Chapter 22

MODE SHAPE
Machinery rotor assemblies, such as shafts, are designed to rotate on their true centerline and in a state of equilibrium. In practical applications, however, few machines achieve optimum or design conditions. As a result, most machines operate with a slight amount of imbalance where the shaft rotates slightly off of its true centerline. Such rotor deflection is referred to as mode shape. Even in a perfectly installed system, imbalance often results from the difference between the lift that was designed into the rotor assembly and the force of gravity that pulls the rotor downward. Because the effects of gravity vary with altitude, and the lift varies with temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure, there is always some differential. As a result, all machine trains have some imbalance and rotate offset from their true centerline. The slightly eccentric or off-center rotation of the shaft generates a low-level frequency component that coincides with the rotating speed of the shaft. This type of rotor dynamics is called the first mode. In addition, all rotating shafts are flexible and change shape throughout their normal operating range. The shape or shapes a shaft takes in actual operation are a function of shaft stiffness, bearing span, rotor weight, and the action of outside forces such as aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces generated by the system. In ideal systems, the shaft retains a relatively straight shape, but does not rotate on its true centerline. This offset or eccentric rotation is one form of the first mode of the rotor assembly. If the rotor shaft deforms and bends, but maintains its original node points (refer back to Figure 19.3), it will continue to generate a vibration frequency at the fundamental running speed of the shaft (lx). The amplitude of this fundamental frequency is directly proportional to the amount of bend or deflection between the shaft bearings. If the shaft flexes into a double bend that crosses its true centerline, it creates a node point at the point at which it crosses the neutral or centerline. As the shaft rotates, the

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Mode Shape

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double-bend shape creates two high spots as it passes the vibration transducer. These high spots are interpreted as the fundamental (lx) and second-harmonic (2x) frequencies of running speed. This profile describes the second mode of the rotor assembly. In some applications, the shaft can flex or deform into mode shapes that generate third (3x) and fourth (4x) running-speed harmonics. Cantilevered rotating machine elements, such as on overhung fans, are typical examples of machinery subject to shaft deflections that force operation in the third or fourth mode.