Nonlinear phenomena, bifurcations, and routes to chaos in an asymmetrically supported rotor-stator contact system

Abstract The efficiency of rotating machines can be improved via precisely manufactured bearings with reduced clearances; consequently, the proclivity for rotor–stator contact is increased. A common model used to investigate rotor–stator contact in previous studies is the two degree-of-freedom (DOF) rotor with symmetric support stiffness, where the contact assumes a linear elastic normal restoring force proportional to the rotor–stator interference and a tangential dry Coulomb friction force. Switching between the contacting and non-contacting states creates strong nonlinearity in the equations of motion, and the dynamic response displays a rich profile of behaviors including periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic responses via period-doubling, sudden transitions, quasiperiodicity, and intermittency. For the first time, this work emphasizes an asymmetric support stiffness matrix with cross-coupling between the x and y direction stiffnesses. The influence of support asymmetry on the nonlinear rotor response is shown using rotor orbits, frequency spectra, Poincare sections, and bifurcation diagrams. It is found that the cross-coupling stiffness coefficient kxy has negligible effect on the dynamic response until its magnitude is on the same order as the direct stiffness coefficients. Direct stiffness coefficient asymmetry is shown to affect the rotor׳s response, where even small asymmetries can qualitatively change the response. Additionally, the importance of including gravity is investigated, and a method is provided for determining the threshold shaft speed above which gravity can be ignored. The dominant route to chaos is period-doubling for the parameters considered here, though other routes to chaos are seen such as a direct transition from periodic to chaotic motion. Finally, observations pertaining to rotor modeling, design, and fault diagnostics are discussed.