​Practical Rotordynamics for Real Machinery
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IN -PERSON March 31-April 3, 2025 Sarasota, FL
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VIRTUAL October 20-23, 2025
Pricing
The course runs Monday - Thursday and is $2950.
In person session will be in sunny, warm Sarasota, Florida. This session also includes a welcome dinner Monday evening with the three instructors. With a limit of 30 attendees, you have the opportunity to network with others in the class as well as the instructors.
Virtual session will start each day at 10 am Eastern time and run through 7 pm Eastern. This session will be presented through Zoom.
Location
In person session will be at the Courtyard by Marriott at UTC Sarasota, Florida. We have a block of rooms that you can reserve through the link. Class will begin each morning at 8 am and will end approximately 5 pm. You are invited to a casual dinner Monday evening. There will be opportunities to meet the instructors and other attendees.
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Sarasota is located on the Gulf of Mexico. The area is known for its beautiful beaches and we hope you have a little extra time to enjoy the soft sand and warm water. Please feel free to ask about other things to do in the area.
Meet the Instructors
Since the course focuses on three major topics, we have three expert instructors participating.
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.
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.
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, he is currently
serving as the Chair for the Torsional section of the API 684 rotordynamics tutorial.
Topics Covered
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Some of the topics 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
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​Course takeaways
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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 plays in the reliability of rotating equipment and for the importance of evaluating that behavior in the design stage.
