Design of an Experimental Setup for Testing Multiphysical Effects on High Speed Mini Rotors

Recently, there have been numerous research projects on the development of minirotating machines. These machines mostly operate at speeds above the first critical speed and have special levitation systems. Besides, the multiphysical effects become significant in small scale. Therefore, advanced modeling approaches should be developed and innovative experimental rigs with the foregoing requirements should be constructed in order to test the developed techniques. In the current study, the design of an experimental setup for testing the multiphysical effects has been outlined. First, the previously developed multiphysical models (Dikmen, E., van der Hoogt, P., de Boer, A., and Aarts, R., 2010, "Influence of Multiphysical Effects on the Dynamics of High Speed Minirotors-Part I: Theory," J. Vibr. Acoust., 132, p. 031010; Dikmen, E., van der Hoogt, P., de Boer, A., and Aarts, R., 2010, "Influence of Multiphysical Effects on the Dynamics of High Speed Minirotors-Part II: Results," J. Vibr. Acoust., 132, p. 031011) for the analysis of small scale rotors are described briefly for background information. Second, an analysis of the effect of the rotor parameters (diameter, length, rotation speed, etc.) on the dynamics of the rotor under multiphysical effects is presented. Afterward the design process which includes the design decisions based on these results, the availability, simplicity, and applicability of each component is presented in detail. Finally, the experimental results have been presented and the efficiency of the design has been evaluated. In summary, the design requirements for an experimental setup for testing multiphysical effects on minirotors have been analyzed. The design procedure and evaluation of the design have been presented. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4004003]