Rotordynamic Behavior of 225 kW (300 HP) Class PMS Motor-Generator System Supported by Gas Foil Bearings

This paper presents the dynamic behavior of a 225 kW class (300 HP), 60,000 rpm, permanent magnet synchronous (PMS) motor-generator system supported on gas foil bearings (GFBs). The rotor of a 225 kW PMS motor is supported by two identical gas foil journal bearings (GFJBs) and one pair of gas foil thrust bearings (GFTBs). The total weight and axial length of the coupled rotors are 272 N and 1,042 mm, respectively. During the speed-up test to 60,000 rpm, unexpected large subsynchronous rotor motions appear at around 120–130 Hz above 35,040 rpm. After disassembling the motor, an inspection of the top foils of the GFJBs reveals significant rotor rubbing. Thus, the GFJBs are redesigned to have a smaller load capacity by reducing their axial length to 45 mm. In addition, three 50 μm thick shims are installed in the GFJBs at 120° intervals for reducing the swirl speed of air and producing bearing preloads. The modification delays the onset speed of subsynchronous motions to 43,200 rpm and decreases the amplitude of the subsynchronous motions from 20 to 15 μm. These results indicate that the modification improves the stability margin of the high-speed rotor system with increasing stiffness and damping. In addition, the logarithmic decrement trends are in good agreement with the test results.