Modelling of rotors with three-dimensional solid finite elements

2001 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Nandi ◽  
S Neogy

A shaft is modelled using three-dimensional solid finite elements. The shear-deformation and rotary inertia effects are automatically included through the three-dimensional elasticity formulation. The formulation allows warping of plane cross-sections and takes care of gyroscopic effect. Unlike a beam element model, the present model allows the actual rotor geometry to be modelled. Shafts with complicated geometry can be modelled provided that the shaft cross-section has two axes of symmetry with equal or unequal second moment of areas. The acceleration of a point on the shaft is determined in inertial and rotating frames. It is found that the finite element formulation becomes much simpler in a rotating frame of reference that rotates about the centre-line of the bearings with an angular velocity equal to the shafts spin speed. The finite element formulation in the above frame is ideally suited to non-circular shafts with solid or hollow, prismatic or tapered sections and continuous or abrupt change in cross-sections. The shaft and the disc can be modelled using the same types of element and this makes it possible to take into account the flexibility of the disc. The formulation also allows edge cracks to be modelled. A two-dimensional model of shaft disc systems executing synchronous whirl on isotropic bearings is presented. The application of the two-dimensional formulation is limited but it reduces the number of degrees of freedom. The three-dimensional solid and two-dimensional plane stress finite element models are extensively validated using standard available results.

Author(s):  
Laura Galuppi ◽  
Gianni Royer-Carfagni

Prandtl's membrane analogy for the torsion problem of prismatic homogeneous bars is extended to multi-material cross sections. The linear elastic problem is governed by the same equations describing the deformation of an inflated membrane, differently tensioned in regions that correspond to the domains hosting different materials in the bar cross section, in a way proportional to the inverse of the material shear modulus. Multi-connected cross sections correspond to materials with vanishing stiffness inside the holes, implying infinite tension in the corresponding portions of the membrane. To define the interface constrains that allow to apply such a state of prestress to the membrane, a physical apparatus is proposed, which can be numerically modelled with a two-dimensional mesh implementable in commercial finite-element model codes. This approach presents noteworthy advantages with respect to the three-dimensional modelling of the twisted bar.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Oh ◽  
Alan Palazzolo ◽  
Lingnan Hu

Abstract Although rotors are simplified to be axisymmetric in rotordynamic models, many rotors in the industry are actually non-axisymmetric. Several authors have proposed methods using 3D finite element, rotordynamic models, but more efficient approaches for handling a large number of degrees-of-freedom (DOF) are needed. This task becomes particularly acute when considering parametric excitation that results from asymmetry in the rotating frame. This paper presents an efficient rotordynamic stability approach for non-axisymmetric rotor-bearing systems with complex shapes using three-dimensional solid finite elements. The 10-node quadratic tetrahedron element is used for the finite element formulation of the rotor. A rotor-bearing system, matrix differential equation is derived in the rotor-fixed coordinate system. The system matrices are reduced by using Guyan reduction. The current study utilizes the Floquet theory to determine the stability of solutions for parametrically excited rotor-bearing systems. Computational efficiency is improved by discretization and parallelization, taking advantage of the discretized monodromy matrix of Hsu's method. The method is verified by an analytical model with the Routh–Hurwitz stability criteria, and by direct time-transient, numerical integration for large order models. The proposed and Hill's methods are compared with respect to accuracy and computational efficiency, and the results indicate the limitations of Hill's method when applied to 3D solid rotor-bearing systems. A parametric investigation is performed for an asymmetric Root's blower type shaft, varying bearing asymmetry and bearing damping.


Author(s):  
Kaliappan Jayabal ◽  
Andreas Menzel

Hybrid finite element formulations in combination with Voronoi-cell-based discretisation methods can efficiently be used to model the behaviour of polycrystalline materials. Randomly generated three-dimensional Voronoi polygonal elements with varying numbers of surfaces and corners in general better approximate the geometry of polycrystalline microor rather grain-structures than the standard tetrahedral and hexahedral finite elements. In this work, the application of a polygonal finite element formulation to three-dimensional elastomechanical problems is elaborated with special emphasis on the numerical implementation of the method and the construction of the element stiffness matrix. A specific property of Voronoi-based discretisations in combination with a hybrid finite element approach is investigated. The applicability of the framework established is demonstrated by means of representative numerical examples.


Author(s):  
Yi Jia ◽  
Reinaldo E. Madeira ◽  
Frederick Just-Agosto

This paper presents the formulation of a finite element model and vibration frequency analysis of a fluid filled pipe having variable cross sections. The finite element method with consideration of Coriolis force developed in [1] was adopted for frequency analysis of a pipe in this study. The stiffness matrix, the c-matrix (Coriolis force) and mass (for dynamic analysis) matrix that contain all parameters of the fluids properties and flow conditions have been developed. The numerical model was employed to simulate the dynamic performance of the piping system with the specific configurations for an application. A critical relationship between the natural frequencies and pipe geometry has been established. The results of frequencies analysis of the piping system gave us an insight whether a resonance frequency might occur.


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