Balancing Literature
Balancing Literature
Balancing Literature
According to DIN/ISO 1925 Unbalance is “that condition which exists in a rotor when
vibratory force or motion is imparted to its bearings as a result of centrifugal forces.”
Why Balance?
An unbalanced rotor will cause vibration and stress in the rotor itself and in its supporting
structure. Balancing of the rotor is, therefore, necessary to accomplish one or more of the
following:
a. Increase quality of product
b. Minimize vibration
c. Minimize audible and signal noises
d. Minimize structural stresses
e. Minimize operator annoyance and fatigue
f. Increase bearing life
g. Minimize power loss
Unbalance in just one rotating component of an assembly may cause the entire assembly
to vibrate. This induced vibration in turn may cause excessive wear in bearings, bushings,
shafts, spindles, gears, etc., substantially reducing their service life. Vibrations set up
highly undesirable alternating stresses in structural supports and housings, which may
eventually lead to their complete failure. Performance is decreased because of the
absorption of energy by the supporting structure. Vibrations may be transmitted through
the floor to adjacent machinery and seriously impair its accuracy or proper functioning.
Centrifugal force acts upon the entire mass of a rotating component, impelling each
particle outward and away from the axis of rotation in a radial direction. If the mass of a
rotating component is evenly distributed about its shaft axis, the part is "balanced" and
rotates without vibration. However, if an excess of mass exists on one side of a rotor, the
centrifugal force acting upon this heavy side exceeds the centrifugal force exerted by the
light side and pulls the entire rotor in the direction of the heavy side.
This figure shows the side view of a rotor having an excess mass m on one side. Due to
centrifugal force exerted by m during rotation, the entire rotor is being pulled in the
direction of the arrow F.
Centrifugal force increases with the square of the speed
A rotating element having an uneven mass distribution, i.e., unbalance, will vibrate due to
the excess centrifugal force exerted during rotation by the heavier side of the rotor. When
at rest, the excess mass exerts no centrifugal force and, therefore, causes no vibration. Yet
the actual unbalance is still present. Unbalance, therefore, is independent of rotational
speed and remains the same, whether the part is at rest or is rotating (provided the part
does not deform during rotation). Centrifugal force, however, varies with speed. The
higher the speed, the greater the centrifugal force exerted by the unbalance and the more
violent the vibration. Centrifugal force increases proportionately to the square of the
increase in speed. If the speed is doubled, the centrifugal force quadruples; if the speed is
tripled, the centrifugal force is multiplied by nine.
Causes of unbalance
The excess of mass on one side of the rotor in this figure is called unbalance. In the
example illustrated, it is the "heavy spot". Unbalance may also occur due to lack of mass
(such as a drill hole, porous spot, etc.) in which case it is called the "light spot”. Either
one may be caused by a variety of reasons, including the following:
Limitations imposed by rotor design often introduce unbalance effects that cannot be
corrected adequately by refinement of the design itself. For example, electrical design
considerations impose a requirement that one coil be at a greater radius than the others in
a certain type of universal motor armature. It is impractical to design a compensating
unbalance into the armature.
Fabricated parts, such as fans, often distort nonsymmetrically under service conditions.
Design and economic considerations prevent the adaptation of methods that might
eliminate this distortion and thereby reduce the resulting unbalance.
Ideally, rotating parts should always be designed for inherent balance, whether a
balancing operation is to be performed or not. Where low service speeds are involved and
the effects of a reasonable amount of unbalance can be tolerated, this practice may
eliminate the need for balancing. In parts that require unbalanced masses for functional
reasons, these masses can often be counterbalanced by designing for symmetry about the
shaft axis.
Correction methods
Corrections for rotor unbalance are made either by the addition of mass to the rotor, by
the removal of material, or in some cases, by relocating the shaft axis (“mass centering").
The selected correction method should ensure that there is sufficient space or material to
allow correction of the maximum unbalance which may occur. The ideal correction
method permits a reduction of the maximum initial unbalance to less than balance
tolerance in a single correction step. However, this is often difficult to achieve. The more
common methods described below, e.g., drilling, usually permit a single step reduction of
10:1 in unbalance if carried out carefully. Milling and grinding are less accurate, unless
carried out in automatic or semi-automatic balancing machines, which have integrated
mass correction devices.
The addition of mass may achieve a reduction ratio as large as 20:1 or higher, provided
the mass and its position are closely controlled. If the method selected for reduction of
maximum initial unbalance cannot be expected to bring the rotor within the permissible
residual unbalance in a single correction step, a preliminary correction is made. Then a
second correction follows to reduce the remaining unbalance to its permissible value.
Addition of Mass
1. Addition of two-component epoxy.
It is difficult to apply the material so that its center-of-gravity is precisely at the desired
correction location. Variations in location introduce errors in correction. This method is
often used in balancing of wound armatures.
2. Addition of bolted or riveted standard washers.
This method is quick, but somewhat limited in accuracy because the washers come in
incremental sizes, i.e., the mass of one washer may vary considerably from the mass of
the next washer of the same type and size. This method is often used in balancing of
AC motor rotors.
3. Addition of premanufactured weights.
The same limitations as in (2) apply. A typical application is addition of spring clips to
the blades of automotive A/C blower wheels.
4. Addition of cut-to-size weights.
This is practiced on drive shafts, for instance, by resistance welding the weights to the
outside rotor surface. Welding provides a means of attaching a wide variety of
correction masses at any desired angular locations. Care must be taken that welding
heat does not distort the rotor.
Removal of Mass
1. Drilling.
Material is removed from the rotor by a drill which penetrates the rotor to a measured
depth, thereby removing the intended amount of material with a high degree of
accuracy. A depth gage or limit switch can be provided on the drill spindle to ensure
that the hole is drilled to the desired depth. This is probably the most effective method
of unbalance correction.
2. Milling, Shaping, or Fly Cutting.
This method permits accurate removal of mass when the rotor surfaces, from which the
depth of cut is measured, are machined surfaces, and when means are provided for
accurate measurement of cut with respect to those surfaces; used where relatively large
corrections are required.
3. Grinding.
In general, grinding must be considered a trial-and-error method of correction. It is
difficult to evaluate the actual mass of the material, which is removed. This method is
usually used only where the rotor design or material does not permit a more
economical type of correction.
Mass Centering
Such a procedure is used, for instance, to reduce initial unbalance in crankshaft castings
or forgings. The shaft is mounted in a balanced cage or cradle, which in turn, is rotated in
a balancing machine. The shaft is adjusted radially with respect to the cage until the
unbalance indication for the combined shaft and cradle assembly is within a given
tolerance. At this point the principal inertia axis of the shaft essentially coincides with the
shaft axis of the balanced cage. Center drills, guided along the axis of the cage, then drill
the shaft centers and thereby provide an axis in the crankshaft about which it is in
balance. The subsequent machining of the crankshaft is carried out between these centers.
Because material removal is uneven at different parts of the shaft, the machining
operation will introduce some new unbalance. A final balancing operation is, therefore,
still required. It is generally accomplished by drilling into the crankshaft counterweights.
However, final unbalance corrections are small and balancing time is significantly
shortened. Furthermore, final correction (usually by drilling) does not exceed the material
available for it, nor does it reduce the mass of the counterweights to a level where they no
longer perform their proper function, namely to compensate for the opposed throws and
crankpins of the crankshaft.
Units of unbalance
Since a given excess mass at a given radius represents the same unbalance, regardless of
rotational speed (provided the rotor does not change its shape over speed), the speed at
which the unbalance is measured is determined primarily by the type of balancing
machine, its drive system, the required balancing accuracy, and safety concerns (i.e. the
slower the rotational speed, the less energy is stored in the rotor).
Once the unbalance has been corrected there will no longer be any significant disturbing
centrifugal force and, therefore, no more excessive vibration. A small residual unbalance
will usually remain in the part, just as there is a tolerance in any machining operation.
Generally, the higher the service speed, the smaller should be the residual unbalance.
Balancing tolerances for various types of rotors will be discussed later in this book.
While most countries use the metric system, and subsequently use metric units of
unbalance, e.g., gram•millimeters (abbreviated gmm), in the U.S.A. many branches of the
industry use a combination of metric and English units, gram•inch (abbreviated g•in),
because it has proven to be the most practical. A true English unit, e.g., ounce•inch
(abbreviated oz•in) is too large for many balancing applications, necessitating fractions or
a subdivision into hundredths, neither of which has become very popular.
Types of unbalance
The following paragraphs explain the four different types of unbalance as defined by the
internationally accepted ISO Standard No. 1925 on balancing terminology. For each of
the four mutually exclusive cases an example is shown, illustrating displacement of the
principal axis of inertia from the shaft axis caused by the addition of certain unbalance
masses in certain distributions to a perfectly balanced rotor.
a. Static Unbalance
Static Unbalance
Static unbalance exists when the principal axis of inertia is displaced parallel to the shaft
axis. This type of unbalance is found primarily in narrow, disk-shaped parts such as
flywheels and turbine wheels. It can be corrected by a single mass correction placed
opposite the center-of-gravity in a plane perpendicular to the shaft axis, and intersecting
the CG.
Static unbalance, if large enough, can be detected with gravity-type balancing devices, for
instance, a pair of precision ground knife edges. If the knife edges are level, the rotor will
turn until the heavy spot reaches the lowest position.
The use of knife edges for the detection of unbalance is very limited because of the
following:
• The device can only indicate the angle of unbalance, not the amount of unbalance.
• The amount of unbalance can only be estimated and corrected by trial-and-error.
• The accuracy is limited by the friction between knife edge and journal.
Static unbalance can be measured more accurately by centrifugal means on a balancing
machine than by gravitational means on knife edges or rollers. Static balancing by gravity
is satisfactory only for relatively slowly revolving, disk-shaped parts or for parts that are
subsequently assembled into a larger rotor, which is then balanced dynamically as an
assembly.
b. Couple Unbalance
Couple Unbalance
Couple unbalance is that condition for which the principal axis of inertia intersects the
shaft axis at the center of gravity. This condition arises when two equal unbalances are
positioned at an axial distance on a rotor and spaced 180º from each other. Since this rotor
will not rotate when placed on knife-edges, a dynamic method must be employed to
detect couple unbalance.
Couple unbalance is expressed in units of gram-millimeter2 (abbreviated gmm2),
gram•inch2 (abbreviated g•in2), ounce•inch2 (abbreviated oz•in2), or similar, wherein the
second length unit refers to the distance b between the two planes of unbalance.
This type of unbalance cannot be corrected by a single mass in a single correction plane.
At least two masses are required, each placed in a different transverse plane
(perpendicular to the shaft axis) and 180º opposite to each other. In other words, a couple
unbalance needs another couple to correct it. In the example for instance, correction could
be made by placing two masses at opposite angular positions on the main body of the
rotor. The axial location of the correction couple does not matter as long as its value is
equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the unbalance couple.
c. Quasi-Static Unbalance
Quasi-Static Unbalance
Quasi-static unbalance is that condition of unbalance for which the central principal axis
of inertia intersects the shaft axis at a point other than the center of gravity. It represents
the specific combination of static and couple unbalance where the angular position of one
couple component coincides with the angular position of the static unbalance. This is a
special case of dynamic unbalance.
Couple plus Static Unbalance results
in Quasi-Static Unbalance, provided
one Couple Mass has the same
angular position as the Static Mass.
Note that the single unbalance mass in the first figure represents the same quasi-static
unbalance as the 3 masses in the second!
d. Dynamic Unbalance
Dynamic unbalance, is that condition in which the central principal axis of inertia is
neither parallel to, nor intersects with the shaft axis. It is the most frequently occurring
type of unbalance and can only be corrected (as is the case with couple unbalance) by
mass correction in at least two planes perpendicular to the shaft axis. Dynamic unbalance
is a combination of static unbalance and couple unbalance, where the angular position of
the static unbalance relative to the couple unbalance is neither 0º nor 180º.
Soft-bearing
The soft-bearing balancing machine derives its name from the fact that it supports the
rotor to be balanced on bearings which are very flexibly suspended, permitting the rotor
to vibrate freely in at least one direction, usually the horizontal, perpendicular to the rotor
shaft axis. Resonance of rotor and bearing systems occurs at one half or less of the lowest
balancing speed, so that by the time balancing speed is reached, the angle of lag and the
vibration amplitude have stabilized and can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Bearings (and the directly attached support components) vibrate in unison with the rotor,
thus adding to its mass. Restriction of vertical motion does not affect the amplitude of
vibration in the horizontal plane, but the added mass of the bearings does. The greater the
combined mass of the rotor and the bearings, the smaller will be the displacement of the
bearings, and the smaller will be the output of the devices which sense the unbalance.
The relationship between unbalance and bearing motion is very complex. A direct
indication of unbalance can be obtained only after calibrating the indicating system for a
given rotor by making several calibration runs with calibration weights of known value
attached to the rotor in the chosen correction planes. Calibrating a soft-bearing machine
by shaking the rotor (without spinning it) has been attempted by several manufacturers
but proven inaccurate because the polar moment of inertia is ignored.
Hard-bearing
Hard-bearing balancing machines are essentially of the same construction as soft-bearing
balancing machines, except that their bearing supports are significantly stiffer in
transverse horizontal direction. This results in a horizontal resonance for the rotor and
bearing support system which occurs at a frequency several orders of magnitude higher
than that for a comparable soft-bearing balancing machine. The hard-bearing balancing
machine is designed to operate at speeds well below this resonance in an area where the
phase angle lag is constant and practically zero, and where the amplitude of vibration -
though small - is directly proportional to centrifugal forces produced by unbalance.
Since the force that a given amount of unbalance exerts at a given speed is always the
same, no matter whether the unbalance occurs in a small or large, light or heavy rotor, the
output from the sensing elements attached to the balancing machine bearing supports
remains proportional to the centrifugal force resulting from unbalance in the rotor. The
output is not influenced by bearing mass, rotor mass, or inertia, so that a permanent
relation between unbalance and sensing element output can be established.
Centrifugal force from a given unbalance rises with the square of the balancing speed.
Output from the pickups rises proportionately with the second or third power of the speed
depending on the type of pickup used. Suitable integrator circuitry then reduces the
pickup signal inversely proportional to the square respectively cube of the balancing
speed increase, resulting in a constant unbalance readout. Unlike soft-bearing balancing
machines, the use of calibration masses or shakers is not required to calibrate the machine
for a given rotor.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
• ISO 1925:2001 Mechanical vibration -- Balancing -- Vocabulary
• ISO 1940-1:1986 Mechanical vibration -- Balance quality requirements of rigid rotors
-- Part 1: Determination of permissible residual unbalance
• ISO 1940-2:1997 Mechanical vibration -- Balance quality requirements of rigid rotors
-- Part 2: Balance errors
• ISO 2041:1990 Vibration and shock -- Vocabulary
• ISO 2371:1974 Field balancing equipment -- Description and evaluation (withdrawn)
• ISO 2953:1999 Mechanical vibration -- Balancing machines -- Description and
evaluation
(available in English only)
• ISO 2954:1975 Mechanical vibration of rotating and reciprocating machinery --
Requirements for instruments for measuring vibration severity
• ISO 3719:1994 Mechanical vibration -- Symbols for balancing machines and
associated instrumentation
• ISO 4866:1990 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Vibration of buildings --
Guidelines for the measurement of vibrations and evaluation of their effects on
buildings
• ISO 5343:1983 Criteria for evaluating flexible rotor balance (withdrawn)
• ISO 5344:1980 Electrodynamic test equipment for generating vibration -- Methods of
describing
equipment characteristics
• ISO 5348:1998 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Mechanical mounting of
accelerometers
• ISO 5406:1980 The mechanical balancing of flexible rotors (withdrawn)
• ISO 7475:2002 Mechanical vibration -- Balancing machines -- Enclosures and other
protective measures for the measuring station (available in English only)
• ISO 7626-1:1986 Vibration and shock -- Experimental determination of mechanical
mobility -- Part 1: Basic definitions and transducers
• ISO 7626-2:1990 Vibration and shock -- Experimental determination of mechanical
mobility -- Part 2: Measurements using single-point translation excitation with an
attached vibration exciter
• ISO 7626-5:1994 Vibration and shock -- Experimental determination of mechanical
mobility -- Part 5: Measurements using impact excitation with an exciter which is not
attached to the structure
• ISO 7919-1:1996 Mechanical vibration of non-reciprocating machines --
Measurements on rotating shafts and evaluation criteria -- Part 1: General guidelines
• ISO 7919-2:2001 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on rotating shafts -- Part 2: Land-based steam turbines and generators in
excess of 50 MW with normal operating speeds of
1500 r/min, 1800 r/min, 3000 r/min and 3600 r/min
• ISO 7919-3:1996 Mechanical vibration of non-reciprocating machines --
Measurements on rotating shafts and evaluation criteria -- Part 3: Coupled industrial
machines
• ISO 7919-4:1996 Mechanical vibration of non-reciprocating machines --
Measurements on rotating shafts and evaluation criteria -- Part 4: Gas turbine sets
• ISO 7919-5:1997 Mechanical vibration of non-reciprocating machines --
Measurements on rotating shafts and evaluation criteria -- Part 5: Machine sets in
hydraulic power generating and pumping plants
• ISO 8042:1988 Shock and vibration measurements -- Characteristics to be specified
for seismic pick-ups
• ISO 8569:1996 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Measurement and evaluation of
shock and vibration effects on sensitive equipment in buildings
• ISO 8821:1989 Mechanical vibration -- Balancing -- Shaft and fitment key convention
• ISO 9688:1990 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Analytical methods of assessing
shock resistance of mechanical systems -- Information exchange between suppliers and
users of analyses
• ISO 10055:1996 Mechanical vibration -- Vibration testing requirements for shipboard
equipment and machinery components
• ISO 10137:1992 Bases for design of structures -- Serviceability of buildings against
vibration (available in English only)
• ISO/TS 10811-1:2000 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Vibration and shock in
buildings with sensitive equipment -- Part 1: Measurement and evaluation
• ISO/TS 10811-2:2000 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Vibration and shock in
buildings with sensitive equipment -- Part 2: Classification
• ISO 10814:1996 Mechanical vibration -- Susceptibility and sensitivity of machines to
unbalance
• ISO 10816-1:1995 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 1: General guidelines
• ISO 10816-2:2001 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 2: Land-based steam turbines and generators
in excess of 50 MW with normal operating speeds of 1500 r/min, 1800 r/min, 3000
r/min and 3600 r/min
• ISO 10816-3:1998 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 3: Industrial machines with nominal power
above 15 kW and nominal speeds between 120 r/min and 15 000 r/min when measured
in situ
• ISO 10816-4:1998 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 4: Gas turbine driven sets excluding aircraft
derivatives
• ISO 10816-5:2000 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 5: Machine sets in hydraulic power
generating and pumping plants (available in English only)
• ISO 10816-6:1995 Mechanical vibration -- Evaluation of machine vibration by
measurements on non-rotating parts -- Part 6: Reciprocating machines with power
ratings above 100 kW
• ISO 10817-1:1998 Rotating shaft vibration measuring systems -- Part 1: Relative and
absolute sensing of radial vibration
• ISO 10819:1996 Mechanical vibration and shock -- Hand-arm vibration -- Method for
the measurement and evaluation of the vibration transmissibility of gloves at the palm
of the hand
• ISO 11342:1998 Mechanical vibration -- Methods and criteria for the mechanical
balancing of flexible rotors (available in English only)
• ISO 11342/Cor1:2000 Mechanical vibration -- Methods and criteria for the
mechanical balancing of flexible rotors (Technical Corrigendum 1)
• ISO 13373-1:2002 Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines -- Vibration
condition monitoring -- Part 1: General procedures
• ISO 14694:2003 Industrial fans -- Specifications for balance quality and vibration
levels
• ISO 14695:2003 Industrial fans -- Method of measurement of fan vibration
• ISO 14839-1:2002 Mechanical vibration -- Vibration of rotating machinery equipped
with active magnetic bearings -- Part 1: Vocabulary
• ISO 16063-1:1998 Methods for the calibration of vibration and shock transducers --
Part 1: Basic concepts
• ISO 16063-11:1999 Methods for the calibration of vibration and shock transducers --
Part 11: Primary vibration calibration by laser interferometry (available in English only)
• ISO 16063-12:2002 Methods for the calibration of vibration and shock transducers --
Part 12: Primary vibration calibration by the reciprocity method (available in English
only)
• ISO 16063-13:2001 Methods for the calibration of vibration and shock transducers --
Part 13: Primary shock calibration using laser interferometry
NATIONAL STANDARDS
ANSI S2.7-1982 Balancing Terminology (identical to ISO 1925)
(R1997)
ANSI S2.60-1987 Balancing Machines - Enclosures and Other Safety
(R1997) Measures (identical to ISO 7475)
ANSI S2.42-1982 Procedures for Balancing Flexible Rotors (identical to
(R1997) ISO 5406)
ANSI S2.38-1982 Field Balancing Equipment - Description and Evaluation
(R1997) (identical to ISO 2371)
ANSI S2.19-1989 Mechanical Vibration - Balance Quality Requirements of
(R1997) Rigid Rotors - Part 1, Determination of Permissible
Residual Unbalance (identical to ISO 1940)
SAE Documents
ARP587B : Balancing Machines - Description and Evaluation Horizontal, Two-Plane,
Soft-Bearing Type for Gas Turbine Rotors
ARP588B : Balancing Machines - Description and Evaluation Vertical, Single-Plane,
Soft-Bearing Type for Gas Turbine Rotors
ARP1134 : Adapter Interface - Turbine Engine Blade Moment Weighing Scale
ARP1202 : Balancing Machines, Dynamic, Ball Type Slave Bearings for Rotor Support
ARP1382 : Design Criteria for Balancing Machine Tooling
ARP4048 : Balancing Machines - Description and Evaluation Horizontal, Two-Plane,
Hard-Bearing Type for Gas Turbine Rotors
ARP4050 : Balancing Machines - Description and Evaluation Vertical, Two-Plane,
Hard-Bearing Type for Gas Turbine Rotors
ARP4162A Balancing Machine Proving Rotors
:
ARP4163 : Balancing Machines, Tooling Design Criteria (as of 7-2003 being worked
on, will supersede ARP 1382)
ARP5323 : Balancing Machines - Description and Evaluation Vertical, Single-Plane,
Hard-Bearing Type for Gas Turbine Rotors
ARP510A : Moment Weight of Turbine and Compressor Rotor Blades
AIR1839 : A Guide to Aircraft Turbine Engine Vibration Monitoring Systems
ANSI and ISO Documents may be ordered through www.ansi.org
API Standards may be ordered through a distributor, Global Engineering Documents at
http://global.ihs.com
SAE Standards may be ordered through www.sae.org