Balancing Introduction
Balanced rotors are essential for most kinds of rotating machinery. Unbalance will create high vibrations causing material defects and reducing the lifetime of a material. Rotor unbalance is the major problem of vibration and it is related to the first order (rotational frequency).
The goal of balancing is to minimize vibrations related to the first order. Basically, it works like this: We measure the initial state, then we add a trial weight of the known mass, calculate the position and mass of a counterweight, remove the trial weight, and put the calculated weight on the opposite side, to cancel out the imbalance.
When an unbalance exists, the first order (rotational frequency) can be seen clearly. As shown in the example below, on the rotor exists an uneven distribution of mass. A correction weight is added (or material is removed) on the opposite side, which cancels out the major part. This procedure can then be repeated until satisfaction.
Depending on the machinery, single or dual-plane balancing is used. Selecting one plane or two plane balancing generally depends on two factors. One of the factors is the ratio of the length of the rotor (L) to the diameter of the rotor (D). The other factor is the operating speed of the rotor.