On the Control of Synchronous Vibration in Rotor/Magnetic Bearing Systems Involving Auxiliary Bearing Contact

During the normal operation of rotor/magnetic bearing systems, contacts with auxiliary bearings or bushes are avoided. However, auxiliary bearings are required under abnormal conditions and in malfunctions situations to prevent contact between the rotor and stator laminations. Studies in the open literature deal largely with rotor drop and the requirements of auxiliary bearing design parameters for safe run-down. Rotor drop occurs when the rotor is de-levitated and no further means of magnetic bearing control is available. This paper considers the case when full control is still available and rotor/auxiliary bearing contact has been induced by an abnormal operating condition or temporary fault. It is demonstrated that events leading to contact from a linearly stable rotor orbit can drive the rotor into a non-linear vibratory motion involving persistent contacts. Furthermore, the phase of the measured vibration response may be changed to such an extent that synchronous controllers designed to minimize rotor vibration amplitudes will worsen the rotor response, resulting in higher contact forces. A modified controller design is proposed and demonstrated to be capable of returning a rotor from a contacting to a non-contacting state.