Influence of Multiphysical Effects on the Dynamics of the High Speed Mini Rotors—Part II: Results

In Part I of this work, a theoretical analysis showed that the surrounding air in the closed confinement between rotor and casing has a significant effect on the dynamic behavior of high speed minirotors. In order to validate the developed theoretical model, an experimental setup is designed and the dynamic behavior of the rotor with medium gap confinement is studied. The experimental setup has flexible supports, which consist of beams with adjustable length. The support stiffness is changed by altering the beam length. Modal analysis of the rotor is done in free-free conditions in order to test the capability of the rotordynamic model without the supports and multiphysical effects. The experimental and simulation results agree well with a difference of 1%. Then modal analysis of the whole structure is done at standstill and during operation in the absence of the casing. In this way, multiphysical effects are eliminated and only support effects on the dynamics of the structure are observed. The supports appear to have significant effect on the natural frequencies of the flexural modes of the system. Different support modeling techniques are studied and adequate equivalent models are obtained. These models are then implemented into the structural model of the rotor. Finally, multiphysical effects are tested at different speeds with different support stiffnesses. Experiments are performed with and without the casing for determining the change in the natural frequencies and onset of instability. The surrounding fluid has a significant effect on the stability of the system while the natural frequencies do not change significantly. The experimental and theoretical results are in fair agreement for predicting the natural frequencies and the onset of instability.