Stability Boundary of Non-Linear Orbits Within Clearance Circle of Journal Bearings

The transient, nonlinear study of journal bearing stability requires tracking the locus of the shaft center as a function of time. It is shown that there exists a boundary within the bearing clearance circle outside of which any initial condition would yield an unstable orbit. This is shown to be the case for operating speeds that are well below the threshold of instability according to the linearized stability analysis.