearing. In their prototype, the rotor radial active gas bearing, Morosi and Santos [8] in part 1 of the present
vibrations are controlled by means of varying the position of four paper, proposed a theoretical model based on the compressible
pads using piezoelectric actuators. Their experimental results show form of Reynolds equation with radial injection (REWRI), coupled
with a dynamic model of the piezoelectric injection system.
n
Corresponding author. Through this novel technique a hybrid gas bearing with four con-
E-mail addresses: fpvas@mek.dtu.dk (F.G. Pierart), ifs@mek.dtu.dk (I.F. Santos). trollable radial injectors was represented. Using the above
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2015.12.004
0301-679X/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
238 F.G. Pierart, I.F. Santos / Tribology International 96 (2016) 237–246
mentioned model, the authors theoretically designed a PD control and it is experimentally demonstrated how the rotor-bearing
for a two degrees of freedom system, showing that it is possible to damping is effectively improved.
reduce the synchronous vibration components and also increase the
stability range of the bearing. The same authors [14] implemented
of a PD controller on a rotor-gas bearing system that was tuned 2. Experimental set-up
based on experimental waterfall diagrams. Using two piezo-
actuators they demonstrated that the controller is able to effectively Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) depict a schematic view and a picture of the
reduce the lateral vibrations in the horizontal direction. In 2014 [15] test rig respectively. The test rig is comprise of a flexible shaft (4),
Theisen et al. identified a reduced model for the same system stu- which is supported by a ball bearing (5) and an actively lubricated
died in [14], using grey box identification tools. The equivalent gas bearing (3). A rigid disc (1) is overhung at the non-driven
extremity of the shaft and two displacement sensors (2) are
reduced model identified was used as a control design tool
mounted circumferentially around the disc, orthogonally to each
bypassing the necessity of obtaining more sophisticated mathe-
other in vertical and horizontal directions. The rotor is driven by a
matical models based on the principle and axioms of mechanics.
gas turbine (8) and the shaft angular velocity is obtained by using
Results show a significant increase of the rotor-bearing system
an incremental encoder (7) mounted at the end of the shaft before
damping factor. In contrast to [15], the main contribution of this
the flexible coupling (6) as shown in Fig. 1(b). The test rig has been
paper is to obtain a design tool based on a mathematical model
previously shown [14,16].
anchored to physical laws instead of experimental identification
procedures. Using this general tool a simple controller is designed 2.1. Gas journal bearing
The actively lubricated gas journal bearing consists of three main

parts, as it is illustrated in Fig. 2; an aluminium housing 1, a bronze
sleeve 2, and four adjustable injectors subsystems 3. One of these
injection subsystems is presented in detail in Fig. 3(a) and (b). The
piezoactuator 5 pushes the plastic pin 6 in the direction of the gas
bearing centre. The piezoactuator is not capable of pulling the pin
back, therefore a Belleville washer 7 is used. An O-ring seal is used to
ensure that the pressurized air escapes only through the orifice, and
a metallic structure 4 is used to support the whole actuation system.
The orifices have a diameter of 2 mm and each of the injection ori-
fices is fed by pressurized air from a compressed air network with a
maximum supply pressure of P sup ¼ 8 bar. A detailed view of the
injection zone is presented in Fig. 3(c), where it can be seen that the
vertical movement of the plastic pin pushed by the piezoactuator is
capable to change the distance d, closing the area of injection, hence
reducing the injected air flow. The initial distance d is set to 45 μm
for the four injectors. The main properties of the gas bearing and the
piezoactuators are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Fig. 1. Test rig – (a) Flexible shaft and disc dimensions in mm, with the position of 3. Multiphysics modelling–linking tribology, dynamics and
the two bearings and displacement sensors and nodes used for the FEM modelling:
control
node o – ball bearing, node i – gas bearing and node n – rigid disc. (b) Picture of the
test rig. 1 – disc; 2 – eddy current displacement sensors 3 – active gas bearing; 4 –
flexible shaft; 5 - ball bearing; 6 – flexible coupling; 7 – incremental encoder; 8 – For the mathematical model of the rotor-bearing system, a
gas turbine; 9 - supply flow valve. finite element method (FEM) approach is followed [17]. The rotor
Fig. 2. Gas bearing system – (a) photo of the hybrid gas bearing; (b) scheme illustrating the hybrid gas bearing and its main components: aluminium housing 1, bronze
sleeve 2, and adjustable injectors 3.
F.G. Pierart, I.F. Santos / Tribology International 96 (2016) 237–246 239
Table 1 where i indicates the node where the active gas bearing is placed
Main properties of the adjustable and n the node where the rigid disc is placed (see Fig. 1(a)). u is the
gas bearing.
input voltage applied to the piezoelectric actuator. Eq. (1) can be
Properties Values written in a general form as presented in
€ ΩGqðtÞ
MqðtÞ _ þ KqðtÞ ¼ Fðq; q;
_ uÞ ð2Þ
Bearing length (L) 40 mm where the vertical (fx) and horizontal (fy) fluid forces are defined
Nominal clearance (h0) 25 μm as:
Orifices radius (r0) 1 mm
f x ðqi ; q_ i ; qi þ 1 ; q_ i þ 1 ; uÞ ¼ ∬A p cos θ dA ð3Þ
f y ðqi ; q_ i ; qi þ 1 ; q_ i þ 1 ; uÞ ¼ ∬A p sin θ dA ð4Þ

Table 2
In Eqs. (3) and (4) the pressure p comes from solving the (REWRI)
Main properties of piezoactuator type P-841.3B.
presented
Properties Values " # " #
3 3
∂ ph ∂p ∂ ph ∂p ∂ ∂ðphÞ
þ ¼ 6U ðphÞ þ 12 þ12p V inj ðy; z; tÞ ð5Þ
Open/close loop travel 45 μm ∂y μ ∂y ∂z μ ∂z ∂y ∂t
Maximum voltage applied (uT) 10 V
Pushing force up to 1000 N where μ is the air viscosity, h the fluid film thickness and U the
Pulling force 50 N shaft linear velocity. In order to include the effect of the active
Unloaded resonant frequency 10 kHz 7 10% gas lubrication, the term 12p V inj ðy; z; tÞ is added. For simplicity,
Length 68 mm
the injection is defined by a perfectly developed air flow as
shown in Fig. 4 and described with a parabolic profile accord-
is modelled as a flexible shaft using 17 elements and 18 nodes, ing to Hagen–Poeiseuille formula as shown in Eq. (6). Other
each node has four degrees of freedom (dof), where the first and type of models could be used to describe the injection [19]

second dof are related with horizontal and vertical movements 1 Δpðy; z; tÞ h 2 i
V inj ðy; z; tÞ ¼ C d r 0 r 2j ð6Þ
and the third and forth with the angular movement. In this case 4μ Δx
structural damping is neglected. The disc is considered a rigid
element, whose dynamics are incorporated into the model by where r 0 is the injector orifice radius defined in Table 1 and r j is
adding mass and inertia to the respective node (node n). The ball the radial position inside the injector orifice. In order to
bearing is a SKF self-aligning ball bearing, placed in node o, it is compensate the differences between the real and the ideal
modelled as a linear spring with constant stiffness k ¼ 109 N=m, parabolic flow a discharge coefficient C d is included. The correct
this value is assumed as a large number compared to the stiffness determination of this coefficient is a critical and crucial issue in
of the gas bearing [18]. The gas bearing is placed in node i, as a order to obtain accurate results. The C d coefficient is obtained
linear forcing elements acting on the rotor. Superimposing the from the comparison between the injection mass flow rate
mass M, stiffness K and gyroscopic G matrices of each element of coming from the REWRI model and from a model obtained
the shaft, one arrives at the global system of equations of the rotor, using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approach. The
as shown in Eq. (1). determination of this coefficient and its experimental valida-
tion using the described approach are presented by Pierart and
Santos [16]. The coefficient C d is strongly dependent on two strangulation produced by piezoactuator movements. The dis-
main parameters: (i) the bearing gap expressed as a function of charge coefficient can be represented as
the journal position described by q i and qi þ 1 , and (ii) the air C d ¼ Fðqi ; qi þ 1 ; uÞ ð7Þ
passage dimension (d) which is directly affected by the input
voltage of the piezoactuator (u). It is important to highlight For the piezoelectrically controlled injection system and the
that Cd is also used to define the losses due to the flow geometries used in this manuscript, C d can be expressed as
[20]:
C d ¼ Fðqi ; qi þ 1 ; uÞ ¼ p00 þ p10 ðδ=DÞ þ p01 ðu=uT Þ þp20 ðδ=DÞ2
þ p11 ðδ=DÞðu=uT Þ þ p30 ðδ=DÞ3 þ p21 ðδ=DÞ2 ðu=uT Þ ð8Þ
where:
p00 ¼ 4:5 10 5 p21 ¼ 2:1 10 9 p01 ¼ 4:5 10 5
p30 ¼ 4:4 10 12 p10 ¼ 1:8 10 7 p11 ¼ 1:6 10 7
p20 ¼ 2:0 10 9
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
and δ ¼ q2i þ q2i þ 1 . To solve Eq. (5), it is necessary firstly to
obtain the C d coefficient using Eq. (8), for an initial position of
the rotor (q i, qi þ 1 ) and a constant value of the input voltage
from the piezoelectric actuator (u). Using that initial coeffi-
cient, Eq. (5) is solved and the pressure distribution (p) is
Fig. 3. Gas bearing injection system – (a) photo of the main parts of the adjustable
calculated. The fluid forces are obtained by solving Eqs. (3) and
gas bearing injection system ; (b) schematic view of the assembling of the main (4) and the initial equilibrium position is found. Using this
parts of the adjustable gas bearing injection system, piezoactuator 5, plastic pin 6, initial equilibrium position, the C d coefficient is recalculated
Belleville washer 7, and aluminium support 4; (c) Detailed view of the plastic pin numerically using Newton–Raphson iterations, until converge
interaction with the rotor.
is reached. Eq. (1) can be written in state space form, leading to
the following equation:
" # " #
_
qðtÞ 0 I qðtÞ
¼ _
€
qðtÞ M K M ΩG
1 1
qðtÞ
|fflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflffl} |fflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl} |fflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflffl}
_
zðtÞ R zðtÞ
" #
0
þ 1 _ uÞ
M Fðq; q;
|fflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflfflffl}
Q ðzðtÞ;uðtÞÞ
_ ¼ RzðtÞ þ Q ðzðtÞ; uðtÞÞ
zðtÞ ð9Þ
where the matrix R describes the dynamics of the rotating
flexible elements (shaft, disc) and Q ðzðtÞ; uðtÞÞ the bearing
dynamics. It is important to highlight that for passive conven-
tional gas bearing Q ðzðtÞ; uðtÞÞ becomes simply Q ðzðtÞÞ. For
controllable gas bearings the dependency of Q on the input
signals u cannot be neglected. In general equation (9) can be
written as a non-linear function f, as shown in Eq. (10).
_ ¼ f ðzðtÞ; uðtÞÞ
zðtÞ ð10Þ
In the present work a linearized solution of the non-linear
equation (10) is employed. The linearization is made, upon the
understanding of the limitations imposed by the underlying
Fig. 4. Velocity profile assumption for the inlet air injection [8].
Fig. 5. Time response to an impulsive force – (a) Without runout subtraction. (b) With runout subtraction.
Fig. 6. Theoretical versus experimental results for different rotor angular velocities – (a) natural frequencies, (b) damping factors.
Fig. 7. Force versus voltage of the piezoactuator – experimental results shown for rotor angular velocity equal to 0 rpm; theoretical results shown for rotor angular velocity
from 2 to 5 krpm.
Fig. 8. Damping factor for different values of proportional gain for a constant angular velocity equal to 2000 rpm, theoretical and experimental results – (a) Backward mode.
(b) Forward mode.
Fig. 9. Natural frequencies for different values of proportional gain for a constant angular velocity equal to 2000 rpm, theoretical and experimental results – (a) Backward
mode. (b) Forward mode.
assumptions. It is assumed that the state variables zðtÞ and the In the same manner, the system of equations which defines the
input function uðtÞ are close to stationary variables z0 and u0 : outputs is
zðtÞ ¼ z0 þ ΔzðtÞ ð11Þ ΔyðtÞ ¼ CΔzðtÞ ð19Þ
uðtÞ ¼ u0 þ ΔuðtÞ ð12Þ where C is defined as:

" #
01ððn 1Þn4Þ 1 0 0 0
It is also assumed that the function f is differentiable to the first C¼ ð20Þ
order in time, it is reasonable to expand f into a Taylor series 01ððn 1Þn4Þ 0 1 0 0
2N n4n2
about the nominal values, where all terms of order higher than
where the two non-zero terms are related with the two
one are discarded, the series expansion will be:
measured outputs: the vertical and horizontal positions, as
∂fðz0 ; u0 Þ ∂fðz0 ; u0 Þ shown in Fig. 1(b). The goal of the controller is to increase the
_ ¼ z_ 0 þ ΔzðtÞ
zðtÞ _ ffifðz0 ; u0 Þ þ ΔzðtÞ þ ΔuðtÞ
∂z
|fflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflffl} ∂u
|fflfflfflfflfflffl{zfflfflfflfflfflffl} damping of the system in the simplest manner. In order to do
A B that a proportional (P) controller is selected. The proportional
ð13Þ controller algorithm is

where A and B matrices are named the system and the control ΔuðtÞ ¼ K p ϵ ΔyðtÞ ¼ K p eðtÞ ð21Þ
matrix respectively. Combining Eqs. (9), (10) and (13) A and B
where K p is the proportional gain and eðtÞ is the error or
can be written as shown in Eqs. (14) and (15)
difference between the desire ϵ ¼ ðϵz0 ; ϵy0 Þ ¼ ð0; 0Þ and real
∂ð RzðtÞÞ ∂ðQ ðzðtÞ; uðtÞÞÞ values of the disc position ΔyðtÞ ¼ ðqn þ 1 , qn þ 2 ). A first order
A¼ þ ð14Þ
∂z ∂z low-pass filter is used in order to reduce the influence of the
The first term in Eq. (14) is related with the rotordynamics and measurement noise. The controller algorithm in Laplace
the second with the bearing dynamics. The same is done with domain can be written as:
the matrix B, where the first term related with the rotordy-
N
namics is not dependent on the input voltage, so the derivative ΔuðsÞ ¼ K p eðsÞ ð22Þ
1 þ N=s
term is equal to zero and the second term defines the actuator
dynamics. where N ¼ 10 000 Hz is the low pass filter cut-off frequency.
4. Results
Solving Eq. (15) and considering that the vector uðtÞ is defined
In order to experimentally validate the results, it is necessary to
by two elements: the input voltage in horizontal direction (u y)
analyze the accuracy of the rotor-bearing model, the actuators
and the input voltage in vertical direction (uz ), it is possible to
model and the controlled system model. These validations are
describe the matrix B
done in terms of the natural frequencies and damping factors of
0 the rotor-bearing system.
B¼ ð16Þ
M 1 Bn
where: 4.1. Description of the experiments
2 3
0ðði 1Þn4Þ1 0ðði 1Þn4Þ1 The natural frequencies and damping factors of the rotor-
6 7
6 Bxx Bxy 7 bearing system associated with the first two mode shapes (for-
Bn ¼ 6
6
7
7 ð17Þ
4 Byx Byy 5 ward and backward) are identified using a grey-box modelling.
0ðNn4 ði 1Þn4 sÞ1 0ðNn4 ði 1Þn4 sÞ1 This method consists in propose a model with known structure
N n4s
(mass-spring-damper model), but unknown parameters (four
The Bn matrix size is N n4 2 where N is the total amount of mass coefficients, four damping coefficients and four stiffness
nodes and s the number of outputs in this case two: the coefficients). Identification of these parameters is found using a
displacement in vertical and horizontal directions. This formu- prediction error method (PEM). A complete description of this
lation leads to the linearized system of equations: method can be found in the literature [15,20,21]. Vertical and
ΔzðtÞ
_ ¼ AΔzðtÞ þ BΔuðtÞ ð18Þ horizontal impact excitations (impulses) are used as input to the
grey box model and the lateral vibrations of the rotor measured in
Fig. 10. Impulsive response of the rotor measured in the rotating disc, in time domain – (a) Theoretical results; (b) Experimental results. Gray: passive lubrication, black:
active lubrication.
the disc position in vertical and horizontal direction as output. The forward) are illustrated in Fig. 6(a) and (b) respectively. The nat-
lateral vibration signals need to be pre-processed to eliminate the ural frequencies and damping factors are theoretically and
influence of the disc surface run-out imperfections and unbalance. experimentally obtained for different values of the rotor angular
An initial signal data set is collected at the same angular velocity of velocity (2, 3, 4 and 5 krpm) and for a constant external injection
the respective experiment, but without any external excitation. pressure equal to 7 bar. The position of the piezoactuator is set in
Such a signal data set is subtracted from the signal with impacts the middle of their range (5 V of input voltage). Due to the
using a trigger based on the encoder angle. The signals without asymmetry of the system, forward and backward modes can be
and with run-out compensation are presented in Fig. 5(a) and excited using impacts in vertical and horizontal directions (sepa-
(b) respectively. rately) as can be seen later in Fig. 11. Comparison between theo-
retical and experimental models shows: – A very good accuracy for
4.2. Validation of the rotor-bearing system theoretical model natural frequencies with discrepancies below 5% and – Acceptable
discrepancies for damping factors with differences below 50% (this
Natural frequencies and damping factors of the rotor-bearing is considered acceptable due to the difficulty to obtained an
system associated with the first two modes shapes (backward and accurate determination of damping factors for a low damped
Fig. 11. Impulsive response of the rotor measured in the rotating disc, in frequency domain – (a) Theoretical results; (b) Experimental results. Gray: passive lubrication,
black: active lubrication.
system). The validation of these parameters for other operational measured. External static loads on the rotor are applied by means
conditions are studied by Pierart and Santos [16]. of passive magnets, leading to changes in the journal equilibrium
position. By varying the input signal uðtÞ in the actuators, active
4.3. Validation of the actuator model forces are generated repositioning the rotor into the original
equilibrium position Δy0 . The static test is repeated with several
According to Eq. (13) the actuator response is modelled as values of static loads and the input voltage is recorded. In this way
linear and it is defined by the components of matrix Bn . To study the four coefficients of Bn matrix (Bxx ; Bxy ; Byx ; Byy ) can be experi-
the accuracy of the actuator theoretical model, the matrix Bn is mentally obtained. These results are compared with the theore-
obtained experimentally using a quasi-static test. For a given tical results for cases of 2–5 krpm as it is illustrated in Fig. 7.
condition (P sup ¼ 7 bar, angular velocity Ω ¼ 0 Hz and input vol- Results show a good agreement and is easily seen that the direct
tage ux ¼ uy ¼ 5 V), the disc position (ΔyðtÞ ¼ ½qn þ 1 ; qn þ 2 ) is terms are significantly higher than the cross terms. The slope of
Fig. 12. Experimental system response in time domain for K p ¼ 2 105 V=m, Case A – left hand side: displacement of the disc, right hand side: zoomed view.
Fig. 13. Theoretical frequency response in horizontal direction for Fig. 14. Experimental frequency response in horizontal direction for
K p ¼ 0 105 V=m, K p ¼ 0:5 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:0 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:5 105 V=m K p ¼ 0 105 V=m, K p ¼ 0:5 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:0 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:5 105 V=m
and K p ¼ 2:0 105 V=m. and K p ¼ 2:0 105 V=m.
each curve represent the different coefficients of Bn matrix, as it is time response, is theoretically as well as experimentally shown,
illustrated in Fig. 5, the angular velocity does not affect sig- with and without controller. For all the illustrated cases the jour-
nificantly the slope and consequently the Bn matrix is considered nal angular velocity is kept equal to 2000 rpm. From the com-
independent of this parameter. The coefficient values of the matrix parison of Fig. 10(a) and (b) in the passive case (no control), it can
are: Bxx ¼ 17 N=m, Bxy ¼ 1:5 N=m, Byx ¼ 0:39 N=m, Byy ¼ 13 N=m. be seen that theoretical results are slightly less damped than
experimental ones. Both results show modulations in the transient
4.4. Control design validation vibration responses due to the presence of two natural frequencies
close to each other, as can be more clearly seen in the frequency
The goal of the controller is to increase the damping factor of domain in Fig. 11(a) and (b). In the theoretical results the mod-
the rotor-bearing system. For this reason, the damping factor ulations are more clear to see than in the experimental results for
associated to the first two mode shapes is evaluated in terms of two main reasons: – The noise present in the experiments and –
the proportional gain used in the controller. This is depicted in The system obtained experimentally is more damped and the
Fig. 8. The influence of the proportional gain in the first two nat- response amplitude is smaller (see zoomed view in Fig. 10(b)). For
ural frequencies of the system is also assessed, see Fig. 9. Fig. 8 the active case (Control K p ¼ 1:5 105 V=m) it can be seen in
(a) and (b) shows how the system modes become more damped experimental and theoretical results a clear and strong reduction
for higher values of proportional gain. On the other hand if the of the vibration compare with the passive case. Although there are
proportional gain is reduced, the system becomes unstable. These differences in the prediction of the damping factor, the model is
figures show also the accuracy of the theoretical model when able to mimic the dynamic behavior of the system quite well and
compared with the experimental results. This increase in damping the model-based controller correctly increases the damping factor
is produced by using a proportional gain which produces a soft- of the system as designed. In Fig. 8, it is shown that the theoretical
ening of the gas film (changes in the mass flow rate that allow a model predicts an unstable system when the proportional gain is
softer response), allowing higher dissipation of energy due to gas negative. In order to validate this case, the experimental response
film squeeze effect. When the system becomes softer, the stiffness of the system in time domain is obtained as shown in Fig. 12,
of the system is reduced and as well as the natural frequency, as where K p ¼ 2 105 V=m. As expected, with this value of pro-
can be seen in Fig. 9. This figure also shows a very good agreement portional gain, the system becomes unstable. In Fig. 12 it is pos-
between the results coming from the theoretical model and the sible to see that the response shows and exponential increase in
results experimentally obtained. In Fig. 10(a) and (b), the time the level of vibrations until the actuator saturation is reached. In
response to an impulsive force is theoretically and experimentally order to see the controller action in a more detailed manner, the
presented, respectively. In these figures the time response is system frequency response is obtained via an impulsive force
shown for the system without controller (open loop) and with theoretically as well as experimentally for four different propor-
controller (K p ¼ 1:5 105 V=m). In Fig. 11(a) and (b) the frequency tional gains (K p ¼ 0:5 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:0 105 V=m, K p ¼ 1:5
response, for the same impulse force as the one applied for the 105 V=m and K p ¼ 2:0 105 V=m). The theoretical and
experimental responses in the horizontal direction are illustrated References

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Active lubrication applied to radial gas journal bearings. Part 2: Modelling
92 improvement and experimental validation
Appendix D
Lateral vibration control of
a exible overcritical rotor
via an active gas bearing
theoretical and
experimental comparisons
Lateral vibration control of a flexible overcritical rotor via an active gas
bearing – theoretical and experimental comparisons
Fabian G. Pierarta , Ilmar F. Santosa,∗

a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
Abstract
The lack of damping of radial gas bearings leads to high vibration levels of a rotor supported by this type
of bearing when crossing resonant areas. This is even more relevant for flexible rotors, as studied in this
work. In order to reduce these high vibration levels, an active gas bearing is proposed. The control action
of this active bearing is selected based on two different strategies: a simple proportional integral derivative
controller and an optimal controller. Both controllers are designed based on a theoretical model previously
presented [1]. The dynamics of the flexible rotor are modelled aided by the finite element method and the
rotor-fluid interaction in the gas bearing is included using the solution of a modified version of the Reynolds
equation for compressible fluids, taking into account the piezoelectrically-controlled jet action. Performance
and accuracy of both model-based controllers are compared against experimental results, showing good
agreement. Theoretical and experimental results show a significant increase in the damping ratio of the
system, enabling the flexible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds and up to 12,000 rpm, i.e. 50 %
over the second critical speed without any instability problems.
Keywords: Active gas bearing, control design, over-critical speed, hybrid lubrication
1. Introduction
The unique characteristics of gas lubricated bearings such as high precision and low friction make them
a good solution for high-speed applications. However, it is not always possible to take advantage of such
good characteristics. The low damping common to this type of bearing makes it dangerous to run the rotor,
supported by these bearings, close to and across the critical speeds and often leads to a reduced stability
range [2, 3, 4]. Externally pressurized or hybrid gas bearings have been presented as a configuration able
to improve some of the most common problems of gas bearings. Using this type of bearing helps to avoid
wear for low angular velocities, a desirable property for start-up and shut-down operations [4]. It has also
been demonstrated that hybrid gas bearings with high external injection pressure increase both the stable
operational range and the carrying capacity [5, 6]. Nevertheless, external pressurization does not compensate
the lack of damping of the system and in some cases even decreases it [7, 8]. For this reason, hybrid gas
bearings with a constant level of injection pressure cannot guarantee a safe crossing of the critical speed.
This is especially relevant for flexible rotors, where one or more critical speeds have to be crossed to reach
operational conditions. A combination of gas bearing and mechatronic devices is presented as an efficient
and smart way to improve damping characteristics and stabilize the system. As a result of the mentioned
combination, the concept of active gas bearing emerged.
Most of the investigations regarding active gas bearing have been focused on experimental results and
model-free controllers. The idea of an active gas bearing was originally presented in 1992 by Horikawa and
Shimokohbe [9]. They presented a tilting pad bearing actively controlled by using piezoelectric actuators.
∗ Correspondingauthor
Email addresses: fpvas@mek.dtu.dk (Fabian G. Pierart), ifs@mek.dtu.dk (Ilmar F. Santos)
Preprint submitted to Sound and Vibrations April 14, 2016

Their results show how the fluid film thickness profile is experimentally modified and how the rotor position
is controlled. Ten years later, Qiu et al. [10] examined the dynamic behaviour of a rotor-bearing system using
also a tilting-pad gas bearing with embedded piezoelectric actuators. They implemented a PID controller
and showed how the self-excited vibration can be effectively suppressed when the control gains are properly
tuned. Al bender and collaborators [11, 12] presented an active thrust bearing where the air film thickness
modified by affecting the bearing surface using piezoactuators acting on the periphery of the bearing plate.
In the present work, the lateral vibrations are controlled using hybrid lubrication where the aero-static
external radial injection is controlled using piezoactuators. One of the first studies related with hybrid active
gas bearings was presented in 1994 by Mizumoto et al. [13]. Piezoactuators were used in a thrust and a radial
hybrid gas bearing. These actuators were used as inherent restrictors controlling the injected pressure jet.
Their results show that the vibration levels are effectively reduced. Morosi and Santos [14] implemented a PD
controller on a rotor-active hybrid gas bearing system. The control gains were tuned based on experimental
waterfall diagrams. The authors demonstrated that the controller was able to effectively reduce the lateral
vibrations.
In 2014, Theisen et al. [15, 16] identified a reduced model for a rotor-bearing system presented by Morosi
and Santos [17]. They used the well-known grey box identification tools, where an equivalent reduced model
was identified and used as a control design tool, bypassing the necessity of obtaining more sophisticated
mathematical models based on the principles and axioms of mechanics. Results show a significant increase
in the damping ratio of the rotor-bearing system. Theisen et al. presented in 2015 [18] a H∞ control design.
They used the experimentally identified model [15] as a design tool. By using this control, the first two
critical speeds of the system were crossed. However, due to the large number of parameters which may
vary in the physical system it is slow and expensive to rely solely on experimentation to gain the necessary
information to design the controllers. It becomes extremely desirable to apply analytical techniques.
Morosi and Santos [19] proposed a theoretical model based on a modified form of the compressible
Reynolds equation coupled with a dynamic model of the piezoelectric injection system. Using the above
mentioned model, the authors theoretically designed a PD control for a two degrees of freedom system,
showing that it is possible to reduce the synchronous vibration components and also increase the stability
range of the bearing. In 2015, Pierart and Santos [1] improved and extended the model proposed by Morosi
and Santos[19] and used it to design a simple proportional controller with the purpose of demonstrating
theoretically and experimentally that the mentioned controller could increase the damping of the flexible
rotor-bearing system for a low angular velocities range, i.e. under-critical operational conditions (2,000 to
5,000 rpm).
In the present work the same model described in [1] is used to design two different controllers with the
aim of reducing the lateral vibrations of the flexible rotor-gas bearing system while crossing the critical
speeds. It is also sought to prove theoretically and experimentally the efficiency of the model in a wide
range of angular velocities (0-12,000 rpm), i.e. overcritical operational conditions. Finally, the present study
seeks to compare the outcomes using two different controller approaches; a proportional integral derivative
(PID) controller and an optimal state feedback controller (SF). In such a framework the main contribution
of this paper is to demonstrate theoretically and experimentally the benefits of using control techniques in
a flexible rotor supported by a gas bearing and to show how these controllers allow to increase the damping
ratio of the system and enable the flexible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds.
2. Test facility
An experimental test set-up is specially designed and built for investigating the features of active gas
bearings. This test rig has been presented in previous works [17, 18, 1]. Figure 1 shows a photograph of
the test rig. The test rig is composed of a rigid disc (D) mounted at the free extreme of a flexible shaft.
To drive the rotor, a gas turbine is used (A). The turbine torque is transmitted to the rotor with the help
of a flexible coupling (E). The flexible coupling allows angular misalignment, parallel offset and even axial
motion. The shaft is supported by a SKF self-aligning ball bearing (B) and an active gas bearing (C).
2
A
B C
1
E
2 D
Figure 1: Experimental test rig - A: Gas turbine, B: ball bearing, C: active gas bearing, D: disc, E: flexible
coupling.
2.1. Gas journal bearing.

The actively lubricated gas journal bearing is composed by three main parts, as illustrated in Figure
2a: an aluminium housing 1, a bronze sleeve 2, and four adjustable injector subsystems 3. One of these
injection subsystems is presented in detail in Figure 2b. The piezoactuator 5 force the plastic pin 6 to
move the centre of the gas bearing. A Belleville spring is added to pull the pin back 7. In order to avoid
air leakages an O-ring is included in the injector and a metallic structure 4 is used to support the whole
actuation system. The length of the bearing is L = 40 mm, the bering diameter is equal to D = 40mm, the
3
1 4 Pinj
d
2
6
7
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 2: Gas bearing system - (a) scheme illustrating the hybrid gas bearing and its main components:
aluminium housing 1, bronze sleeve 2, and adjustable injectors 3; (b) schematic view of the assembling
of the main parts of the adjustable gas bearing injection system, piezoactuator 5, plastic pin 6, Belleville
washer 7, and aluminium support 4; (c) Detailed view of the plastic pin interaction with the rotor. [1].
diameter of the injectors is 2 mm, the nominal clearance between rotor and bearing is h0 = 25μm and the
maximum injection pressure is Psup = 8 bar. A detailed view of the injection zone is presented in Figure
2c. The vertical movement of the plastic pin is capable of modify the distance d and close the air injection.
The initial distance d is set to 45 μm for the four injectors.
3
Sensors. The disc lateral position is measured by two eddy current displacement probes mounted
circumferentially around the disc orthogonally to each other in vertical and horizontal direction, as shown
in Fig. 1. The rotor angular position is measured by means of an incremental encoder mounted at the end
of the shaft. The angular velocity is obtained indirectly from the encoder signal. Additionally, an impact
hammer coupled with a force transducer is used to excite and measure the external load applied to the rotor.
The external pressure is measured with a pressure transducer positioned in the inlet pressure pipeline; the
inlet mass flow rate is measured at the same location.
Actuators. Four piezoactuators are used to control the air injection into the hybrid gas bearing and
indirectly the rotor lateral vibrations. The main properties of the piezoactuators are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Main properties of piezoactuator type P-841.3B [1].
Properties Values
Open/close loop travel 45μm
Maximum voltage applied (uT ) 10 V
Pushing force up to 1, 000 N
Pulling Force 50 N
Unloaded resonant frequency 10 kHz ± 10 %
Length 68 mm
3. Mathematical model
The mathematical model has been previously presented in [1]. The most relevant definitions related to
this model are repeated in this manuscript with the aim of making it as self-contained as possible. The
finite element method (FEM) is adopted to describe the flexible rotor dynamics. The seventeen elements
discretization and the main dimensions of the rotor are depicted in Fig. 3. Each node has four degrees of
freedom (dof); the first and second dof are associated to the horizontal and the vertical movements and the
third and the fourth dof to the lateral tilting movements. The disc is considered as rigid and is included in
φ22
φ40
φ30
φ30
φ10
φ19
φ16
φ8
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
RBB RGB
500
Figure 3: Finite element model.
the model by adding mass and inertia to the node where it is placed (node 2). The ball bearing is a SKF
self-aligning ball bearing type 1200ETN9 placed in node 15; and it is included in the model as a linear spring
with constant stiffness k = 109 N/m. This value is adopted based on the assumption of that the ball bearing
is significantly stiffer than the gas bearing [20]. The gas bearing is placed in node 6 and is incorporated to
the model as a linear forcing element. A global system of equations of the rotor is found by superimposing
4
the mass M, stiffness K and gyroscopic G matrices of each element of the shaft, as seen in Eq. (1),
M1×1 q̈1 G1×1 q̇1
q̈25 −Ω q̇25
q̈26 q̇26
M72×72 q̈72 G72×72 q̇72
M q̈(t) G q̇(t)
K1×1 q1 0
funb
+ q25 = fx (q25 , q̇25 , q26 , q̇26 , ux )

q26 fy (q25 , q̇25 , q26 , q̇26 , uy )
K72×72 q72 0
K q(t) F(t) (1)
where funb is the unbalance force and ux and uy are the input voltage applied to the piezoelectric actuator.
The four piezoactuators are pairwise using a differential principle. When the signal ux is sent to the actuators
both vertical piezoactuators move at the same time, while one is opened, the other is closed. Eq. (1) can
be rewritten as presented in Eq. (2).
Mq̈(t) − ΩGq̇(t) + Kq(t) = F(q, q̇, u) (2)
where the vertical (fz ) and horizontal (fy ) components of the fluid forces are defined as:

fx (q25 , q̇25 , q26 , q̇26 , ux ) = p cos θ dA (3)
A

fy (q25 , q̇25 , q26 , q̇26 , uy ) = p sin θ dA (4)
A
In Eqs. (3) and (4) the pressure p is obtained by solving the modified version of Reynolds equation presented
in Eq. (5),
∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ph3 ∂p ∂ ∂(ph)
+ = 6U (ph) + 12 + 12pVinj (y, z, t) (5)
∂y μ ∂y ∂z μ ∂z ∂y ∂t
where μ is the air viscosity, h the fluid film thickness and U the shaft linear velocity. In order to include the
effect of the active gas lubrication, the term 12pVinj (y, z, t) is added. For simplicity, the injection is defined
by a perfectly developed air flow described according to Hagen-Poeiseuille formula as depicted in Eq. (6).
This formulation is chosen among several types of models which can describe the injection flow [21].

1 Δp(y, z, t)
Vinj (y, z, t) = −Cd r 0 2 − rj 2 (6)
4μ Δx
Where, r0 is the injector orifice radius and rj is the radial position inside the injector orifice. In order
to compensate the differences between the real and the ideal parabolic flow a discharge coefficient Cd is
included. Determination of this coefficient using CFD analysis and an experimental validation in terms of
static and dynamic properties is presented by Pierart and Santos [22, 23]. In these studies it has been found
that the coefficient Cd is strongly dependent on: i) the journal position described by q25 and q26 , ii) the
5
input voltage of the piezoactuator (ux and uy ) and the supply pressure Psup which in this study is kept
constant. In general terms, the discharge coefficient can be represented as shown in Eq. (7).
Cd = F(q25 , q26 , ux , uy ) (7)
For an easier control implementation, Eq. (1) can be written in state space form, as shown in Eq. 8:

q̇(t) 0 I q(t) 0
=− +
q̈(t) M−1 K −M−1 ΩG q̇(t) M−1 F(q, q̇, u)

ż(t) R z(t) Q(z(t),u(t))
ż(t) = −Rz(t) + Q(z(t), u(t)) (8)

where the matrix R describes the dynamics of the rotating flexible elements (shaft, disc) and Q(z(t), u(t))
the bearing dynamics. In general, Eq.(8) can be written as a non-linear function f , as shown in Eq. (9).
ż(t) = f (z(t), u(t)) (9)
In the present work, a linearized approach is employed in order to solve Eq. (9). It is assumed that the
state variables z(t) and the input function u(t) are close to stationary variables z0 and u0 , as shown in Eq.
(11):
z(t) = z0 + Δz(t) (10)

u(t) = u0 + Δu(t) (11)
It is also assumed that the function f is differentiable to the first order in time, thus it is reasonable to expand
f into a Taylor series about the nominal values, where all terms of order higher than one are discarded; the
series expansion is defined as:
∂f (z0 , u0 ) ∂f (z0 , u0 )
ż(t) = ż0 + Δż(t) ∼
= f (z0 , u0 ) + Δz(t) + Δu(t) (12)
∂z

∂u

A B
where A and B matrices are named the system and the control matrix, respectively. Combining Eqs. (8),
(9) and (12) A and B can be written as shown in Eqs. (13) and (14).
∂(−Rz(t)) ∂(Q(z(t), u(t)))

A= + (13)
∂z ∂z
The first term in Eq. (13) is related to the rotordynamics and the second one is related to the bearing
dynamics. The same concept is applied to matrix B where the first term related to the rotordynamics is
not dependent on the input voltage, so the derivative term is equal to zero and the second term defines the
actuator dynamics:
*0

∂(−Rz(t)) ∂(Q(z(t), u(t)))
B= + (14)
∂u ∂u
Solving Eq. (14) and considering that the vector u(t) is defined by two elements, i.e. the input voltage in
the horizontal direction (uy ) and the input voltage in the vertical direction (ux ), it is possible to describe
the matrix B as shown in Eqs. (15) and (16):

0
B= −1 ∗ (15)
M B
6
⎡ ⎤
024×1 024×1
⎢ Bxx Bxy ⎥
B =⎢
∗
⎣ Byx
⎥ (16)
Byy ⎦
046×1 046×1 72×2
This formulation leads to the linearised system of equations:
Δż(t) = AΔz(t) + BΔu(t) (17)
In the same manner, the system of equations which provides the outputs is defined by Eq. (18)
Δy(t) = CΔz(t), (18)
where C is defined as:

C= 02×4 I2 02×138 2×144
(19)
The two non-zero terms are related to the two measured outputs: the vertical and horizontal positions, as
shown in Figure 1.
3.1. Control design

In order to increase the damping of the system and allow the rotor to cross safely over the critical speeds,
two different model-based control designs are proposed. A proportional integral derivative (PID) control
and a state feedback control with observer and integral action (SF).
A unique operational condition has to be selected in order to linearize the system as defined in Eq.
11. The conditions selected are: rotor angular velocity equal to 8,000 rpm (value selected between the two
critical speeds), external injection pressure equal to 4 bar and input voltage equal to 5 bar for the four
actuators. For a faster and easier implementation, the linearized model defined in Eqs. (17) and (18) is
reduced using a pseudo-modal reduction [24], where only the first 8 eigenvalues are kept.
3.1.1. PID control

The applied voltage u(t) presented in Eq. 2 is obtained using a PID controller in a decoupled manner
for vertical and horizontal direction as shown in Eq. (20)
t
ux Kpx e(t) + Kix e(t)dt + Kdx de
u(t) = = 0t dt
(20)
uy Kpy e(t) + Kiy 0
e(t)dt + Kdy de
dt
where Kpx and Kpy are the vertical and horizontal proportional gains, Kdx and Kdy are the vertical and
horizontal derivative gains, Kix and Kiy are the vertical and horizontal integral gains and e the error between
the measured displacement and a reference. The choice of the controller gains depends on the goal of the
controller. In this case, the goal is to increase the damping of the system.
The effect of varying the PID-gains on the eigenvalues of the system is investigated by using a root
locus. The root locus is presented in Figure 4 for the first two roots of the system. In Figure 4, the poles
related to the first mode (backward) and second mode (forward) are highlighted using a triangle and square
respectively. In the bottom part of the plot, the effect of the gains in the first pole is illustrated more clearly,
using blue arrows. In the top part of the plot the same is done for the second pole. The proportional gain
Kp = Kpx = Kpy is varied in the range Kp =[0 to −4 × 106 ] [V/m] and the derivative gain Kd = Kdx = Kdy
in the range Kd =[0 to 250] [Vs/m]. Damping ratio lines are added to the plot to illustrate how the gains
affect this parameter.
Results show how an increase in the proportional gain (Kp ) makes the system in general softer (smaller
imaginary part) and more stable (higher damping ratio). Nevertheless, when the proportional gain is too
high, the first root of the system becomes less stable (smaller damping ratio). The derivative gain (Kd )
produces a more stable system for the two roots. The combination of values for Kd and Kp is tuned to
obtain a more stable response, taking into account the saturation limit of the actuators. The chosen values
7
1500
Initial (Backward) 0.085 0.04
0.19 0.13
Initial (Forward) 0.26
1000 Kp increase Kd increase
0.38
0.54
500
0.8
0
Imag(λ)
0.8 Kp increase
-500
0.54
0.38
Kd increase
-1000 0.26
0.19
0.13 0.085 0.04
-1500
-450 -400 -350 -300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0
Real(λ)
Figure 4: Real and imaginary part of the first four eigenvalues of the system.
are: Kdx = 10 [Vs/m], Kpx = −0.18 × 106 [V/m], Kdy = 20 [Vs/m] and Kpy = −0.34 × 106 [V/m]. The
integral gain is tuned aided by the model. Different values were tested to find which one produces the faster
restore of the signal to a given reference. The selected integral gains are Ki x = Kiy = −7 × 102 [V/ms].
Finally, for experimental implementation the controller action u(t) is transformed to discrete form using
zero order hold transformation with a sampling time Ts = 0.2 [ms], leading to the discrete voltage u(k) .
3.1.2. State feedback control

The available model allows for more intelligent and efficient designs. One of these possible options is the
design of an optimal state feedback controller with integral action. Since the full state information z(t) is not
measured, an observer is designed to give an estimation of the states ẑ, given the displacement measurements
of the second node. The controller design is made in discrete domain for an easier implementation. A
sampling time Ts = 0.2 [ms] is used. The system defined in Eqs. (17) and (18) is written in discrete domain,
as shown in Eqs. (21) and (22).
z(k+1) = Fz(k) + Gu(k) (21)
y(k) = Cz(k) (22)
The block diagram of the state feedback with integral controller and observer is presented in Fig. 5, where
K is the feedback gain, L the observer gain and Ki the integral gain. The entire set of equations for the
system can be written as follows:
zi(k+1) = r − Cz(k) (23)
ẑ(k+1) = Fẑ(k) + Gu(k) + LC(z(k) − ẑ(k) ) (24)
u(k) = −Kẑ(k) + Ki zi(k) (25)
The system of equations presented from Eqs. (21) to (25) can be written in state space form, where the state
vector h(k) and the overall system matrix Fat are defined as shown in Eqs. (26) and (27). This procedure
8
ee(k) zi(k)
r u(k) y(k)
−1
+ Z Ki
+
- - Plant
ŷ(k)
Observer -+
ẑk
Figure 5: Block diagram of the discrete state feedback with integral controller and observer.
is better explained in [25].

h(k) = [z(k) , zi(k) , ee(k) ]T (26)
⎡ ⎤
F − GK GKi GK
Fat =⎣ −C I 0 ⎦ (27)
0 0 F − LC
From Eq. (27), it is possible to deduce that the overall set of eigenvalues consists of the union of the
eigenvalues of the feedback integral controller and the observer eigenvalues. In other words, both eigenvalues
are independent of each other. This is often called the separation principle [25]. The feedback gain K and
the integral gain Ki are designed using the Matlab command “dlqr”, which returns the optimal controller
gain assuming a linear plant, quadratic cost function and reference r equal to zero. The method uses two
different weight matrices: R1 and R2 . These matrices balance the relative importance of the state variables
and control effort, respectively. For a more detailed explanation of the method, see the reference [25]. In
this case, due to the interest in setting a more damped response of the first two critical speeds, the first two
diagonal terms in the matrix R1 (Eq. (28)) are set as the highest values, and the two last diagonal terms
corresponding to the importance given by the control to the integral action, are defined as less important
with smaller values. R2 is defined in Eq. (29), with the same importance for error as the two outputs.
⎡ ⎤
3900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
⎢ 0 2500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
R1 = ⎢ ⎢ 0
⎥
⎥ (28)
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥⎥
⎢
⎢ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 0 ⎦
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25

1 0
R2 = (29)
0 1
The observer gain L is found using the pole placement method, ensuring that the observer poles are faster
than the controller poles. In this case, the observer poles are chosen to be at least 10 times faster. The
poles of the observer are: [0.304 0.303 0.305 0.306 0.31 0.33 0.34 0.35]. It is important to highlight that the
separation principle can be applied when the model is able to predict perfectly the system behaviour. For
9
any real case, the model is only an approximation of the system, thus the observer and controller eigenvalues
are not completely independent.
4. Theoretical and experimental results

The dynamics of the noncontrolled as well as the performance of the actively controlled flexible rotor-
bearing system are now theoretically and experimentally analyzed.
As mentioned, the goal of the controllers is to increase the damping of the system in order to cross
safely the critical speeds. This goal has to be achieved in a simple manner in order to have a useful tool
for industrial applications. In order to avoid a new control design for every angular velocity, the controller
is designed for the system linearized around only one angular velocity (8,000 rpm) and then applied to the
system for the entire range of angular velocities from 0 rpm to 12,000 rpm. Therefore, it is very important
to evaluate the control performance for different angular velocities. The conditions studied are: no rotating,
under-critical speed conditions, critical speed conditions and overcritical speed conditions.
In the first case, no rotation, the theoretical and experimental system response to an impulsive force is
obtained in open loop (no control) and closed loop (using the PID controller and the optimal controller).
These results are transformed to the frequency domain and shown in figures 6a and 6b respectively. In the
experimental case, the rotor is excited in the vertical and horizontal directions using an impact hammer
with plastic head. Figures 6a and 6b show the frequency response function in open-loop with red colour
and in close-loop with green for the SF control and blue for the PID control. Theoretical and experimental
results show a similar behaviour. In relation with the open-loop case, the main difference is that when a
horizontal impulsive force is experimentally applied both modes, backward and forward, are excited while in
the theoretical results only the backward mode is excited. The forward mode is the less damped mode, so it
is normally more easily excited than the backward mode. For the close-loop response presented in Figures
6a and 6b, it is possible to see that both control strategies effectively and significantly increase the damping
of the system.
For the rotating cases, the results are divided in under-critical and over-critical speed conditions. In the
first case the response due to the residual mass unbalance is obtained at 7,000 rpm. The selection of this
velocity is made because this is the highest velocity which can be reached without control action. In figures
7a and 7b the theoretical and experimental unbalance responses are shown in the time domain. In both
figures the first half of the time signal shows the disc lateral vibration without controller and the second half
with a controller. In the upper part of the figure, the system response using a PID controller is illustrated
while in the lower part the system response using an SF controller is shown. Theoretical and experimental
results show a similar and significant reduction (more than 50 %) in the vibration amplitude using both
control strategies. Figures 8a and 8b present the input voltage signals applied to the actuators to obtain the
responses shown in figures 7a and 7b. Experimentally the voltage is slightly higher than theoretically for
the SF controller and almost the double for the PID controller. This is explained because in this range of
angular velocities (close to the critical speed), any small change in velocity leads to significant changes in the
other parameters, i.e. input voltage and rotor vibration amplitude. It can also be seen that the actuation
power required for both control strategies is similar, being slightly higher for the PID controller. This is
expected due to the fact that the SF controller is an optimal controller and consider the amount of energy
(control effort) in the control design phase.
For the analysis of the system using control techniques in over-critical speed conditions, the time and
frequency response due to the residual mass unbalance is obtained theoretically and experimentally. In
figure 9a and 9b, the theoretical and experimental unbalance responses in time domain are shown for rotor
angular velocities from 1,000 rpm to 11,000. The response without the controller is depicted with a black
colour, while the responses using the SF and PID control are shown using dark and light grey, respectively.
For a better visualization of the results shown in Figure 9a the oscillation lines due to the unbalance are
omitted and only the maximum and minimum values of such oscillations are seen. Moreover, a horizontal
line is included to show the vibration level of the rotor necessary to hit the bearings wall (displacement
limit).
In figure 9a the critical speed range (between 7,000 and 8,000 rpm) is clearly seen and how the rotor vibration
10
Amplitude [μm/N]
0.1
No control
0.08 SF control
Vertical
PID control
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency [Hz]
Amplitude [μm/N]
0.1
No control
0.08
Horizontal
SF control
PID control
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency [Hz]
(a) Theoretical vertical and horizontal frequency response to an impulsive force.

Amplitude [μm/N]
0.1
No control
0.08 SF control
Vertical
PID control
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency [Hz]
Amplitude [μm/N]
0.1
No control
0.08
Horizontal
SF control
PID control
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency [Hz]
(b) Experimental vertical and horizontal frequency response to an impulsive force.
Figure 6: Frequency response for a rotor angular velocity equal to 0 rpm.
11
Displacement [μm]
20
No control
10 PID control
0
-10
-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
Displacement [μm]
20
No control
10 SF control
0
-10
-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
(a) Vertical displacement due to unbalance

Displacement [μm]
20
No control
10 PID control
0
-10
-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
Displacement [μm]
20
No control
10 SF control
0
-10
-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
(b) Input voltage applied to the actuators for the cases shown in figure 7a.
Figure 7: Theoretical comparison of two different control strategies Displacement and voltage at 7,000 rpm
in time domain.
12
Input voltage [V]
5
No control
PID control
0
-5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
Input voltage [V]
5
No control
SF control
0
-5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
(a) Vertical displacement due to unbalance

Input voltage [V]
5
No control
PID control
0
-5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
Input voltage [V]
5
No control
SF control
0
-5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time [s]
(b) Input voltage applied to the actuators for the cases shown in figure 8a.
Figure 8: Experimental comparison of two different control strategies - a) Displacement and b) voltage at
7,000 rpm in time domain.
13
amplitude is drastically increased, exceeding the displacement limit and hence predicting a touchdown of
the rotor and bearing wall. For that reason in figure 9b the experimental response in that range is replaced
by the theoretical one.
From the theoretical results, it can be seen that both controllers predict a significant and similar decrease
in the vibrations level in the critical velocity range and a slight increase at low angular velocities. Experi-
mental results from figure 9b show that both controllers achieve their goals, and the critical speed can be
safely crossed. The controllers are able to add damping to the system and the vibration levels are lower in the
entire range of study in comparison to the case without control. However, some discrepancies can be found,
especially for the optimal controller. One important source of error is the fact that a linearisation is made
around one operational condition (angular velocity equal to 8,000 rpm) and the controllers are not able to
performance optimally as designed, when this operational condition change. Another source of discrepancy
derives from small model inaccuracies. This fact explains why the optimal controller behaves worse than
the PID controller. The SF controller requires a precise prediction of the model, while the PID is not so
dependent on the model accuracy. In figures 10 and 11 theoretical and experimental waterfall diagrams are
shown, illustrating the rotor unbalance response. Results are calculated using the system without controller
in the range of velocities 1,000 to 7,000 rpm (before the critical speed) and with a PID controller in the
range 7,000 to 11,000 rpm (during and after the critical speed). Results from figures 10 and 11 show good
agreement. The main difference between the two results is that in the experimental response the second
multiple of the synchronous vibration is visible. This is due to the misalignment in the system, which is not
incorporated in the theoretical model. Theoretical and experimental results show the advantage of using
control techniques to extend the operational range of the system, up to double in this case.
After crossing the critical speed the controller can be turned off and the response to that level of unbalance
can be evaluated. In figure 12 the experimental frequency response is shown at 11,000 rpm with and without
the controller. From the figure 12, the low damping of the system without the controller is seen. The natural
frequencies at 130 and 150 Hz are easily excited, while when the controller is activated these vibration
components disappear. This is due to the damping added to the system.
5. Conclusions
In the present study two different controllers are designed based on a theoretical model: a simple PID
controller and a more complex optimal controller that consist of a state feedback control with observer
and integral action. In spite of using a theoretical model linearized for critical conditions, both controllers
show good behaviour under the critical speeds. For these cases, a significant increase in the damping ratio
(more than 6 times) and a significant reduction of the vibration level are shown. Moreover, results show
that using both controllers it is possible to cross safely the first two critical speeds, something that is
not possible to do without using a controller. The PID controller presents a better performance in the
complete range of study than the optimal controller. The optimal controller presents an increase in the
vibration level after crossing the first two critical speeds. The theoretical predictions fit well with the
experimental results. Nevertheless, some discrepancies are found. Due to the model-based design approach
used, the inaccuracies in the theoretical model influences the optimal performance of the SF controller which
uses the theoretical model as base for building the state observer. Despite inaccuracies, the theoretical and
experimental results clearly show the efficiency of having a well-tuned multiphysics theoretical model linking
rotordynamics, aerodynamics and control as a design tool for electro-mechanical machine elements. The
advantage of applying active lubrication techniques to compensate one of the most fundamental drawbacks
of gas lubricated bearings, i.e. the lack of damping, is theoretically as well as experimentally demonstrated.
References
[1] F. G. Pierart, I. F. Santos, Active lubrication applied to radial gas journal bearings. part 2: Modelling improvement and
experimental validation, Tribology International 96 (4) (2016) 237–246. doi:doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2015.12.004.
[2] J. W. Lund, Calculation of Stiffness and Damping Properties of Gas Bearings, Journal of Lubrication Technology 90 (4)
(1968) 793.
14
25
No control
20
State feedback control
Vertical displacement [μm]
15 PID control
10 Theoretical prediction
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20 Displacement limit
-25
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Angular velocity [rpm]
(a)
25
No control
20
State feedback control
Vertical displacement [μm]
15 PID control
10 Theoretical prediction
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20 Displacement limit
-25
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000
Angular velocity [rpm]
(b)
Figure 9: Rotor unbalance response in time domain for a velocity range (1,000-11,000) rpm. Comparison of
the response without controller and using: PID controller and a state feedback controller (SF). a) Theoretical
response b) Experimental response.
15
10
Amplitude [μm]
0
700
600
500 With control
400
300
200
Time [s] 100 Without control
0
80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 10: Theoretical waterfall diagrams showing the rotor unbalance response in frequency domain, for
velocities from 1,000 rpm to 11,000 rpm; comparison of the response without controller and using a PID
controller
16
10
Amplitude [μm]
0
600
With control
500
400
300
200
100
Time [s] Without control
0
80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 11: Experimental waterfall diagrams showing the rotor unbalance response in frequency domain, for
velocities from 1,000 rpm to 11,000 rpm; comparison of the response without controller and using a PID
controller
17
6
No control
Amplitude [μm]
PID control
4
1X
2
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency (Hz)
6
No control
Amplitude [μm]
PID control
4
2 1X
0
50 100 150 200 250 300
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 12: Vertical and horizontal displacement with a PID control and without control at a rotor angular
velocity equal to 11,000 rpm.
18
[3] D. K. Pal, B. C. Majumdar, Stability analysis of externally-pressurized gas-lubricated porous bearings with journal rotation
Part 1 . Cylindrical whirl (1984) 83–91.
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, modified Reynolds equation and experimental validation, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part
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[23] F. G. Pierart, I. F. Santos, Adjustable Hybrid Gas Bearing – Influence of Pressurized Injection Flow on Damping Factors
and Natural Frequencies of a Flexible Rotor, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of
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DTU Mechanical Engineering DCAMM
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Fax (+45) 4593 1475 www.dcamm.dk
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Model-Based Control Design for Flexible

Rotors Supported by Active Gas Bearings -

Fabián Gonzalo Pierart Vásquez

Fabián Gonzalo Pierart Vásquez

Kongens Lyngby 2016

Technical University of Denmark

Gas journal bearings have been increasingly adopted in modern turbo-machinery

ties (natural frequencies and damping ratios of the rotor-bearing system) is

Gaslejer bliver benyttet i stigende grad i moderne turbomaskineri på grund af

(sølens ligevægtsposition og de resulterende aerodynamiske kræfter) og dynami-

This thesis was prepared at the department of Mechanical Engineering, Solid

Fabián Gonzalo Pierart Vásquez

The below publications were presented in international conferences.

C1 : Pierart F.G. and Santos I.F., Improvement of Dynamic Performance

of Hybrid Gas Bearings via Adjustable Lubrication. 12th EDF - Pprime

Workshop: Solutions for performance improvement and friction reduction

Workshop, 2013, Futuroscope, France.

ported by Controllable Gas Bearings Theory & Experiment. Proceedings

of the 11th International Conference on Vibrations in Rotating Machines,

2015. Presented at: 11th International Conference on Vibrations in Ro-

tating Machines, 2015, Magdeburg.

2.3 Data acquisition and signal processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Theoretical and experimental results 35

5 Conclusions and future aspects 47

A Steady state characteristics of an adjustable hybrid gas bearing

D Damping matrix [Ns/m]

X Vertical direction in Cartesian coordinate system [m]

Sub- and superscripts

gas lubricated bearings [2].

1.1 State of the art

c) Externally pressurized bearings combine the hydrodynamic and hydrostatic

1.1.1 Externally pressurized bearing studies

The correct determination and enhancement of the dynamic characteristics of

ings as a function of the bearing geometrical parameters. He showed that for

some particular geometrical characteristics the instability threshold is higher

for hybrid bearings than self-acting or hydrodynamic bearings. Whadwa et al.

ness and damping bearing coecients were determined using a perturbation

dynamically more stable than hydrodynamic gas bearings. Subsequently, au-

equation to predict these coecients.

theoretical ow-models for externally pressurized gas bearings and suggested

ow to compensate the pressure drops experimentally found. Belforte et al.[17]

presented an experimental study where correction factors are proposed in order

static and dynamic characteristics of hybrid gas bearings as a function of de-

[22]. The use of pockets was theoretically as well as experimentally studied by

1.1.2 Active gas bearings studies

1.2 Originality of the thesis

Regarding the rst paper [J1]:

In the second paper [J2]:

- Experimental validation of the improved model described in the rst paper

In the third paper [J3]:

- Model based design of a simple proportional controller using the mathematical

In the fourth and last paper [J4]:

- Model-based design of two dierent controllers using the theoretical model as a

for critical and over-critical speed conditions.

1.3 Structure of the thesis

In chapter 3, the mathematical model is described. The chapter is divided

In chapter 4, an overview of the main theoretical and experimental achievements

Finally, in the appendix, a collection of four articles is included. Three of them

2.1 Test rig description

bearing; (vi) - exible coupling; (vii) - incremental encoder; (viii)

- gas turbine; (ix) - supply ow valve.

2.1.1 Flexible rotor

main dimensions of the shaft and disc, is illustrated.

Workshop: Solutions for performance improvement and friction reduction

ness and damping bearing coecients were determined using a perturbation

equation to predict these coecients.

theoretical ow-models for externally pressurized gas bearings and suggested

ow to compensate the pressure drops experimentally found. Belforte et al.[17]

Regarding the rst paper [J1]:

- Experimental validation of the improved model described in the rst paper

- Model-based design of two dierent controllers using the theoretical model as a

bearing; (vi) - exible coupling; (vii) - incremental encoder; (viii)

- gas turbine; (ix) - supply ow valve.

in order to balance the exible rotor.

2.1.3 Gas turbine and exible coupling

2.2.3 Air injection pressure and ow

Figure 2.10: Schematic gure of the acquisition connector panel dSPACE

The lateral vibration signals need to be pre-processed to eliminate the inuence

3.1 Fluid lm and injection model

The mathematical model commonly used to describe the pressure prole in

Reynolds equation (Eq. (3.2)) is modied adding an extra term as shown in

Figure 3.3: Correction factor or discharge coecient Cd for dierent values of

3.2 Global system nite element model

conditions. The frequency response of the exible rotor-gas bearing system to