Seismic Induced Nonlinear Rotor-Bearing-Casing Interaction of Rotating Nuclear Components

The study of the dynamics of turbomachinery during seismic events has been of continuous interest to both researchers and designers of large rotating equipment. Failure in such equipment, especially those associated with nuclear power generation, can lead to catastrophic consequences. Hence, there is a general trend for corporations to “overdesign” the equipment without any indepth understanding of the dynamical performance of the machine under extreme operating conditions. The overall objectives of this paper are fourfold, namely: (1) To study the nonlinear dynamics of rotor-bearing casing system during rub interactions; (2) To examine the effects of suddenly induced imbalance and base motion in the global dynamical behavior of the system: (3) To develop engineering insights through the modal parameters in both time and frequency domain; (4) To generate signature analysis on rub forces for pattern recognition. These goals are achieved through the development of a modal impact model. Accuracy and efficiency of this transient model are maintained using a self-adaptive integration scheme. A numerical FFT scheme is applied to examine the modal participations, bearing forces, and rub signatures in the frequency domain. A typical nuclear water pump will be used as an example for this approach.