Automatic Design Optimization of Rotors Supported on Tilting Pad Bearings

This study considers the optimization of a rotor supported on bearings using an automatic design approach. A finite element approach is used to model the rotor-bearing system and the dynamic speed-dependent coefficients of the bearing are calculated using a bulk flow code. A numerical example of a rotor-bearing system is employed to demonstrate the merits of the present design approach. A few geometric characteristics of the rotor together with the parameters defining the configuration of tilting pad bearing are considered as design variables into the automatic optimization process. The power loss in bearings, stability criteria, and unbalance responses are defined as a set of objective functions and constraints. The complex design optimization problem is solved using heuristic optimization algorithms, such as genetic, and particle-swarm optimization. Whereas both algorithms found better design solutions than the initial design, the genetic algorithms exhibited the fastest convergence. The high performance of the best solution obtained in the optimization design suggests that the proposed approach has good potential for improving design of rotor-bearing systems encountered in industrial applications.