Spring 2022

Practical Rotordynamics for Real Machinery 

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April 11-14, 2022

VIRTUAL

 

Dear Clients, Friends, & Associates:
As a result of the highly favorable reviews we received for its first dozen offerings in 2012 through 2021, I
am pleased to announce that we will be repeating our week-long rotordynamics training course this coming
April. The course, entitled “Practical Rotordynamics for Real Machinery” will be presented the week of 11
April, 2022.
 

Because of the recent resurgence in COVID, we have decided to again present this course virtually, via Zoom.  We did this course virtually for the first time last year, and we received the same rave reviews that we are accustomed to getting for the in-person version of this course.  Thus, we have no qualms about taking the virtual route again.

Since the course focuses on three major topics, we have three expert instructors participating, as follows:
1. Lateral Rotordynamics – Malcolm Leader, P.E. (President - Applied Machinery Dynamics) –
Malcolm has long been known as one of the best rotordynamicists in the world and is also well-known
for his keen troubleshooting abilities. He has written several dozen papers on these topics.
2. Bearings – Dr. Erik Swanson, P.E. (President - Xdot Engineering and Analysis) – In addition to
traditional fluid-film bearings, Erik is well-known for his expertise in foil and magnetic bearings.
Additionally, Erik is a wizard at using the DYROBES rotor/bearing computer code, which all of the
presented case studies have been done in.
3. Torsional Vibration – Mark A. Corbo, P.E. (President - No Bull Engineering) – In addition to having
authored some of the most well-known and best-received papers on the subject, I am currently
serving as the Chair for the Torsional section of the API 684 rotordynamics tutorial.

• Although the syllabus from last year’s course is probably going to be “tweaked” a bit, some of the topics that will be addressed in depth include the following:
  1. Fundamentals/Basics
  2. Relevance of the various topics (i.e., why do we even care about this?)
  3. Modeling tips
  4. Undamped critical speed maps
  5. Unbalance response analysis
  6. Rotordynamic instability
  7. High pressure compressor stability analysis
  8. Pump rotordynamic considerations
  9. Fluid-film bearing types
  10. Tilting-pad bearings
  11. Specialized bearings (i.e. magnetic bearings, foil bearings, etc.)
  12. Seals
  13. Undamped torsional analysis
  14. Torsional Campbell diagrams
  15. Variable frequency drives
  16. Torsional response anlaysis
  17. Synchronous motor start-up analysis
  18. Reciprocating machine torsionals
  19. Machinery specific considerations
  20. API specifications and compliance
  21. Case studies

• The course, which will cover all of the above topics, will run from Monday through Thursday (11 through 14 April) and cost $2750 (plus $95 fee if using credit card) per participant.  In order to provide the best compromise for attendees in all time zones, the course will start at 10:00 AM Eastern time and run to about 7:00 PM.  THere will be a half hour break for lunch and we will take a short (5-7 minute) break each hour.  In addition to the sessions, if there is interest, we will be happy to host a short Q&A session on Friday the 15th. Additionally, we will ensure that there will be plenty of time for informal interaction with all three instructors, including breaks and lunches.

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   Some of the benefits you would receive from taking this course include the following:

1. A great familiarity with lateral and torsional rotordynamics which would allow you to communicate more effectively with experts in the field.

2. A better understanding of the meaning and validity of rotordynamic results obtained from consultants and/or in-house rotordynamic codes.

3. A better understanding of the rotordynamic causes of common rotating equipment problems which would assist you when trying to troubleshoot field and test-stand problems.

4. A better feel for which system elements play an important role in rotordynamic behavior and which ones have little impact.  This would be valuable when evaluating potential design changes.

5. An appreciation that rotordynamic analysis can be performed in a practical and timely manner and does not require a "research project."

6. An appreciation for the large role that rotordynamic behavior playes in the reliability of rotating equipment and for the importance of evaluating that behavior in the design stage.