Effect of radial internal clearance of a ball, bearing on the dynamics of a balanced horizontal rotor

The response of a balanced horizontal rigid motor rotor supported by a deep groove ball bearing is theoretically simulated. The effect of radial inter nal clearance of the ball bearing on the dynamic response of the rotor is s tudied. The system equations have been numerically integrated, the results of which have been validated with harmonic balance alternating frequency ti me domain method. Variation of radial internal clearance shifts the peak re sponse as the speed is changed over a range. The results of a parametric st udy done by taking radial internal clearance have resulted in the observati on of a third region of instability which has not been reported in literatu re. The appearance of regions of periodic, subharmonic and chaotic behavior is seen to be strongly dependent on the radial internal clearance. The sys tem response is analyzed for stability and nature with the help of Floquets method for stability analysis and generation of higher order Poincare maps . The bearing stiffness is estimated experimentally and the effect of varia tion in radial internal clearance on the bearing stiffness is studied. (C) 2000 Academic Press.