Experimental Vibration and Monitoring Analysis of High-Speed Turbomachinery using a Rotor Test Rig

This work presents the development of a rotor test rig specially devised to analyze different rotor-bearing systems running at several operating conditions. The test rig allows testing single and two disk rotors of different lengths supported on oil lubricated journal bearings. Experimental setup includes a rotational speed controller, which is achieved by a frequency inverter and a conventional electrical motor, accelerometers mounted on the bearing caps and a frequency analyzer. Frequency spectra of different rotor configurations are taken through many rotating tests. Cascade plots of some rotor configurations during run-up and coast-down tests show important dynamic characteristics of rotor-bearing systems in function of the rotating speed. A discussion about the analysis and monitoring procedures on the early design stages of rotor-bearing systems is also presented in this work.