Nonlinear vibration response of a complex aeroengine under the rubbing fault

Abstract Rolling bearing and squeeze film damper will introduce structural nonlinearity into the dynamic model of aeroengine. Rubbing will occur due to the clearance reduction design of the engine. The coupling of structural nonlinearity and fault nonlinearity will make the engine present rich vibration responses. This paper aims to analyze the nonlinear vibration behavior of the whole aeroengine including rolling bearing and squeeze film damper under rubbing fault. Firstly, the dynamic model of a turboshaft engine with nonlinear support and rubbing fault is established; The rolling bearing force, the oil film force and the rubbing force are introduced into a dual-rotor-casing model with six support points. Secondly, the linear part of the model is verified by the dynamic characteristics of the three-dimensional finite element model. Finally, the varying compliance vibration, the damping effect and the bifurcation mechanism are analyzed in detail in which the bearing clearance, speed ratio and rubbing stiffness are considered. Results show that the rubbing fault in the nonlinear support case will excite more significant varying compliance vibration in the low-speed region and expand the rotating speed range of the chaotic region in the high-speed region compared with that in the linear support case.