On LMI-Based Optimization of Vibration and Stability in Rotor System Design

This paper considers optimization of rotor system design using stability and vibration response criteria. The initial premise of the study is that the effect of certain design changes can be parametrized in a rotor dynamic model through their influence on the system matrices obtained by finite element modeling. A suitable vibration response measure is derived by considering an unknown axial distribution of unbalanced components having bounded magnitude. It is shown that the worst-case unbalanced response is given by an absolute row-sum norm of the system frequency response matrix. The minimization of this norm is treated through the formulation of a set of linear matrix inequalities that can also incorporate design parameter constraints and stability criteria. The formulation can also be extended to cover uncertain or time-varying system dynamics arising, for example, due to speed-dependent bearing coefficients or gyroscopic effects. Numerical solution of the matrix inequalities is tackled using an iterative method that involves standard convex optimization routines. The method is applied in a case study that considers the optimal selection of bearing support stiffness and damping levels to minimize the worst-case vibration of a flexible rotor over a finite speed range. The main restriction in the application of the method is found to be the slow convergence of the numerical routines that occurs with high-order models and/or high problem complexity.