This paper concerns the investigation of validity limits of linear models in predicting rotor trajectory inside the bearing clearance for a rigid symmetric rotor supported by two identical journal bearings operating at high eccentricities. The inherent nonlinearity of hydrodynamic journal bearings becomes strong for eccentricities grater than 60% of the bearing clearance where most existing linear models are not able to accurately predict the rotor trajectory. The usefulness of nonlinear journal-bearing impedance description method in this investigation is due to the analytical formulations of the linearised bearing coefficients, and the analytical nonlinear bearing models. These analytically derived bearing coefficients do not require any numerical differentiation (or integration) and are therefore more accurate for large eccentricities. The analytically derived nonlinear bearing models markedly decrease the simulation time while valid for all L/D (length to diameter ratios) and all eccentricities. The results contained in this paper show that linear models derived from the nonlinear impedance descriptions of the Moes-cavitated (pi-film) finite-length bearing can predict the steady-state imbalance response of a symmetric rigid rotor supported by two identical journal bearings at high eccentricities. This is, however, only the case when operating conditions are below the threshold speed of instability and when the system has period-one solutions. The error will become larger closer to the resonance speed.
