On-Line Balancing Of Rotors

A. S. Sekhar and Debraj Sarangi

Deptt. of Mechanical Engg.
IIT Kharagpur-721 302, INDIA
sekhar@mech.iitkgp.ernet.in

ABSTRACT
Rotor balancing needs to be re-examined in the present day's context. With the
advancement in control strategies and active vibration control using magnetic bearings, a
new look to improve the existing balancing methods is thus, very essential. In the present
paper, different methods in rotor balancing have been studied and a chronological record
is prepared. The existing approaches and recent trends towards on-line balancing have
been reviewed. This paper suggests for a new look at flexible rotor balancing for on-line
balancing techniques. Scope for future work on on-line balancing has been identified
through different comparative tables. Some new techniques for on-line rotor balancing
using feedback controls are discussed on their feasibilities for practical application.
INTRODUCTION
Rotating mass imbalance causes increased vibrations of high speed machine tools,
turbo-machinery etc. during operation and might bring limitations to the start-up and
shut-down procedures, i.e., when the rotor passes through critical speeds. Because of
these reasons it is useless to rebalance the rotor after a certain time with a conventional
method (needless to say that this would also be extremely expensive). Hence it would be
most useful to balance the rotor automatically during operation. However, in most
automatic balancing systems no computation of the instantaneous resulting system
unbalances takes place while correction masses are being applied. So errors in
computation will only be detected afterwards, when checking the balancing condition.
Measurement of the system vibration, computation of the unbalance, and adjustment of
the correction masses are to be performed continuously and simultaneously.

The contribution of this paper resides in developing an optimal control strategy for
reduction of vibration levels of rotors by online balancing using electromagnetically
actuated balancing heads.
ROTOR BALANCING: OVERVIEW
This section is intended to give a general idea of the various techniques that have
evolved over the years in the field of rotor balancing. A detail classification of the various
balancing methods is shown in Fig. 1.
Vector Method with Phase
Single Plane
Balancing
Rigid
Rotor
Off-line
Balancing
Method
Rotor
Balancing
Method

Two Plane
Balancing

Four-Run Method
Vector Method
Static-Couple Method

Modal Balancing Method

Flexible
Rotor

Influence-Coefficient Method
Unified Balancing Method

On-line
Automatic
Balancing
Method

Passive
Balancing
Active
Balancing

Magnetic
Bearing
Active Balancing
Devices

Constant Rotating
Speed Case
Speed-Varying Case

Fig. 1: Classification of Balancing Methods

In a recent survey [1], Zhou and Shi reviewed research work on active balancing
methods and gave an extensive list of references also containing a passive approach. The
modal balancing method and the influence coefficient method (ICM) are the main
methods for balancing flexible rotors [2-4]. The former uses the modal parameters and the
modal breakdown of the initial unbalance distribution, the rotor being balanced at its
critical speeds, step by step, mode after mode. This method is mostly used to balance
high-speed machinery with a number of critical speeds. ICM consists of evaluating the
influence of trial masses on the orbits of the planes to be balanced (Eq. 1). The solution of

rr
r r
v = v 0 + Cw

(1)

r r r r
r
w = (C T C ) 1 C T vo

(2)

the associated inverse problem (Eq. (2)) gives the ideal correction mass combination that
minimizes the vibration levels of the balancing planes [5]. The unified balancing method
attempts to combine the advantages of the modal method and the ICM to achieve a better
result with fewer trial runs. By this method critical and off-critical speeds can be balanced
simultaneously without jeopardizing the speeds already balanced. The theoretical basis of
this method is described in detail in [6].
Active balancing system incorporates balance mass actuators that can change a
rotating machines mass balance state while the machine is operating. Steady state
vibration caused by time varying rotating mass imbalance can often be controlled using
such active balancing system [7-8]. A successful extension of the ICM (Eq. (2)) to the online estimation and active control was achieved by Dyer and Ni [9], where the influence
coefficient matrix is obtained through experimental trial runs. As noted by Bishop [10],
single-plane active balancing should be sufficient for systems in which one vibration
mode dominates dynamic response at each rotational speed of interest. However many
high speed rotating machines which operate at speeds in between flexible shaft bending
mode frequencies require multiple plane balancing [11]. Steady-state influence
coefficient-based optimal control strategies have been presented for rotating systems both
with active balancers [11] and with stationary actuation schemes such as magnetic
bearings [12] and piezoelectric actuators [13]. Although balancing at a single working
speed is common in practice, as discussed before, balancing during speed-varying periods
[14] is also needed.
NEW TRENDS IN ON-LINE ROTOR BALANCING
A comparative tabular analysis of various current techniques and their scope in
online rotor balancing has been made, of which some are discussed below.
Thermally Controlled Non-Contact On-Line Balancing - This technique of balancing a
large turbo generator was proposed by [15]. Mounting some heating elements and
using them as actively controlled actuators exploited the sensitivity of rotor
unbalances to thermal asymmetries in the rotor.
Automatic Balancing or Auto-Balancing - Automatic balancing means balancing with
the help of balancing devices mounted on rotors or shafts for balancing, or further
correction, during the operation of the machine. These may incorporate passive control

using ball balancing (Fig. 2), as in [6], or active controlled motorized balancing heads,
effectively discs, mounted on flexible shafts [7].

Fig. 2: Rotor model with ABB

Fig. 3: Schematic of the setup of AMB

Active Magnetic Bearings (AMB) - With no physical contact between a rotor and its
housing, magnetic bearings (Fig. 3) do not wear or fail from material fatigue. It has
several the advantages viz. low friction, no lubricant, high rotational speeds of rotor,
low maintenance cost, infinite stiffness, more choice in the design of bearing
dynamics, and potential for vibration control, while the disadvantages are few like
requirement of active control and low force to weight ratio. Some experiments in the
control of unbalance response using AMB can be found in [12].
Spray Automated Balancing of Rotors (SABOR) - It uses the Fuel Air Repetitive
Explosion process of metal film deposition to apply discrete amounts of metallic or
ceramic particles to a spinning rotor [14]. In this way, without stopping the rotor, its
mass eccentricity is changed in a manner designed to reduce the vibration sensed by
a balancing machine.
TYPICAL RESULTS WITH ON-LINE BALANCING USING EBR
The current on-line rotor balancing systems are made up of four major parts: the
balanced rotor system, the sensor, the controller and the balancing regulator among
which the former two are well known while the later are still being researched. The
controlling method of the online balancing regulator has been designed according to
whether the position of the correction mass is able to be detected accurately in few or
more trial runs. The electromagnetic balancing regulator (EBR) which operates in

accordance with the motor principle adopts an optimum seeking rule [18]. When the
electromagnetic torque generated by the electric current which is fed into the coils on the
stator is more powerful than the joint torque between the slide plate seats, the slide plate
and the correction mass rotate circumferentially and there is an angle displacement with
respect to the balanced shaft (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Design of the balancing regulator. 1: sensor for detecting the position of mass;
2: stator; 3: reflection film; 4: press board; 5: slide plate; 6: slide plate seat; 7: correction
mass; 8: balanced shaft; 9: screw and spring
A control scheme has been developed such that when the vibration of the rotor
increases to a certain extent, it judges whether to perform balancing or not, detects the
positions of the correction masses, calculates the unbalance on the rotor and determines
the optimum position of each correction mass. A particularly attractive feature of the
system is that it provides a vibration feedback and a position feedback, so that after the
correction masses are driven to move a detectable angle displacement separately, their
influence on vibration can be determined. This is analogous to the trial weight and to the
influence coefficient calculation process of ICM, but avoids the need to stop the rotor for
each trial weight addition. In view of the fact that the majority of rotors work at a
relatively constant rotating speed whether they are rigid or flexible, the on-line balancing
is carried out at the same constant speed.
Balancing Method for the Electromagnetic Balancing Regulator
Considering P measuring points and N balancing planes, the vibration correlation of
the balancing regulator will be:

r
r
r
r
v ( P 1) = v o ( P 1) + C ( P N ) w ( N 1)

where,

(3)

r
w = [ u o ( e i 11 + e i 12 ),.., u o ( e i n 1 + e i n 2 ),.., u o ( e i N 1 + e i N 2 )] T (4)
r

In the virtue of the linear Eq. (3) with the impel forces of initial unbalance vo and

balancing force w on the right side the balancing aim is to adjust ni (n=1, 2,,N) to

minimize v . Here v and w are measurable, w is controllable and v o and C (P N ) are

unknown. The vibration caused by initial unbalance, which is constant during a process of
balancing, is determined by few initial test runs. Then the influence matrix is evaluated.
Once this is done for different rotating speeds, a curve-fitting can give influence
coefficient values for any speed of the rotor.
During the identification process for mass adjustment of the nth balancing head (n =

1,,N) the goal function v may increase, because the correction masses can rotate only
in one direction. In order to minimize this effect, the optimum seeking method is
introduced: for the nth (n = 1, ., N) balancing head, first, move either correction mass;

then if the goal function v decreases, move it continuously; but if the goal function v

increases, move the other correction mass for the same angle displacement. The masses

which make v decrease are given the priority to rotate. We can then control each mass to
rotate to its optimum position to finish the balancing.
If we consider a head and a measurement plane, Eq. (3) can be simplified as:

r
r r
(5)
v = v o + C ' ( e i 1 + e i 2 )
r
r
Among them, v , 1, 2 can be measured at any time and C ' can be determined by moving
the correction masses. Keeping all the above in view, an advanced control scheme was
simulated in a MATLAB program and its effects on the EBR are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Optimization Results
Rotating
Speed
(rpm)

Initial pos. of
masses,
angles
1, 2 (deg)

End positions
of masses,
angles,
1, 2 (deg)

Initial
Vibration
(m)

End
Vibration
(m)

Identified
influence
coefficient
C

Identified
initial
vibration

1659

68, 21

227, 129

11.16

0.0315

3.84e-130i

5.07e-132i

1785

266, 235

126, 30

13.00

0.0330

4.0e-126i

5.3e132i

1845

193, 195

115, 45

11.80

0.0039

3.86e-130i

6.32e130i

1770

205, 240

45, 127

12.21

0.0138

3.84e-134i

5.81e132i

r
v0

1805

89, 50

150, 222

13.15

0.0294

3.85e-136i

6.2e-130i

1735

69, 20

227, 137

11.75

0.0154

3.90e-132i

5.5e-130i

CONCLUSION
There is a lot of scope in advancing this method by adopting more robust control and
experimentally verifying it on high speed flexible rotors for practical applications. The
EBR can be also tested for performing multi-plane balancing using Influence-Coefficient
method. In future, it is intended to apply Hybrid balancing techniques for rotor operation
beyond several critical speeds to avoid high vibrations during run-up /run-down or during
speed-varying conditions.
NOMENCLATURE

r
C
r
C'

Influence coefficient (matrix) vector, m (kg m/s2)-1

Product of mass and radius of the correction mass and C , m s-2

Uo

Product of mass and radius of each correction mass in the EBR, kg m

n1,n2
r
v
r
vo
r
w

Angular pos. of the two correction masses in the nth n=(1..N) balancing head, rad
Vibration at measurement points, m
Vibration caused by initial unbalance, m
Balancing force vector, kg m/s2

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