On the Coupling Between Torsional and Lateral Vibrations in a Rotor Dynamic System With Set-Valued Friction

In this paper, we analyze the interaction between friction-induced vibrations and self-sustained lateral vibrations caused by mass-unbalance in an experimental rotor dynamic set-up. This study is performed on the level of both numerical and experimental bifurcation analyses. The results show that a higher level of mass-unbalance, which generally increases the lateral vibrations, can have a stabilizing effect on the torsional dynamics, i.e. friction-induced limit cycling can disappear. Moreover, the analyses provide insight in the fundamental mechanisms causing self-sustained oscillations in rotor systems with flexibility, mass-unbalance and discontinuous friction which supports the design of such flexible rotor systems.