Stability Analysis of Rotor with a Spline Coupling

Abstract The spline coupling is widely used in aero-engines. Once the spline coupling fails, it will cause great damage to the engine. In this paper, the stability of a rotor with a spline coupling was studied. The internal damping instability model of the rotor with spline coupling is deduced, and the instability mechanism is explored. The stability boundary is analyzed by using the R-H criterion. The mechanism of rotor instability is analyzed by simulation. An experimental system of rotors with different structural parameters of spline coupling was built. The influence of the positioning surface clearance on the stability was analyzed. The modeling results show that the internal friction of the spline coupling will introduce additional damping and anti-symmetrical cross stiffness to the rotor, the additional damping will reduce the vibration response, and the anti-symmetrical cross stiffness will cause the rotor to become unstable. The simulation and experimental results show that the rotor system will not be unstable when the two positioning surfaces of the spline coupling are in an interference fit. When one of the positioning surfaces is a clearance fit and the other is an interference fit, the internal friction will cause the rotor to become unstable. The instability threshold speed is higher than the first-order critical speed. At the same time, due to the additional damping introduced by the sleeve tooth structure, there will be a transition stage of instability. At this time, the rotor will vibrate with sub-harmonic components, but the vibration amplitude of the rotor will decrease. When the two positioning surfaces are clearance fit, the rotor is unstable and the amplitude increases suddenly. The obtained instability characteristics of the rotor with spline coupling have important value for the instability fault diagnosis, and provide help for the stability control.