Machinery Vibration and Rotordynamics By John Vance, Fouad Zeidan, Brian Murphy

Introduction

This book follows the first author’s book Rotordynamics of Turbomachinery in its practical approach and style. Much of the material in that book has been updated and extended with new information, new examples, and a few corrections that reflect what has been learned since then. Of particular interest and significance are the new chapters (4, 5, and 6) on bearings, seals, and computer modeling contributed by the co-authors Dr. Fouad Zeidan and Dr. Brian Murphy. Dr. Zeidan is the president of two companies that design and manufacture high-performance bearings and seals. These products often require the design and modeling of the complete rotor-bearing system to ensure reliable operation and compatibility. Dr. Murphy is the author of XLRotor™, one of the most widely used computer programs for rotordynamic analysis.

Chapters 1 and 7 are also completely new. Chapter 1 describes the classical analytical techniques used by engineers for troubleshooting vibration problems. Chapter 7 gives a history of the most important rotordynamics analysis and experiments since 1869. The authors have noted (with some surprise) for many years that the subject material of this book is not taught in most engineering colleges, even though rotating machines are probably the most common application of mechanical engineering. The book is organized so that the first three or four chapters could be used as a text for a senior or graduate college elective course. These chapters have exercises at the end that can be assigned to the students, which will greatly enhance their understanding of the chapter material. The later chapters will serve the same students well after graduation as reference source material with examples of analysis and test results for real machines, bearings, and seals. But for the majority of engineers assigned to troubleshoot a rotating machine, or to design it for reliability, and having no relevant technical background, this entire book can be the substitute for the course they never had. It is the author’s hope that this book will make a significant contribution to the improvement of rotating machines for the service of mankind in the years to come.