BALANCING OF ROTATING MASSES

Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

INTRODUCTION In machines rotating parts are very common. Because of the non-homogeneity of the material used and deflections of the shafts, the center of gravity of most of them, do not coincide with the axis of rotation. In such a situation the rotor is said to be in a state of unbalance. As a result of this the rotor will undergo a centrifugal acceleration, which would need a force. This force is proportional to the square of the speed of the rotation. This will produce undesirable vibrations which will cause to high internal stresses in parts and the reactions in bearings will go high. And also the shaft (which involves in rotation) could get bend or could be get fractured in high speed rotation. Therefore balancing of rotating items is very essential in machines.

THEORY If a set of masses had to be balanced, then the inertia forces acting on the rotor must be in equilibrium. For a set of forces in equilibrium, the vector sum of the forces should be zero and as well as the vector sum of couples. This phenomenon implies that the force polygon and the couple polygon engaged with the force system should be closed. For a closed force polygon
2

= 0 ; where , m mass , r radius , (as

angular velocity

is a constant for the concerned instance and common for all forces)

for a closed couple polygon

2

= 0 ; where , m mass , r radius ,

angular velocity

Distance from the reference point. = 0 (as is a constant for the concerned instance and common for all forces)

PROCEDURE Force polygon Draw the first two lines using the given data. Draw the first line horizontally and magnitude 67mm (take the scale as; product, 1 unit = 1 mm). Mark it as AB. Then draw the second line BC with the 0 angle of 70 (anticlockwise) to AB and the length is 84mm.T hen by using compass draw an arc with the distance of 88 mm from the point C. draw another arc from the point A with the distance of 92 mm. mark the intersecting point as D. Couple polygon Similarly use the given data and draw the first line of the couple polygon .The distance of the first rotor is zero. That means it is a point and the initial point of the polygon.Point it as A. Draw the first line with the product of (scale is product ; 20 units = 1 mm) and the angle relative to horizontal is 700. You can obtain the other two angles of the 3rd and 4th rotors from the force polygon. Using those angles complete the couple polygon. You can obtain the distances of the 3rd and 4th rotors relative to the rotor 1, using the couple polygon. Then by using the ruler and the other necessary equipment arrange the system and observe the system when rotating and when it is not rotating. You can inspect the balancing of dynamic and static respectively.

DISCUSSION There are two forms of balancing: static and dynamic.

Static balancing is done by holding the component at its axis, then compensating (by removal or addition of mass) for the "heavy" side of the component. During Static balancing, the component is not rotating, hence "static". Static balancing is typically done on "flat" parts, or parts that have a large diameter to axial length ratio (pancake like parts, such as fans, pulleys, wheels).

Dynamic balancing is done on parts that are long compared to their diameters such as rotor assemblies. These parts require balancing to be done in two planes since the actual imbalance will intersect the centerline/axis. Unless both ends of the part are balanced, mass imbalance will continue to exist. Rotor assemblies that MCE manufactures are balanced dynamically (in two planes).

Balancing can be achieved by the addition or removal of mass in certain locations. MCE only provides balancing by use of mass removal which is achieved by abrasive material removal or by drilling/machining. Note that when designing your part, take into account that material removal will be required and allow for extra material such as a balancing ring or thicker flanges than required by design to achieve mechanical structural integrity.

Balancing of rotating masses is very essential in mechanical applications. Because, most of the wastages of energy in machines are occurred due to vibration.Most of the times the vibrations occurred due to the unbalance of the rotating parts. Preventing unnecessary vibration as much as possible is very essential in machines. Because, the energy wastages are not very healthy in economic aspects. Not only the energy wastages but also the inefficiency of the machine will go high due to these unbalances. And also because of the unbalance forces there will be wearing of the parts at the joints. And there will be a high reaction forces at the bearing joints and it will cause to damage the bearings. That means all the machining process could get blocked. These effects are not good for the machine and as well as the manufacturing process where the machine is involved. By balancing the masses and get the vibration in to an acceptable level, we could prevent those unnecessary effects. Therefore balancing is a very important in industry. However balancing is not always necessary in industry. That does depend on the situation. As an example when the cost of the balancing is much higher than the maintenance cost, balancing is not a good decision. And also it is not necessary to balance all the vibrations like small vibrations. In present there exists a conventional percentage of vibration which is acceptable in machines. Another fact is if the life time of the machine is about to expire, attempts to balance is just a money wastage. Also when comparing with the cost of balancing and the profit gain, if the profit is comparatively not going considerably high the balancing is not much useful. Those are some examples for the situations which are not necessary to balance the rotating parts. Engineers have to concern about those facts also when planning to balance the rotating parts.

Applications Motors rotors Using in Auto mobile technology