971

Vibration analysis of rotors for the identication of

shaft misalignment
Part 1: theoretical analysis

P N Saavedra* and D E Ram rez

Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile

Abstract: Shaft misalignment in machinery causes preload forces to be generated in couplings, which
are then transmitted to the different machine components, thus reducing their lifetime. Shaft
misalignment is a major cause of vibration in machines. Based on tests on coupling stiffness, a new
coupling nite element stiffness matrix has been deduced. This has been used in the nite element
analysis of a two-rotor system connected by a exible coupling, to calculate the mechanical vibration
resulting from mixed angular and parallel shaft misalignments with residual unbalance. The
calculated vibration spectra were determined for two exible couplings: a three-pin Renold coupling
and a three-jaw Lovejoy coupling. The results and analysis indicate that the vibration generated by
shaft misalignment is caused by the variation in coupling stiffness on rotation, and that the forcing
frequencies generated are harmonics of the shafts speed and directly depend on the frequency of the
variation in coupling stiffness. In addition, the amplitudes of the measured vibratory components
were found to rely directly upon the frequency response function that is related to the coupling and
measurement points.

Keywords: rotor vibration analysis, coupling misalignment, condition monitoring

NOTATION F0 hypothetical radial force applied at point

B of the coupling
A rst node of the coupling element, as a FFT fast Fourier transform
superscript indicating that it is relative to FRFij frequency response function between
node A nodes i and j in the specied degrees of
B second node of the coupling element, as a freedom
superscript indicating that it is relative to Gd gyroscopic matrix of the disc element
node B Ka axial coupling stiffness coefcient
C central point of the coupling Kfx x-direction exural coupling stiffness
Cb damping matrix of the bearing element coefcient
dm hypothetical xed displacement imposed Kfy y-direction exural coupling stiffness
on the coupling due to misalignment coefcient
dc nodal displacements vector for the Ki any of the stiffness coefcients of the
coupling element coupling
di displacement vector of node i of the nite Kt measured transverse stiffness coefcient of
element system the coupling
d0B misalignment vector measured on node B Ktx x-direction transverse coupling stiffness
of the coupling coefcient
Fp hypothetical preload force generated on Kty y-direction transverse coupling stiffness
the coupling as a result of misalignment coefcient
K0 hypothetical calculated radial coupling
stiffness
Kb stiffness matrix of the bearing element
The MS was received on 11 September 2003 and was accepted after Kc stiffness matrix of the coupling element
revision for publication on 20 May 2004.
* Corresponding author: Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, Kcl lower half of the coupling stiffness
Concepcion, Correo 3, Chile. E-mail: psaavedr@udec.cl matrix
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KcL coupling stiffness matrix with the upper dy parallel misalignment in the y direction
half elements equal to zero measured with respect to the centre of the
Kcu upper half of the coupling stiffness matrix coupling
KcU coupling stiffness matrix with the lower dyB parallel misalignment in the y direction as
half elements equal to zero measured at node B of the coupling
Ks stiffness matrix of the shaft element dz axial misalignment in the z direction
L length of the coupling measured between Dy0 hypothetical radial displacement at point
nodes A and B B of the coupling due to a radial force F0
MX bending moment on the coupling about yix rotation of node i about the x axis
the x axis yiy rotation of node i about the y axis
MY bending moment on the coupling about j hypothetical misalignment angle
the y axis measured at the centre of the coupling
Mc mass matrix of the coupling element jx angular misalignment about the x axis
Mcl lower half of the coupling mass matrix jy angular misalignment about the y axis
Mcu upper half of the coupling mass matrix O rotational speed of the rotor system
Md mass matrix of the disc element
Ms mass matrix of the shaft element
n natural number 1, 2, 3, . . .
N number of identical geometric elements 1 INTRODUCTION
that shape a exible coupling
PX transverse force on the coupling in the x In all industries around the world, maintenance
direction strategies are changing from periodic inspection strate-
PY transverse force on the coupling in the y gies to condition-based predictive maintenance strate-
direction gies. Condition monitoring can improve the availability
PZ transverse force on the coupling in the z of machinery by being able to pinpoint and diagnose
direction problems at an early stage while the machinery is
Pb forcing vector on the bearing element working. This process avoids off-line inspections with
Pc forcing vector for the coupling element consequent loss of production and reduces unplanned
P cmisal loads generated by the misalignment on down time. Vibration analysis is certainly one of the
the coupling most powerful methods in current use in machinery
Pd forcing vector on the disc element diagnosis.
Ps forcing vector on the shaft element However, there is a lack of research on the ultimate
R point on the circumference of the coupling objective of diagnostic techniques, which is the determi-
that acts as a reference for the tachometer nation of reliable vibratory indicators to differentiate
and in the measurement of a between problems that exhibit similar frequency spectra
T transmitted torque on the coupling and waveform vibrations. Examples are shaft misalign-
ui displacement of node i on the x axis ment and cracked shafts. The importance of discrimi-
vi displacement of node i on the y axis nating between these problems can be seen in that, in the
wi displacement of node i on the z axis rst case, the machinery must be stopped as soon as
X1 Y1 Z1 reference system 1, where the z axis is possible to avoid a catastrophic failure and, in the
coincident with the rotational axis of second case, the machinery can usually wait for the next
rotor 1 scheduled maintenance period. Thus, to develop a
X2 Y2 Z2 reference system 2, where the z axis is reliable diagnosis, a thorough understanding of the
coincident with the rotational axis of physics of the problem and its effect on machine
rotor 2 vibration is necessary. The work presented in this paper
describes theoretical and experimental work on the
a rotation angle of the coupling measured vibration behaviour of coupled rotors with exible
between R and the horizontal plane ZX couplings.
aN parameter of Newmarks numerical Shaft misalignment is one of the most common causes
integration of vibration in rotating machinery. Shaft misalignment
dN parameter of Newmarks numerical is dened as the deviation of the shaft position relative
integration to a collinear axis of rotation measured at the points of
dx parallel misalignment in the x direction power transmission between two machines. There are
measured with respect to the centre of the two basic types of shaft misalignment: parallel and
coupling angular [1]. A combination of parallel and angular
dxB parallel misalignment in the x direction as misalignment in the vertical and horizontal directions is
measured at node B of the coupling the most common found in industry. Shaft misalignment
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 VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF ROTORS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SHAFT MISALIGNMENT. PART 1
generates additional loads on bearings, seals, shafts and
couplings, so decreasing their operating lives, and, when
it is excessive, shaft misalignment can induce early
failure, such as oil leakage at the bearing seals, loosening
foundation and coupling bolts, and shaft breakages
occurring at or close to the inboard bearing [1]. Because
of the above, ideally, it is desired to maintain perfect
alignment of the driving and driven shafts. However,
this is not possible in practical applications because,
even if perfect alignment is achieved initially, it cannot
be maintained over an extended period of time as shafts
can change their position when rotating equipment
starts. The most common causes of this movement are
temperature changes arising in the machinery casing due
to friction in the bearings, or from thermal changes that
occur in the process liquids and gases, or from reaction
forces and couples in attached piping.
Flexible couplings must be used to compensate for the
negative effects generated by unavoidable misalignment.
Flexible couplings join two anges of the rotating
equipment, while permitting some degree of misalign-
ment or end movement (or both). There are three basic
types of exible coupling: mechanical, elastomeric and
metallic. The mechanical element type generally obtains
exibility from loose-tting parts, or from the rolling or
sliding of mating surfaces, e.g. a gear coupling. The
elastomeric element type obtains exibility from stretch-
ing or compressing a resilient material, e.g. a jaw
coupling. The metallic element type obtains exibility
from the exing of thin metallic discs or diaphragms,
e.g. diaphragm couplings.
Although the use of exible couplings helps to
overcome the negative effects of misalignment, they
are not a cure for severe alignment problems. It is still
absolutely necessary to count on precise diagnostic tools
for early detection of this problem, and for evaluation if
corrective actions are needed. So far, only a few
researchers have paid attention to shaft misalignment,
due to the complexity in modelling the phenomenon.
According to Al-Hussain and Redmond [2], there is
much discussion in industry regarding the interpretation
of vibration signals caused by misalignment in
machines, but there is not enough academic research
that explains this phenomenon in a simple way.
Dewell and Mitchell [3] determined that the expected
vibration frequencies for a misaligned metallic-disc
exible coupling containing four bolts were multiples
of four times the shafts speed (called the
4 6 component), with side bands at the shafts speed
(called the 1 6 component), when the forcing frequency
was equal to the shafts speed (due to unbalance), and
that the expected vibration frequencies were multiples of
twice the shafts speed (called the 2 6 component) when
the forcing frequency was twice the shafts speed (due to
an oval shaft, or from Hookes joint effect). Further,
they concluded from experiments that the 2 6 and
4 6 components exhibited the largest changes, and
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that the 1 6 component did not change as the degree
of misalignment increased.
Xu and Marangoni presented a theoretical model of a
motor with a exible coupling rotor for describing the
mechanical vibration resulting from angular misalign-
ment [4, 5]. To take the effect of misalignment into
account, they assumed that the exible coupling
behaved exactly as a universal joint, and they concluded
that misalignment can be characterized by a
2 6 component. However, the effects of misalignment
were not always apparent, since the forcing frequency
(assumed to be twice the shafts speed) of the misalign-
ment was not close enough to one of the systems
natural frequencies to excite the system appreciably. In
this case, the misalignment can be hidden and so does
not show up in the vibration spectrum.
Sekhar and Prabhu [6] proposed a theoretical model
of a rotor-bearing system using higher-order nite
elements. They assumed that the imbalance force had
a 1 6 and 2 6 components and, using this assumption,
they observed an increase in these frequencies with
increasing misalignment. The effect of parallel misalign-
ment on the lateral and torsional responses of two
Jeffcott rotors connected by a rigid mechanical coupling
was analysed by Al-Hussain and Redmond [2]. They
concluded that, in the steady state regime, only the
1 6 component was present in the vibratory response.
This study did not provide any evidence for the presence
of second- or higher-order harmonic responses, which is
a characteristic commonly observed in misaligned
rotating shaft systems.
Simon [7] and Bachschmid et al. [8] modelled the
effect of misalignment by introducing an equivalent
system of external forces and couples. When rigid
coupling halves were forced together by bolting, the
rotation of the shaft produced a rotating pair of forces
arising from the radial offset or parallel misalignment,
and a rotational pair of bending moments arising from
the angular misalignment. The rotational frequencies of
these pairs were equal to the shafts speed.
In several practical or eld studies, shaft misalignment
has been reported to show up in the frequency domain
of the rst harmonic of the shafts rotational speed (1 6,
2 6, 3 6, . . . ). However, to the present authors
knowledge, no theoretical model or formulations are
available that describe the mechanical vibration indi-
cated above.
This work is focused on establishing a clear correla-
tion between misalignment and the vibratory symptoms
that it produces to aid machinery diagnostic engineers to
distinguish between shaft misalignment and other
problems that exhibit similar vibration symptoms (e.g.
cracked shafts, mechanical looseness and case distor-
tion) using vibration analysis. To accomplish this
objective, this paper is divided into two parts. In Part
1, a new theoretical model capable of describing the
mechanical vibration resulting from shaft misalignment
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is developed. To consider this effect, the formulation of
a nite element model for a exible coupling is
developed. The model is used to study the steady
vibration behaviour of two coupled test rotors with
misaligned shafts. In Part 2, experimental tests are
performed to conrm data from the model, and to
obtain useful vibration analysis rules for misalignment
diagnosis, which can serve as an aid to the practical
engineer. It will be seen that good agreement between
theory and experiment conrms the theoretical model
developed.
2 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM
The following qualitative analysis, using a simplied
approach, aims for an easier understanding of the basic
hypothesis on which this work is based. This is that
vibration generated by misalignment is caused by
periodic variations in the coupling stiffness while the
shaft is rotating; i.e. the origin of the vibration is of a
parametric nature. On this point, only the dependence of
the coupling stiffness on the rotation angle will be
considered. Further, its inuence on the dynamic
behaviour of the coupled rotors is discussed.
2.1 Coupling stiffness analysis
Consider an ideal jaw exible coupling composed of two
three-jaws hubs and one six-legged intermediate elasto-
meric element (a spider). As manufacturers do not
publish information on coupling stiffness and, as such,
information is vital for the vibration analysis of
misaligned rotors, a given coupling must be evaluated
on a test stand. The static transverse stiffness can be
measured as shown schematically in Fig. 1b. The
angular position of the coupling is dened by the angle
a, which is measured from a specic point R on the
circumference of the coupling; this point R acts as the
reference point for the tachometer signal, as shown in
Fig. 1a.
To measure the stiffness, one hub of the coupling is
xed A, and then a constant radial force F0 is applied
to the other hub (B), as shown in Fig. 1b. As a
consequence, a certain radial displacement is obtained
on B, denoted by Dy0 . Then, a stiffness coefcient
K0 F0 =Dy0 , associated with a 0
, can be computed.
As a varies, the relative position of the applied force
with respect to the coupling structure distribution
changes, and so Dy0 is not constant but depends on a,
as shown in Fig. 2 for two commercial couplings. By
studying Fig. 1b, it can be seen that, if the coupling
construction and assembly are perfectly symmetric, then
the same geometrical distribution will be repeated for
each successive third turn of the shaft; i.e. each 1208
a 0
or 1208 or 2408) and, in addition, Dy0 would
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P N SAAVEDRA AND D E RAMIREZ
have to repeat at the same values. Therefore, the basic
frequency of vibration and the computed stiffness K0 a
produced by a misaligned jaw coupling should be three
times the shafts speed. This is in agreement with a
similar analysis performed by Dewell and Mitchell [3]
for the moments produced by a exing disc pack on a
misaligned four-bolt metallic-disc coupling. He stated
that the moment had a periodicity of four times per
turn. Because the stiffness coefcient has a complex
periodic waveform, it is useful to translate K0 a into the
frequency domain by means of the classical Fourier
transform technique. Figure 1b shows a typical order
spectrum obtained. The spectrum in Fig. 1b contains a
36 main component (order, 3, or three times per turn)
and some secondary components at orders of 3n (where
n 2, 3, 4, . . .).
To quantify the previous qualitative analysis, several
commercial couplings were experimentally tested in a
similar way to the hypothetical case shown in Fig. 1b,
within a 1 mm maximum radial offset. The results for a
three-jaw Lovejoy coupling (sketched in Fig. 2a) are
shown in Figs 2b and c. As expected, the stiffness
coefcient spectrum shows one major 36 component,
and some secondary components at the harmonics of
36, but it also shows minor components at all orders
arising from coupling asymmetry generated by imper-
fections in manufacturing or assembly. For these test
couplings, the imperfections are small, and the symme-
try (three times per revolution) has a strong inuence on
the waveform and value of the spectral components of
the measured static stiffness coefcient Kt a. However,
other couplings that were tested showed that these
ndings cannot be generalized a priori for any given
exible coupling. Figures 2e and f show the waveform
and frequency spectrum results of tests performed on a
commercial three-pin Renold coupling (sketched in
Fig. 2d). The spectrum shows a 36 main component
but also that the 16 component has a similar
amplitude. In this case, the inuence of geometric
symmetry is not as dominant as in the earlier case. It
is important for the eld engineer to know that, in
misaligned shafts connected by a exible coupling made
up of N elements, the frequencies of the main spectral
components of the variation in coupling stiffness and, as
a consequence, in the vibration generated in the rotor,
are not always pure harmonics of the fundamental
frequency (N6 components), as has been previously
indicated by other workers.
2.2 Inuence on the dynamic response of rotors
When shaft misalignment occurs, a xed amount of
relative deformation between the coupling faces is
imposed. This permanent deformation will introduce
preload forces on both rotors, and subsequently on the
bearings and other elements of the rotors. If a exible
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 VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF ROTORS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SHAFT MISALIGNMENT. PART 1 975

Fig. 1 Measurement of coupling stiffness

coupling is used and the coupling inertia effects and
displacements other than the magnitude of misalign-
ment are momentarily rejected, the preload induced by
misalignment can be considered as an actionreaction
force system acting on both ends of the rotors in the
opposite direction with an equivalent force given by
Fp K0 dm , where dm is the xed displacement imposed
by a misalignment. This implies that, if the coupling
stiffness is constant, then the only effect of misalignment
on the rotors should be this static preload condition
which would cause no dynamic effects, as shown in
Fig. 3a. However, as stated earlier in the tested coupling
tests, the coupling stiffness is not constant but depends
on the angular position a, with a Ot, where O is the
rotational speed. This involves that the preload force Fp
also depends on a, and that it has an alternating periodic
component with the same frequency content of K0 a,
which will dynamically excite the rotors, causing
vibration. Figure 3 shows a graphical overview of this
scenario, showing both hypothetical cases of constant
coupling stiffness and periodic coupling stiffness.
The universal joint effect indicated as a major
vibration source resulting from shaft misalignment by
other workers [35] is not considered in this work for the
following reasons:
1. There is no justication to generally attribute this
effect, inherent to universal joint kinematics, to other
types of coupling.
2. The universal joint effect only considers angular
misalignment, and not parallel or combined mis-
alignment.

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3. If the rotor shaft and the motor shaft are angularly
misaligned by an angle j, then a bending moment
T sinj that acts on both the driving and driven
shaft is generated, where T denotes the transmitted
torque. Even if the effect of a universal joint was
applicable to shaft misalignment, then this effect
would be negligible compared with the forces
generated by the preload caused by misalignment
and uctuations in stiffness.
3 CONFIGURATION OF A ROTORBEARING
SYSTEM
To investigate the effect of misalignment on the
behaviour of rotor vibration, a simple but general
dynamic model system, as illustrated in Fig. 4, will be
analysed. This consists of two rotors connected by a
exible coupling. Each bearingrotor system consists of
a set of interconnecting components consisting of rigid

Fig. 2 (continued over)

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Fig. 2 Results of experimental tests on two commercial couplings

discs, shaft segments with distributed mass and elasti-
city, and two antifriction-type bearings. Thus, any
arbitrary rotor bearing system of this type can be
represented using a combination of the four types of
nite element: shaft elements, disc elements, bearing
elements and coupling elements.
The components are discretized by the nite element
scheme, as shown in Fig. 4. The numbers indicated are
the numbers of the nodes utilized. Five degrees of
freedom are considered for each node. In this case,
the displacement vectors are denoted by d i
f ui vi wi yix yiy gT , where ui , vi and wi are the
node displacements in the x-, y- and z-axis directions
respectively, and yix and yiy are the rotations about the x
and y axes respectively.
3.1 Equations of motion of the elements
Extending the work of Nelson and McVaugh [9] to
consider nite elements of ve displacements per node,
and disregarding the inuence of the transverse mass
moment of inertia and the gyroscopic effect on the shaft
element, the following equations of motion for the shaft,
disc and bearing elements are obtained. The equation of
motion for the coupling element is developed in the next
section. The mass matrix for the shaft element, Ms , the
mass matrix for the disc element, Md , the stiffness
matrix for the shaft element, Ks , the stiffness matrix for
the bearing element, Kb , the damping matrix for the
bearing element, Cb , and the gyroscopic matrix for
the disc element, Gd , have been detailed in reference [9].
The forcing terms Ps , Pd and P b include the external and

Fig. 3 Inuence of misalignment and coupling stiffness on the dynamic response

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Fig. 4 Schematic drawing of two coupled rotors and location of the nodes

the interconnection forces. No coupling between the
axial, bending and torsion modes is assumed in deriving
these matrices. In addition, torsional movement is not
considered in this analysis. The bearings are considered
to have linear behaviour and are modelled in a similar
way to that shown in reference [1]. This approximation
prevents any unnecessary complication of the analysis
and is a justied approximation for small amplitudes of
the journal motion. For the shaft element,
similar way to the calculations made by Gibbons [10].
From the work of Schwerdlin [11], and from the tests
made by the present authors, it will be inferred that, in
general, the stiffness coefcients Ki for a specic exible
coupling type depend upon the rotation angle a, the
transmitted torque T, the rotation speed O, the
misalignment displacement and the misalignment angle:
Ki Ki a, T, O, dx , dy , dz , jx , jy 4

Ms d Ks d s P s In this work, it is considered that the stiffness

s
1
coefcients only depend on the rotation angle for the
For the disc element, following reasons:
1. All the theoretical simulations and experimental tests
Md d  OGd d_ P d
d d
2
are performed under constant transmitted torque and
For the bearing element, rotational speed.
2. The experimental results published in reference [12]
Cb d_ Kb d b Pb
b
3 indicate that the changes in the coefcient of stiffness
are insignicant over the variation range of the
misalignment displacement magnitude when the
rotor is running; i.e. the stiffness coefcients will
only depend on a and Ki Ki a within the dynamic
3.2 Coupling element range of movement of the coupling.
A coupling stiffness matrix is constructed to include the
coupling element in the nite element analysis of the
dynamic behaviour of misaligned shafts. For this
purpose, we consider the coupling element as a couple
3.2.1 Stiffness matrix of coupling element
of rigid blocks, joined together by an elastic element, as
shown in Fig. 5a. The elastic element is characterized by A stiffness matrix for the coupling, shown in Fig. 6,
ve springs: three linear springs along the z axis (axial), relating the displacement vector d c to the corresponding
x axis (transverse) and y axis (transverse) respectively, force vector P c is constructed as follows. The forces and
and two bending springs in the yz plane (x-axis rotation) displacements on the coupling end nodes are related
and in the zx plane (y-axis rotation) respectively. Each through the relationship
of these ve springs has its own associated stiffness
coefcient, namely Ka , Ktx , Kty , Kfx and Kfy . As manu- L A L
PBX  Ktx uA  Ktx yy Ktx uB  Ktx yBy
facturers do not publish these stiffness coefcients, they 2 2
L A L B
must be determined by experiment. PY  Kty v Kty yx Kty v Kty yx
B A B
Figure 5b shows two coupling hubs that are 2 2
misaligned in both the parallel and the angular planes. PBZ  Ka wA Ka wB
The magnitudes of the misalignment displacements,

L A L2 L B
dx , dy and dz , and the magnitudes of the misalignment MX  Kty v Kty
B
 Kfx yA x Kty v
2 4 2
angles, jx and jy , can be computed using the values and

directions of the displacements obtained from a L2
Kty Kfx yBx
graphical plot of the reverse indicator readings in a 4

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Fig. 5 Characterization of a coupling

 1. Only small displacements are considered.

L L2 L B
MYB Ktx uA Ktx  Kfy yA
y  Ktx u 2. The x and y axes are considered to be principal
2 4 2

 stiffness axes to the bending movement, because their
L2
Ktx Kfy yBy 5 cross-stiffness coefcients are insignicant in relation
4 to their direct coefcients. Then, the relative bending
angles between the coupling anges with respect to
by considering the following assumptions: the x and y axes can be expressed by MX =Kfx and

Fig. 6 A coupling element

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MY =Kfy respectively, where M is the bending appropriate node displacement vectors must refer to the
moment at the coupling and Kf is the direct bending correct reference system that the nodes belong to. The
stiffness coefcient. nodes of the shaft, disc and bearing elements belong to
3. The coupling between the transverse, axial and the same reference system, but the coupling element has
bending displacements is considered to be insignif- one node belonging to one reference system, and
icant, then the relative shear displacement between another node belonging to the second system. Because
the coupling anges in the x and y directions can be of this, the motion equation of the coupling element
expressed by PX =Ktx and PY =Kty respectively, and [equation (8)] dened for one reference system, as shown
the axial displacement by PZ =Ka , where Ktx and Kty in Fig. 6, must be changed by coordinate transform in
are the direct shear stiffness coefcients and Ka is the such a way that the displacements for nodes A and B be
direct axial stiffness coefcient. referred to coordinate system X1 Y1 Z1 and X2 Y2 Z2
respectively.
The static equilibrium equations are
Equation (8) can be split into two subsystems:
X PX 0
PA B
Mcu d1 Kcu ad c1 P A
c
1 9
Y PY 0
PA B
c c
Ml d 2 Kl ad 2 P B2
c c
10
Z PZ 0
PA B

MXA MXB  PBY L 0 The subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the X1 Y1 Z1 and X2 Y2 Z2

coordinate systems respectively, so that fd1c g is a 1061
MYA MYB PBX L 0 6 vector displacement of the coupling with reference to the
Combining the loaddisplacement relationships and the X1 Y1 Z1 system, and fd c2 g is a 1061 vector displacement
equilibrium forces, the following static equilibrium of the coupling with reference to the X2 Y2 Z2 system.
equation for the coupling element is obtained: The subscripts u and l refer to the upper and the lower
halves respectively of the stiffness and mass 5610
Kc ad c P c 7 matrices. The vectors d c1 and d c2 contain the displace-
ments of both nodes in reference to the same system
where the coupling stiffness matrix Kc is
2 3
Ktx
6 0 Kty 7
6 7
6 0 0 Ka 7
6 7
6 0 7
2
 Kty L2 0 Kty L4 Kfx
6 7
6 Ktx L 0 0 0
2
Ktx L4 Kfy 7
6 2 7
Kc 6  Ktx 0 0 0  Ktx L2 Ktx 7
6 7
6 0  K 0 K L
0 0 Kty 7
6 ty ty 2 7
6 0 0  Ka 0 0 0 0 Ka 7
6 7
6 0  Kty L2 0
2
Kty L4  Kfx 0 0 Kty L2 0
2
Kty L4 Kfx 7
4   5
2 2
Ktx L2 0 0 0 Ktx L4  Kfy  Ktx L2 0 0 0 Ktx L4 Kfy

The equation of motion for the coupling element using and, as was indicated previously, the displacements for
the previously dened stiffness matrix is node A must be referred to the X1 Y1 Z1 system, and the
displacements for node B must be referred to the
Mc d Kc ad c Pc
c
8 X2 Y2 Z2 system. For this purpose, the vectors d c1 and
d c2 are split in half; i.e. d c1 fd A
1 , d 1 g and d 2 fd 2 , d 2 g.
B c A B
where the mass matrix is conformed by two discrete B A
Then, d 1 and d 2 can be referred to the X2 Y2 Z2 and
masses at the coupling nodes with values equal to hubs
X1 Y1 Z1 systems respectively, using a simple coordinate
mass.
transformation.
For small misalignment angles, it can be seen from
Fig. 5b that
3.3 Equations of motion of the system
1 d 2 d 0B ,
dA A
d B1 d B2 d 0B
Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of two
d_1 d_2 ,
A A
d_1 d_2
B B

misaligned rotors with Z1 and Z2 denoting shaft
d1 d2 , d B1 d B2
A A
centre-lines connected by a exible coupling. For
practical reasons, one reference system for each rotor 11
is dened as X1 Y1 Z1 and X2 Y2 Z2 respectively. For the  T
assembling procedure of all the system elements, the where d 0B dxB dyB dz jx jy is a constant
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 VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF ROTORS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SHAFT MISALIGNMENT. PART 1 981

Fig. 7 Reference system for each rotor

vector. Then, Assembling the equations of motion for the shaft,

  disc, bearing and coupling elements, a nite element
dA model suitable for simulating the dynamic response of
Kcu ad1c Kcu a 1
d B2 d 0B misaligned rotors is obtained. The model allows us to
  introduce all types of shaft misalignment and all types of
0
Ku ad Ku a
c c c
12 exible coupling. The equation of motion
d 0B
Md Cd_ Kd P 16
and
  obtained for the rotor system is solved by a numerical
Kcl ad c2 Kcl a 1  d 0B
dA integration method.
d B2 By analysing equation (14), it can be inferred that two
 
d 0B physical sources for the generated vibration in shaft
Kl ad Kl a
c c c
13 misalignment are present:
0
(a) a periodic variation in the coupling stiffness matrix
Introducing equations (11), (12), and (13) into equation and, therefore, in the global stiffness matrix of the
(8) yields the following equation, which can be system with frequencies equal to the harmonics of
assembled into the whole nite element model: the rotational speed, depending on the type of
exible coupling used, as shown in Fig. 2;
Mc d Kc ad c P c Pcmisal
c
14 (b) periodic dynamic loads generated by misalignment,
Pcmisal , which are proportional to the variation in
where stiffness, as is indicated by equation (15), with
    therefore, frequencies equal to the harmonics of the
d 0B 0
Pcmisal KcL a  KcU a 15 rotational speed.
0 d 0B
According to the experimental results shown in Fig. 2,
and KcU and KcL are the upper and lower halves it can be seen that the amplitude of the variation in
respectively of the stiffness matrix. stiffness is about two or three times lower than the mean
From equation (15), it can be seen that loads value. This implies that the second vibration source
generated by misalignment are directly proportional to dened above dominates the dynamic behaviour of
the magnitude of misalignment and the coupling misaligned shafts.
stiffness. An important practical conclusion can be As a consequence of the previous, to elucidate the full
drawn from this; if the magnitude of misalignment effects of a qualitative analysis of the problem, it is
increases, then the vibration amplitude will increase if possible to assume that the variation in the stiffness
the coupling stiffness increases or stays constant with matrix K is negligible and, therefore, it is possible to
increasing magnitude of misalignment. More misalign- dene frequency response functions (FRFs) that are
ment means more vibration, more bearing overload and independent of the angular position of the coupling, and
shorter bearing life; i.e. the measurement of vibration is equal to the values determined obtained when the rotors
a good indicator for detecting misalignment in machin- are not running. The FRFs calculated this way are used
ery that is running, and for evaluating the severity of as a reference for how the misalignment loads will be
misalignment. This statement is not always true if the translated into vibration on the bearings. Figure 8 shows
stiffness decreases with increasing magnitude of mis- a hypothetical case, where the vibration is measured at
alignment. two different rotation speeds. This assumes a special
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982
Fig. 8 The inuence of rotation speed and FRFs on measured vibrations
importance when the frequency of a spectral component
of the excitation force generated by misalignment is
close to a natural frequency of the system, because a
resonance condition will occur. In this case, the
amplitude of this component can increase greatly if the
damping is low, and can become a major spectral
component, as shown in the experience discussed in Part
II.
In any case, periodic elements on the global stiffness
matrix are fully considered in the following calculation
of the steady state response of the rotor system.
3.4 Calculation of the steady state vibratory response
The equation of motion shown in equation (16) was
solved numerically using Newmarks integration
method with aN 0:3025 and dN 0:6, to obtain the
steady state vibratory response of a system using the jaw
and the three-pin couplings for various operation speeds
and different combined misalignments. Figure 9a shows
the spectrum of the steady state response at node 6 in
the x direction for the three-pin coupling, and the
misalignment in the horizontal xz plane with dx
 0:35 mm and jy 0:105
. It can be seen that the main
component of the vibratory spectrum is of third order,
which is the same as in the Kt spectrum (Fig. 9b). Figure
9c shows the magnitude of FRF56 (mechanical mobi-
lity), where it can be seen a greater mechanical mobility
at higher frequencies, which explains that higher orders
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P N SAAVEDRA AND D E RAMIREZ
of the vibratory spectrum are amplied, while the lower
orders are attenuated.
The similarities between the Kt spectrum and steady
state response spectrum are repeated in most of the
simulation results. The inuence of the frequency
response functions is also observed, particularly when
a spectral component is close to a natural frequency of
the system, where it can be amplied and become one of
the main components of the spectrum.
The results from the numerical simulations are in
agreement with previous qualitative analyses, showing
that vibration generated in misaligned shafts is caused
by the variation in coupling stiffness with rotation angle
a and that the frequencies of the steady vibratory
response are the same as the stiffness coefcients,
showing similar spectral patterns. The inuence of the
FRFs is also illustrated in Fig. 9. More simulation
results are shown in Part 2 of this paper.
The nite element model allows for the inclusion of
unbalance forces on the system nodes. In this case, the
effect of unbalancing on the steady state vibratory
response of misaligned rotors can be studied. Analysis
of the effect of the angular position for residual
unbalance in the vibratory spectrum was performed
using the same degree of misalignment as in the
previous analysis. Figure 10 shows the simulated
vibration spectra at node 3 in the x direction for a
balanced rotor and for an unbalanced rotor with
unbalances positioned at three different angles. The
phase angles that dene the angular position of the
Science
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 VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF ROTORS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SHAFT MISALIGNMENT. PART 1 983

Fig. 9 Vibratory response, stiffness spectrum and FRF for the three-pin coupling

unbalance and the phase of the rst-order vibratory
components were calculated with respect to a hypo-
thetic tachometric pulse. The phase of the vibratory
component at 16 is indicated in each spectrum.
The 16 spectral vibratory components generated by
simultaneous misalignment and unbalance have a
magnitude and phase, and they must be added as
vectors. Because of this, the 16 component due to
unbalance may increase, may decrease or may not
change at all the magnitude of the 16 misalignment
component. Therefore, the unbalance can be determi-
nant on the value of the 16 spectral component. In the

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984 P N SAAVEDRA AND D E RAMIREZ
Fig. 10 Simulated vibration response at node 3 in the x direction for a three-pin coupling, O 30 Hz and
unbalance quality of G 6.3 located at different angular positions
eld, a 1808 difference in phase between the 16 spectral
component measured on bearings in the same direction
at both sides of the coupling is frequently taken as a
practical criterion for diagnosing a shaft misalignment
problem. According to our previous analysis, this
assumption would be true only if the 1808 phase
difference between the action and reaction forces acting
on each rotor generated by the misalignment were not
modied by the FRFs related to the coupling force and
bearing vibration, and also by other sources of vibra-
tion, such as unbalance. Because of this, it would be
better to perform phase analysis using higher spectral
components. This point will be illustrated with experi-
ments in Part 2 of this paper.
4 CONCLUSIONS
A theoretical model suitable for determining the
vibratory response of misaligned shaft rotors connected
by a exible coupling has been developed. Recognizing
that spectral analysis is a basic technique used to
diagnose the mechanical condition of machinery, the
expected vibration spectra for two exible couplings, a
three-pin Renold and a three-jaw Lovejoy coupling,
were analysed. The calculated results and the qualitative
analysis indicate that the vibration generated by shaft
misalignment is caused by a variation in coupling
stiffness as the shaft rotates, and the forcing frequencies
generated by shaft misalignment are composed of the
harmonics of the shaft speed, which are directly
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dependent on the frequencies of the variation in
coupling stiffness.
The magnitude of misalignment is not easy to
evaluate on machinery that is running. A systems
misalignment forces transmitted from a coupling to a
shaft is mainly static, i.e. unidirectional and constant,
and is difcult to measure externally with commercial
instruments, as has been indicated by Piotrowski [1].
However, it is possible to estimate the degree of
misalignment of the rotor shafts through the measure-
ment of the effect of these forces on the bearing
vibrations. From equation (15), it can be seen that
loads generated by misalignment are directly propor-
tional to the degree of misalignment and the coupling
stiffness. Because of this, vibration measurement is a
good qualitative indicator for detecting the degree of
misalignment in machinery while it is running.
The vibratory response of the bearings depends
greatly on the frequency response functions between
the coupling misalignment forces and the bearings
vibration. This makes qualitative analysis difcult, even
if the coupling stiffness spectrum is known, especially
when some particular component is close to a natural
frequency. An inverse method to determine dynamic
misalignment forces from vibrations measured on the
rotor bearings is now being investigated.
In Part 2 of this paper, experimental tests and a
discussion of the results are presented to evaluate the
real effectiveness of the developed model. Total agree-
ment between theory and experimental results observed
validates the theoretical model. The results obtained
from our model simulations and from experimental tests
are synthesized to give the eld engineer useful
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 VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF ROTORS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SHAFT MISALIGNMENT. PART 1
misalignment diagnostic tools for monitoring
machines health.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the Fondo
Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog a of Chile, Project
1030323, for support of this work.
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