Offset Imbalanced Rotors for Hub Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hub-based active vibration control systems face challenges in addressing failure modes such as loss of operation or loss of power, where imbalanced rotors can become statically imbalanced, leading to severe vibrations and potentially hazardous or catastrophic conditions.
Innovation Solution
A hub-based AVC design featuring co-rotating motorized imbalanced rotors with offset axes of rotation, allowing centrifugal forces to orient masses to a low static imbalance condition during failure modes, utilizing a controller and sensor system to adjust rotor speed and phase for effective force vector control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If imbalanced rotors are used to create controllable rotating force vectors for vibration control, then vibration control capability is improved, but static imbalance forces increase during failure modes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by offsetting the rotation axis of the imbalanced rotors from the hub rotation axis. This offset creates a geometric asymmetry that enables centrifugal forces to automatically orient the rotor masses into a balanced configuration during failure modes, reducing static imbalance forces while maintaining vibration control capability during normal operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful static imbalance forces that occur during failure modes into a beneficial self-balancing mechanism. By designing the rotors with offset axes, the centrifugal forces generated during rotation automatically orient the masses to minimize static imbalance, transforming the potential hazard into a self-correcting safety feature
2Object-affected harmful factors
If offset axes of rotation are used for imbalanced rotors, then static imbalance is reduced during failure modes, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The offset axis configuration introduces a simple geometric asymmetry that provides complex functional benefits. This single design change enables automatic self-balancing during failure modes without requiring additional components or complex control mechanisms, achieving hazard mitigation through elegant simplicity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively mitigates potentially hazardous and catastrophic failure modes by minimizing static imbalance forces, reducing vibrations, and ensuring system stability during loss of operation or power failures.
Implementation Method 1
the system is designed such that centrifugal forces will cause the masses to spin to an orientation of low static imbalance
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods for a hub-based active vibration control (AVC) design includes at least one pair of co-rotating motorized imbalanced rotors that create a controllable rotating force vector that can be controlled to cancel hub loads on a rotating hub. This control is achievable using a configuration in which each rotor has an axis of rotation that is offset from the hub axis of rotation. In this way, in a loss of operation failure mode, the system is designed such that centrifugal forces will cause the masses to spin to an orientation of low static imbalance.