Transitions to chaos in squeeze-film dampers

This work reports on a numerical study undertaken to investigate the imbalance response of a rigid rotor supported by squeeze-film dampers. Two types of damper configurations were considered, namely, dampers without centering springs, and eccentrically operated dampers with centering springs. For a rotor fitted with squeeze-film dampers without centering springs, the study revealed the existence of three regimes of chaotic motion. The route to chaos in the first regime was attributed to a sequence of period-doubling bifurcations of the period-1 (synchronous) rotor response. A period-3 (one-third subharmonic) rotor whirl orbit, which was born from a saddle-node bifurcation, was found to co-exist with the chaotic attractor. The period-3 orbit was also observed to undergo a sequence of period-doubling bifurcations resulting in chaotic vibrations of the rotor. The route to chaos in the third regime of chaotic rotor response, which occurred immediately after the disappearance of the period-3 orbit due to a saddle-node bifurcation, was attributed to a possible boundary crisis. The transitions to chaotic vibrations in the rotor supported by eccentric squeeze-film dampers with centering springs were via the period-doubling cascade and type 3 intermittency routes. The type 3 intermittency transition to chaos was due to an inverse period-doubling bifurcation of the period-2 (one-half subharmonic) rotor response. The unbalance response of the squeeze-film-damper supported rotor presented in this work leads to unique non-synchronous and chaotic vibration signatures. The latter provide some useful insights into the design and development of fault diagnostic tools for rotating machinery that operate in highly nonlinear regimes.