Nonlinear dynamics of a Jeffcott rotor with torsional deformations and rotor-stator contact

The dynamics of a modified Jeffcott rotor is studied, including rotor torsional deformation and rotor-stator contact. Conditions are studied under which the rotor undergoes either forward synchronous whirling or self-excited backward whirling motions with continuous stator contact. For forward whirling, the effect on the response is investigated for two commonly used rotor-stator friction models, namely, the simple Coulomb friction and a generalised Coulomb law with cubic dependence on the relative slip velocity. For cases with and without the rotor torsional degree of freedom, analytical estimates and numerical bifurcation analyses are used to map out regions in the space of drive speed and a friction parameter, where rotor-stator contact exists. The nature of the bifurcations in which stability is lost are highlighted. For forward synchronous whirling fold, Hopf, lift-off, and period-doubling bifurcations are encountered. Additionally, for backward whirling, regions of transitions from pure sticking to stick-slip oscillations are numerically delineated.