Case study: A Study on the Dynamic Balancing of Flexible Rotor-Bearing Systems via MFS-Lite Simulation

All rotating machinery has vibrations by nature, and appropriate balancing can frequently solve 80% of the vibration problems. Mass unbalance, coupling misalignment, and mechanical looseness are some of the problems that can cause vibrations in rotating machinery. An imbalanced rotor is usually the main cause of machine vibration. This causes too much force in the bearing area, which shortens the machine’s working life. This study investigates the balance condition of a rotor-bearing assembly utilising the Machinery Fault Simulator-Lite (MFS-Lite) through a combination of experimental and analytical methodologies. Experiments were carried out to analyze vibration responses under different imbalance conditions, applying several balancing techniques, namely the Influence Coefficient Method, Four-Run Method, and Phase-Only Balancing. The experimental data acquired from the MFS-Lite configuration were compared with analytical outcomes to confirm the accuracy of the employed dynamic correction methodologies. The results show that MFS-Lite can accurately model real rotor-bearing dynamics and that theoretical predictions and experimental observations are quite near to each other.