Static and Dynamic Coefficient Measurements for a Thrust Collar Used in an Integrally Geared Compressor

This paper introduces a test facility specifically designed to measure the axial stiffness and damping coefficients of an oil-lubricated thrust collar (TC). The geometry, load, and speeds of the test facility are representative of a production integrally geared compressor (IGC). Separate electric motors spin the shafts according to an assumed gear ratio, a pneumatic air piston loader provides a non-contacting, static thrust force, a remotely-controlled impact hammer delivers a perturbation force, and eddy-current motion probes record the resulting vibration. The paper uses a one degree of freedom (1DOF) axial motion model that neglects the static and dynamic stiffness of the bull wheel and presents estimates of the TC oil-film dynamic coefficients for pinion spin speeds between 5 and 10 krpm, and static loads between 200 and 400 N, using time-domain (log-dec and damped period) and static load-deflection techniques. The measurements show that the TC oil-film develops appreciable stiffness (tens of MN/m), and the 1DOF model used here is inadequate for higher loads. Axial runout on the interfacing surfaces of the test facility TC and bull wheel complicates parameter identification, but time-domain averaging effectively attenuates the runout while preserving the transient vibration that results from the impact hammer. Measurements of the TC oil-film stiffness, damping and virtual mass coefficients are useful to machinery OEMs or end-users seeking to predict or diagnose subsynchronous vibration in their machine that might be TC-related.