The influence of torsion on rotor/stator contact in rotating machinery

The phenomenon of contact between a rotor and its stator, known as rub, has long been recognized as a serious cause of failure in rotating machinery. The analysis of rub is particularly complex, due to non-linear and often chaotic behaviour. Numerical simulation is the preferred method of analysis and, due to improvements in digital computing in recent years, it has become possible to analyze ever-more complex numerical models.:To this end, the analysis of rotor/stator contact has seen a corresponding increase in the amount of research invested in it. One aspect of the dynamics involved with the occurrence of rub that has not been investigated until now, is that of the effects of torsion. In the literature, steady state analysis is limited to lateral movement: this paper includes torsional effects in a rotor/stater contact model and highlights the importance of its inclusion by way of a numerical example having realistic physical parameters. (C) 1999 Academic Press.