A new approach for uncoupling the equations of motion typical for rotordyna
mical systems is presented. The method does not neglect the speed-dependent
effects, such as gyroscopic effects, and can be particularly valuable in t
he controller design of actively controlled rotors. In the presence of hyst
eretic type of damping, the resulting uncoupled gyroscopic systems come wit
h an equivalent viscous damping, equivalent in a sense of yielding the same
natural frequency and decay rate. The approach is illustrated through thre
e examples of technical interest: a Jeffcott rotor with hysteretic damping,
a Stodola-Green rotor, and a rotor of a small gas turbine. The generated r
esults demonstrate that the developed approach is correct and straightforwa
rd. (C) 2001 Academic Press.