Rotordynamic Stability Effects of Shrouded Centrifugal Impellers With Combined Whirl and Precession

Abstract

Whirling (translational) and precession (tilt) motion of the shrouded centrifugal impeller are possible vibration sources that can cause rotordynamic instability problems. Whirling motion of shrouded impellers and seals has been investigated by test and theory in the literature. However, there has been little study of the effects of coupled motion of whirling and precession of a centrifugal impeller on rotordynamic forces and moments using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In the present study, the CFD approach for calculating the moment coefficients of the precessing impeller is developed and verified by comparison with the measured data for a precessing centrifugal compressor by Yoshida et al. (1996, “Measurement of the Flow in the Backshroud/Casing Clearance of a Precessing Centrifugal Impeller,” Sixth International Symposium on Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery, Honolulu, Hawaii, Vol. 2, pp. 151–160). A full set (4 × 4) of rotordynamic coefficient matrices is calculated, using two separate models of (a) a precessing impeller with a tilt angle and (b) a whirling impeller with dynamic eccentricity to investigate the stability of the impeller. Rotordynamic stability is evaluated by using the whirl frequency ratio of the coupled motion, obtained from the full rotordynamic coefficient matrices, to show that the precession motion has a significant impact on rotordynamic stability. A similar conclusion is reached based on the whirling plus precession response of a finite element (FE) structural rotordynamic model including the 4 × 4 rotordynamic coefficient matrices. A stability analysis using the rotordynamic coefficients indicates that the precession motion with the positive tilt angle increases the tendency toward destabilization of the rotor.