Study on the Effect Mechanism of MRD to Rotor System

Abstract

Magnetorheological damper (MRD), a semi-active control device, has the stability of the passive control device and the adaptive ability of the active control device. It is considered to be an ideal replacement for the squeeze film damper (SFD) and has been extensively investigated. However, the effect mechanism of MRD to a rotor system is still unclear, which will influence the structural design and control strategy of MRD. This paper aims to propose a general MRD excitation model for a rotor system and discover the effect mechanism. First, the effects of current and eccentricity on mechanical properties of MRD are studied in detail and approaches suppressing the vibration amplitude of a rotor system are put forward. Then, a general model considering MRD, ball bearing and squirrel cage is proposed. Based on the finite element method, the dynamic equations of a rotor-bearing-squirrel cage system with MRD and mass imbalance are presented. Finally, the influences of MRD on the dynamic characteristics of the rotor system are investigated, and the effect mechanism is discovered. In addition, the nonlinearity which is not desirable as it causes fluctuating stresses in the main components of the rotor system and eventually leads to their failure due to fatigue, are observed. The changes of damping and stiffness of MRD can alter the damping performance of MRD and the suitable range of current forms the zone of effective damping, which lays helpful guidance for the design and application of the MRD.

Keywords

• MRD
• semi-active control
• rotor system
• dynamic behavior