Lateral vibration control of a flexible overcritical rotor via an active gas bearing – Theoretical and experimental comparisons

The lack of damping of radial gas bearings leads to high vibration levels of a rotor supported by this type of bearing when crossing resonant areas. This is even more relevant for flexible rotors, as studied in this work. In order to reduce these high vibration levels, an active gas bearing is proposed. The control action of this active bearing is selected based on two different strategies: a simple proportional integral derivative controller and an optimal controller. Both controllers are designed based on a theoretical model previously presented. The dynamics of the flexible rotor are modelled aided by the finite element method and the rotor–fluid interaction in the gas bearing is included using the solution of a modified version of the Reynolds equation for compressible fluids, taking into account the piezoelectrically controlled jet action. Performance and accuracy of both model-based controllers are compared against experimental results, showing good agreement. Theoretical and experimental results show a significant increase in the damping ratio of the system, enabling the flexible rotor to run safely across the critical speeds and up to 12,000rev/min, i.e. 50 percent over the second critical speed without any instability problems.