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Nonlinear analysis, instability and routes to chaos of a cracked rotating shaft

Article  in  Nonlinear Dynamics · February 2019

DOI: 10.1007/s11071-019-04813-0

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 Nonlinear Dynamics manuscript No.
(will be inserted by the editor)

Nonlinear analysis, instability and routes to chaos of a

cracked rotating shaft

Saber El Arem

Received: date / Accepted: date

Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore the dynamical response of a rotating
shaft with a cracked transverse section. This complex problem is distilled down to
the study of a very comprehensive mechanical system composed of two non-cracked
rigid bars connected with a nonlinear bending spring that concentrates the global stiff-
ness of the cracked shaft. The switching crack model is presented as a specific case of
the EDF-LMS family of models and adopted to describe the breathing mechanism of
the crack. By analyzing the system equilibrium equations, we show that the stiffness
change when the crack breathes leads to shocks with velocity jumps and coupling
between the transverse oscillations. The linear stability of the periodic solutions is
examined based on the Floquet’s theory. Nonlinear dynamics tools such as Poincaré
maps and bifurcation diagrams are used to unveil the system oscillations character-
istics. Many well-known features due to the crack presence have been observed, but
some unexpected responses are noticed like chaotic behavior. This can be confidently
attributed to the abrupt change of the structure stiffness with the breathing crack. It
has also been observed that with the super-harmonic resonance phenomenon, the in-
crease of static deflection accompanied by that of the first two harmonics amplitudes
are good indicators of a propagating crack presence.

Keywords Rotating shaft · breathing crack · Shocks · nonlinear dynamics · stability ·

Floquet’s theory · routes to chaos · bifurcation diagram · Poincaré section

S. El Arem
Arts et Métiers ParisTech
Laboratoire LAMPA, CER Angers, France
E-mail: [email protected]
2 Saber El Arem

Nomenclature

Symbol Description

t time
AG, GB Rigid bars connected at G: non-cracked parts of the shaft
G Center of cracked transverse section
a, b Rigid bars lengths
D Viscous damping coefficient
d Reduced (dimensionless) viscous damping coefficient
H0 Assumption of small motions near the equilibrium position
H1 Assumption a step function to describe the breathing mechanism of the crack
U, V Displacements of G
θx , θy Rotation angles about (Ox) and (Oy)
(Oxy) The inertial non-rotating frame
(Gζ η) The body-fixed rotating frame
Ws∗ Total elastic energy of the non-cracked shaft
W∗ Total elastic energy of the cracked shaft
w∗ Additional (complementary) elastic energy due to the crack
w Additional elastic energy due to the crack
Φ Aperture angle
S Transverse section area
s(Φ) System compliance function
s0 (Φ) Derivative of the system compliance function
M = (Mx , My ) Bending moments at the cracked transverse section
E Young modulus
I Quadratic moment of inertia
[θ ]
ϕ = arctan( [θxy ] ) Response angle
k(ϕ) System stiffness function
k0 (ϕ) Derivative of the system stiffness function
M0 Diagonal element of the mass matrix
[U̇], [V̇ ] Velocities jumps
∆ Measures the system stiffness loss
g Acceleration of gravity
m Linear mass density
m2 System total mass
Ω Rotating speed
1XΩ Once per revolution harmonic component
2XΩ Twice per revolution harmonic component
nXΩ n-times per revolution harmonic component (n = 3, 4, . . . )

1 Introduction

The presence of a crack in an engineering structure introduces a local flexibility that

alters its vibratory behavior. It’s now understood that this local flexibility is induced
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 3

by the strain energy concentration in the vicinity of the crack tip (Irwin [17], Bui
[4]). Unless detected in time, propagating cracks could affect seriously the system
integrity which could not be tolerated in industries like power plants, aeronautics and
aerospace.
Since the early 1970s when investigations on the dynamics of cracked rotors be-
gan, numerous papers on this subject have been published [6, 26, 3] and specialists
from industry and academia agree on the fact that the modeling and analysis of the be-
havior of cracked rotating shafts are complex. Moreover, to build a reliable model, a
special feature inherent to this problem has to be considered meticulously: the crack
breathing mechanism as presented in Fig.1. In fact, when the structure rotates, the
crack opens and closes depending on the stresses at the crack surface. This mech-
anism is at the origin of the nonlinear aspect of the problem. During the last three

Fig. 1 Crack breathing mechanism

decades, great attention has been paid by several research scientists to the analysis
and diagnosis of cracks in rotating machinery. The most relevant experimental and
numerical works related to cracked structures modeling could be found in some re-
view articles [6, 31, 14] and books [3, 7].
In this article, we continue to advance a family of models and discussions we
have started developing nearly twenty years ago at Electricité De France (EDF) and
the Solid Mechanics Laboratory (LMS) of École Polytechnique in France. All these
models belong to what we have called the EDF−LMS approach as described in [10].
It provides means to overcome the difficulties and imprecisions ([25, 5]) inherent
to the first and oldest approach initiated in the 1970s by Dimarogonas and his co-
workers and based on the linear fracture mechanics principles [26].

1.1 A brief review of the EDF−LMS approach

The key idea of the EDF−LMS approach, as described in many articles (Andrieux
and Varé [2], El Arem [9]), is the identification of the characteristics of a beam-
like model (Fig.2(c)) from accurate three-dimensional (3D) finite element model, cf.
Fig.2(a). With the large number of capabilities offered by the 3D modeling, it be-
comes possible to consider cracks of complex shapes and various loading conditions
which makes the approach generic and its application to similar problems straight-
forward.
In the beam-like model, the cracked transverse section (Fig.2(b)) is replaced by a
4 Saber El Arem

Fig. 2 The cracked shaft model of [2]

lumped (zero length) nonlinear bending spring (Fig.2(d)) whose constitutive equa-
tions give a complete description of the crack breathing mechanism. It was demon-
strated by El Arem [9] that the shearing effects on the breathing mechanism of the
crack are negligible and, thus, will not be considered in what follows.
The cracked 3D structural element of Fig.2(a) is subjected to an end moment M 2L =
(Mx (2L), My (2L)) at z = 2L. The energy function could be written by distinguishing
the contribution of the cracked transverse section from that of the non-cracked parts,
in the form:

L
W ∗ (M 2L ) = W ∗ (M) = Ws∗ (M) + w∗ (M) = ||M||2 (1 + s(Φ)) (1)
EI

where M = (Mx , My ) is the resulting couple of bending moments at the cracked sec-
tion, Ws∗ the total elastic energy of non-cracked (healthy) structure subjected to the
bending moment M and w∗ the additional elastic energy due to the presence of the
cracked section. In order to simulate a rotating load on a fixed beam, the bending load
M
is applied in several aperture angles Φ = arctan( Mxy ), with Φ varying over [0, 2π[. E
is the Young modulus and I quadratic moment of inertia.
In this framework, the nonlinear constitutive equations of the discreet element model-
ing the cracked transverse section are obtained by derivation of the function w∗ with
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 5

respect to M. We obtain

2L s(Φ) − 12 s0 (Φ)
    
[θx ] Mx ds(Φ)
[θ ] = = 1 0 , with s0 (Φ) = (2)
[θy ] EI 2 s (Φ) s(Φ) My dΦ
However, for finite element computational codes in rotor dynamics, a nonlinear rela-
tion of the form [θ ] = f (M) is to be identified. Thus, the identification process was
formulated in terms of the additional deformation energy w([θ ]) written as a quadratic
function of the rotations jumps at the cracked transverse section:
EI [θy ]
w([θx ], [θy ]) = k(ϕ)||[θ ]||2 with ϕ = arctan( ) (3)
4L [θx ]
The function k describes the system stiffness variation with the crack breathing. It
is deduced from the compliance function s that was identified using 3D numerical
simulations. The relation between k and s is established by the Légendre-Fenchel
transform relating w to w∗ as detailed in [2, 8, 9].
The constitutive equations are obtained by differentiating w with respect to [θ ] as:

EI k(ϕ) − 21 k0 (ϕ)
    
Mx [θx ] dk(ϕ)
= with k0 (ϕ) = (4)
My 2L 21 k0 (ϕ) k(ϕ) [θy ] dϕ

For straight tip cracks, the crack is totally closed when ϕ ∈ [0, π[ and

k(ϕ) = +∞
(5)
k0 (ϕ) = 0

For ϕ ∈ [π, 2π[, the crack is partially open (closed). It opens totally (lowest stiff-
ness) at ϕ = 3π2 . This approach was first presented by Andrieux and Varé [2] and
experimentally validated by Stoisser and Audebert [30] then largely discussed and
improved in [8, 12, 9]. This variation of the stiffness of the nodal element repre-
senting the cracked transverse section will be, in the next part of this paper, adapted
to be used in a two-Degrees-Of-Freedom (2−DOF) dynamical system describing a
rotating shaft with a cracked transverse section.

1.2 Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft

In analyzing the dynamics of cracked rotating shafts, it is often assumed that the vi-
bration induced stresses are small compared to those due to static loads which is com-
monly accepted for horizontal heavy rotors of industrial plants. With this hypothesis,
the system global stiffness variation becomes depending only on the angular position
Ωt of the crack with respect to the inertial (non-rotating) frame. Consequently, the
obtained differential equations describing the dynamical equilibrium of the system
are linear with periodic coefficients ([21, 19, 14]). However, as detailed by Bach-
schmid et al [3], in many situations like :
– lightweight rotors and lightly damped rotors when passing a critical rotating fre-
quency
6 Saber El Arem

– vertical axis rotors where the static bending moments are small
– a crack that has developed in a rotor transverse section where the bending mo-
ments are small

the breathing mechanism becomes dependent not only but significantly on the dy-
namical response of the system. Thus, we have systematically integrated this nonlin-
ear dependence in the formulation of the EDF−LMS approach to make it capable of
handling different situations of cracking in rotating machines.
Nonlinear aspects of cracked rotating shafts have recently interested many researchers
[20, 1]. In fact, these very expensive structures are omnipresent in sectors like aero-
nautics, aerospace, and power generation where loading conditions and environment
are prone to cracking. An overview of the most observed phenomena when examin-
ing the response of a cracked rotor could be found in [18] where harmonic, super-
harmonic, subharmonic and simultaneous sub/super harmonic resonances are well
commented and explained using a simple rotor model similar to Jeffcott rotor. By
considering a switching crack model, Patel and Darpe [27] observed chaotic and
quasi-periodic dynamical responses. The authors examined the effect of the unbal-
ance eccentricity level, the crack depth and damping on the bifurcation characteris-
tics of a cracked rotor. It was reported that with a more realistic breathing mechanism
of the crack, the chaotic, quasi-periodic and subharmonic vibrations are not observed
on the response of the cracked rotor for the similar set of parameters. Similar con-
clusions where formulated in [13] where the authors have found that with a smooth
stiffness variation when the crack breathes, the cracked shaft never exhibits chaotic or
quasi-periodic vibratory response. Also, Muller et al [23] observed chaotic motions
and strange attractors by applying the theory of Lyapunov exponents to a system with
the switching crack model of Gasch [14].

1.3 Aim and plan of the article

In this article, we focus mainly on the crack presence effects on the dynamical re-
sponse of the shaft, hence the problem is distilled down to its essential aspects: the
equilibrium equations are written in a simple, comprehensive and uncluttered form. In
section 2, we give a detailed description of the cracked shaft model and establish the
equilibrium equations of the system. When a simplifying assumption is utilized, the
breathing mechanism becomes dependent only on the angular position of the crack
Ωt and linear equilibrium equations are obtained. In section 3, we use the harmonic
balance method to solve the system of linear equations. We show that with a switching
crack model, the abrupt opening/closing of the crack generates shocks with velocity
jumps responsible for coupling between the system transverse oscillations. The first
part of Section 4 is devoted to stability analysis of the periodic solutions based on
Floquet’s theory. In the second part, we examine meticulously, using the bifurcation
diagrams and Poincaré sections, three zones of instability to characterize their cor-
responding phenomena. In section 5, we give some conclusions and perspectives to
help in crack signature identification in rotating shafts.
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 7

A
y
V η
a
O
V y
O

G
U
U G

b
ϕ ζ
x γ
[θ]
B Ωt

z x

(a) Mechanical system (b) Cracked transverse section

Fig. 3 Mechanical system. (Oxy) inertial frame and (Gζ η) rotating frame

2 The cracked shaft description and parameters

The mechanical system modeling the cracked rotating shaft (Fig.3) is composed of
two non-cracked rigid bars AG and GB of circular section S, of respective lengths
a and b, and distributed mass m. They are connected, in G, by a nonlinear elastic
bending spring that represents the global stiffness of the cracked shaft. The system
is simply supported at A and B, rotating at the frequency Ω about the bars axis and
subjected to the effects of its own weight.
In what follows, we assume small motions near the equilibrium position under the
shaft’s own weight (assumption H0 ).
In the inertial frame, the small movements of G are described by (U(t),V (t), 0).
Let M(x, y, z) be a point (transverse section) of the rotating system. Its coordinates x,
y and z in the inertial frame are given by:

z+a z+a
if M ∈ [GA]

(x = a U, y = a V, z) (6)
(x = b−z
b U, y = b−z
b V, z) if M ∈ [GB]

The respective rotation angles about (Ox) and (Oy) are:

− Va if M ∈ [GA] a if M ∈ [GA]
 U
∂y ∂x
θx = − = and θy = = (7)
b if M ∈ [GB] − Ub if M ∈ [GB]
V
∂z ∂z
8 Saber El Arem

Under the H0 assumption, the rotations gaps in G could be written as:

θx (0+ ) − θx (0− ) = ( a1 + 1b )V
 
[θ ]x
[θ ] = =
[θ ]y θy (0+ ) − θy (0− ) = −( 1a + 1b )U

We can notice in particular that: [θ ] ⊥ OG.

The crack orientation is defined by the Gζ direction given by: (Ox, Gζ ) = Ωt.
The elastic energy of the system could be written as quadratic form of the rota-
tions gaps:
1
W ([θ ]x , [θ ]y ) = k(ϕ)([θ ]2x + [θ ]2y ) (8)
2
where k(ϕ) represents a directional stiffness, 2π-periodic function of the angle

ϕ = (Gζ , [θ ]) = (Gζ , Ox) + (Ox, [θ ]) = −Ωt + γ ∈ [0, 2π[ modulo 2π

where γ is given by γ = − arctan( U

V ) + nπ, with n ∈ {0, 1, 2}, cf. Fig.3.
The bending moments associated with the rotations at time t are:
∂W ∂W
Mx = and My =
∂ [θ ]x ∂ [θ ]y

In the rotating shaft fixed frame (Gζ η), the following constitutive equations are then
obtained as proposed in [2, 8]:

k(ϕ) − 21 k0 (ϕ)
    
Mζ [θ ]ζ
= 1 0 (9)
Mη 2 k (ϕ) k(ϕ) [θ ]η

This nonlinear relation is written

k(ϕ) − 21 k0 (ϕ)
    
Mx [θ ]x
= 1 0 (10)
My 2 k (ϕ) k(ϕ) [θ ]y

in the inertial non-rotating frame (Oxy).

By writing the constitutive equations of the cracked section in this form we concen-
trate the breathing mechanism of the crack in one single parameter: k(ϕ). Also, we
should highlight the fact that the stiffness loss in both directions (Gζ and Gη) are
taken into consideration since it is well known that the stiffness also reduces along
the stronger axis (Gη) as the crack propagates [19]. This aspect was neglected by
Gasch [14] where only stiffness reduction in the weak direction of the crack (Gζ ) is
considered.
The dynamical equilibrium equations are given by the Virtual Powers Principle as:

M0Ü(t) + DU̇(t) + k(ϕ)U(t) − 12 k0 (ϕ)V (t) = m2 g

(
(11)
M0V̈ (t) + DV̇ (t) + k(ϕ)V (t) + 12 k0 (ϕ)U(t) = 0

2 a+b 2 1 1 1
where M0 = ρS
3 (a + b)L + ρIL, m2 = m 2 L and L = a + b , D = 2dM0 w0 is
the viscous damping coefficient, d the reduced (dimensionless) damping coefficient
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 9

q
K0
and w0 = M 0
the natural frequency of the system with the global stiffness K0 .
Under the H0 assumption, we have:

|U|  V
3π
Consequently, γ is close to 2 so that the approximation

3π
ϕ= − Ωt (12)
2
is justified and it becomes possible to solve system (11) using the harmonic balance
method.
In the next section, the following assumptions will be adopted:
1. H0 : small motions near the equilibrium position under the shaft’s own weight,
2. H1 : a step function to describe the breathing mechanism of the crack.
The harmonic balance method will be utilized to solve the equilibrium equations.

3 Harmonic balance: Periodic solutions under H0 and H1 assumptions

Ko + ∆

Ko
Κ(φ)

Ko − ∆

0 π 2π
φ
Fig. 4 Periodic global stiffness function: switching crack model

The global stiffness of the system is described by the periodic step function
(Fig.4) 
K0 + ∆ ∀ ϕ ∈ [0, π[
k(ϕ) = (13)
K0 − ∆ ∀ϕ ∈ [π, 2π[
Thus, the crack is totally closed for ϕ ∈ [0, π[, and totally open for ϕ ∈ [π, 2π[. The
difference with the model presented by El Arem and Nguyen [13] is that the current
model does not consider the partial opening/closing of the crack for ϕ ∈ [π, 2π[.
The global stiffness of the cracked shaft is concentrated at the nonlinear spring. With
this representation:
10 Saber El Arem

1. the phenomenon of crack closure is taken into account in an exact way by setting
the system global stiffness to its value for a non-cracked shaft,
2. the resort to the penalization technique when the crack closes totally is avoided
and the numerical simulations cost is reduced by 20 to 100 times as noticed by
El Arem and Maitournam [12].
When the shaft rotates, its global stiffness switches from k(ϕ) = Ks = K0 + ∆ (fully
closed crack) to k(ϕ) = K0 − ∆ (fully opened crack). Ks is the global stiffness of the
non-cracked shaft.
It is important to notice that only one measurement is required to identify the stiff-
ness function
q k(ϕ). In fact, knowing the mass M0 and the first critical frequency
ws = Ks
M0of the non-cracked shaft, we need only to measure the current critical
q
K0
frequency w0 = M 0
of the rotating shaft to identify the loss of global stiffness ∆ by
∆ = Ks − K0 .

When ϕ 6= nπ, n ∈ Z, we obtain two uncoupled oscillators described by:


 M0Ü(t) + DU̇(t) + k(ϕ)U(t) = p0
 M V̈ (t) + DV̇ (t) + k(ϕ)V (t) = 0

0
(14)
 k(ϕ) = K0 + ∆ , ∀ t/2nπ < 3π 2 − Ωt < (2n + 1)π, n ∈ Z
k(ϕ) = K0 − ∆ , ∀ t/(2n + 1)π < 3π

2 − Ωt < (2n + 2)π, n ∈ Z


At each stiffness change (ϕ = nπ, n ∈ Z), a shock happens. It corresponds to a sudden

acceleration due to interior force of impulse type leading to velocity jumps [U̇] =
U̇+ − U̇− and [V̇ ] = V̇+ − V̇− . While interpreting (11) in distributions form, we obtain
the jumps equations as:

V =0
 ∆
 M0 [U̇] − Ω
M0 [V̇ ] + Ω U = 0
∆ (15)
∀ t/ 3π − = 2nπ, n ∈ Z

2 Ωt

V =0
 ∆
 M0 [U̇] + Ω
M0 [V̇ ] − Ω U = 0
∆ (16)
∀ t/ 3π2 − Ωt = (2n + 1)π, n ∈ Z


The last three systems of equations completely describe the shaft oscillations. Equa-
tions (15) and (16) show that the coupling between the transverse oscillations is due
only to the shocks with velocity jumps. At each shock, the system accelerates or de-
celerates to maintain the imposed rotating frequency Ω . The existence of a periodic
solution means that the total energy exchanged over one period is null.
When k(ϕ) is written as a Fourier series using the approximation (12), one obtains
continuous functions and consequently shocks are not considered explicitly. The shaft
vibratory response can also be split,

U(t) = U0 + u(t), V (t) = V0 + v(t) (17)

Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 11

U(t) (mm) U(t) (mm)

0.56 0.57 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
-2 -30
Harmonic Balance
HHT
-1.5
-20
-1
-10
-0.5
U'(t) (mm/s)

U'(t) (mm/s)
/K S 0.01 /K S 0.10
0 0

0.5
10
1
20
1.5

2 30

Fig. 5 Validity of approximation (12), d=0.03, ξ = Ω

w0 = 0.75

where (U0 = mK20g ,V0 = 0) is the static response of the shaft with the global stiffness
K0 subjected to its own weight.
In the complex plane, the equilibrium equations lead to:

!
∆ n 2n + 1 i(2n−1)Ωt
M0 z̈(t) + Dż(t) + K0 + ∑ (−1) e z(t)
π n∈Z 2n − 1
U0 ∆ 2n + 1
= ∑ (−1)n+1 2n − 1 ei(2n−1)Ωt (18)
π n∈Z

where z(t) = u(t) + iv(t) with i2 = −1. By using the harmonic expansion method, the
system response is approximated by
j=N
U0 ∆
z(t) ≈ ∑ z j ei jΩt
πK0 j=−N

and (18) becomes

j=N j=N
∆ k=N
2k + 1 i(2k−1+ j)Ωt
∑ (1 − ( jξ )2 + 2i jdξ )z j ei jΩt + ∑ zj ∑ (−1)k e
j=−N πK0 j=−N k=−N 2k − 1
n=N
2n + 1 i(2n−1)Ωt
= ∑ (−1)n+1 e (19)
n=−N 2n − 1

The problem leads to the determination of a solution of an algebraic system of (2N +

1) unknowns, the z j with −N ≤ j ≤ N.
The next step is to check the validity of the approximation we have made so far to
make the previous developments possible:
3π
ϕ= − Ωt
2
Fig.5 shows a good agreement between the numerical solution of system (11) using
12 Saber El Arem

10 -3
1.8

1.6
1X
3X
1.4
5X
1.2
Amplitude (m)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.33 0.5 1 1.5
= /w0

10 -5
9

8
2X
4X
7

6
Amplitude (m)

0
0 0.25 0.5 1 1.5
= /w0

Fig. 6 Harmonics 1 × Ω to 5 × Ω amplitudes, d=0.01, K∆s = 0.05

the Hilber-Hughes-Taylor (HHT) α-method ([15]) and that obtained using the har-
monic balance method: approximation (12) is consequently justified for small crack
depths. For very deep cracks, however, and at the resonance points the shaft displace-
ments are larger and the assumption of small motion (assumption H0 ) is not satisfied.
Therefore, approximation (12) becomes inadequate: besides the rotation angle of the
shaft, the breathing mechanism depends, henceforth, on the vibration amplitude. For
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 13

Fig. 7 Examples of the shaft phase portraits, d=0.01, ∆

Ks = 0.05

small crack depths, when the shaft is running at sub-multiples of the critical rotating
speed (ξ = wΩ0 ≈ N1 , N ∈ N), the super-harmonic resonance phenomenon is observed:
a resonance peak lies at the frequency w = NΩ (Fig.6) and the shaft orbit is com-
posed of N loops, cf. Fig.7. This phenomenon, well-known by research scientists
dealing with cracked rotors dynamics, was also observed by Gasch [14] and Patel
and Darpe [27] by using a switching crack model. This change of the whirl orbit
shape during the passage through one-half and one-third of the first critical rotating
14 Saber El Arem

0.95 x 10
−4

16
ξ =1.50
Mean static total deflexion (mm)

ξ =2.00 14 ξ=1.50
ξ =2.50 ξ=2.00
0.85 12
ξ =3.00 ξ=2.50
ξ=3.00

Amplitude (db)
ξ =3.50 10
ξ=3.50
8
0.75
6

4
0.65
2

0.55 −2
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
∆/KS ∆/Ks

(a) Static deflection (b) First harmonic: 1 × Ω

−5
x 10
10

ξ=1.50
8 ξ=2.00
ξ=2.50
ξ=3.00
Amplitude (db)

6
ξ=3.50

−2
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
∆/Ks

(c) Second harmonic: 2 × Ω

Fig. 8 Static deflection, 1 × Ω and 2 × Ω harmonics amplitude increase with crack depth.

frequency has been experimentally observed in [32, 29, 16]. Also, in previous works
([11, 13, 12, 8]), we have made similar observation with a more realistic breathing
mechanism of the crack.
When looking at the phase diagrams of Fig.7, we can easily notice the velocity jumps
at each opening/closing of the crack. These jumps correspond to the abrupt change in
the global stiffness of the system.
For supercritical rotating speeds (ξ ≥ 1), the system oscillations are dominated by
the first harmonic component. Here, the mean total static deflection increases re-
markably with the global stiffness loss, but remains less sensitive to the shaft rotating
speed variation when K∆s < 0.15. However, for deep cracks, its increase with the rotat-
ing frequency becomes measurable, cf. Fig.8(a). The vibration amplitude (1× and 2×
components) increases with the stiffness loss but decreases with the rotation speed, cf.
Fig.8(b) and Fig.8(c). Similar conclusions were drawn based on experimental inves-
tigations [28] that showed the increase of the 2× and 3× harmonics with the crack
depth and noticeable variation of higher-order harmonics components [29, 16, 32]
in the subcritical speed zones. Continuous real-time monitoring of these parameters
would be of great benefit for propagating cracks detection.
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 15

30

25

100(ws−w0)/ws
20

15

10

0
0 0.1 0.2 ∆/Ks 0.3 0.4 0.5

Fig. 9 Critical frequency drop due to the crack

According to Dimarogonas [6], the measurement of the change in the first critical
speed is not an efficient way to monitor shaft cracks since it is, for small crack depths,
proportional to ( Da )2 . In fact, the author found that an edge crack with depth 54% of
the radius produced a 5.6% (overestimated) change in the lowest critical speed of the
shaft. Thus, for our model, we can conclude that for K∆s greater than 20%, the cracks
we are dealing with become very deep ( Da > 50%), cf. Fig.9.
In the next section, we will be conducting a stability analysis based on the Floquet’s

K0+∆
θ θ
k(φ)

K0

θ θ
K0−∆

0 π 2π
φ (rad)

Fig. 10 Stiffness function k used for the numerical integration of system (11)

theory. Deep cracks will be considered and, consequently, the HHT numerical scheme
will be used instead of the harmonic balance method.

4 Linear stability analysis: Floquet theory

The linear stability of the periodic solutions of system (11) is examined using the
Floquet’s theory. This method has been intensively used [14, 22, 8, 13] for the sta-
bility analysis of cracked rotors and more generally for systems governed by lin-
ear ordinary differential equations with periodic coefficients [24]. The simplifying
condition (12) will no longer be considered in what follows: the system stiffness is
henceforth response-dependent causing the equilibrium equations to be nonlinear.
The HHT method is used for the time integration of the system. This direct time-
integration method is an elegant way to introduce damping in the Newmark method
without degrading the order of accuracy.
16 Saber El Arem

Fig. 11 Stable and unstable (hatched) zones. (a): d = 1%, (b): d = 3%, (c): d = 5%.

For the numerical integration of the dynamical equations (11), we have considered
an approximation of the stiffness function k to account for the extra-diagonal terms
of the stiffness matrix ( 21 k0 (ϕ) and − 12 k0 (ϕ)). In this approximation, θ is taken very
1
small (tan(θ ) ≈ ) to ensure sufficient representation of the abrupt change in the
10Ks
system’s global stiffness (Fig.10).To ensure the system instability is not due to nu-
merical divergence problem, we have considered very high sampling frequency by
dividing the forcing period Ω1 into 20 000 integration steps.
Fig.11 shows the stable and unstable (hatched) zones for three different values of the
dissipation coefficient d. Mainly, we distinguish three zones of instabilities: the first
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 17

0.90
U(t) (mm)

-5
0 0.05 0.1 0.12 0.16
/K
S

Fig. 12 Bifurcation diagram (Poincaré section). d = 3%.

one corresponds to subcritical excitation frequencies (around ξ < 0.70). The second
one is located around the exact resonance (ξ ≈ 1). The third zone is located at super-
critical rotating speeds close to ξ ≈ 2.
Contrary to the model of Gasch [14] which does not foresee instabilities for ξ > 2,
the current model shows a large zone of instability for this speed range. This zone
which disappears for high dissipation values, cf. Fig.11(c), has been also noticed by
El Arem and Maitournam [12] in the study of the vibrations of a cracked shaft using
18 Saber El Arem

10 -3
10
30 30 /K S 0.10

20 20 8

10 10
6

|u| (mm)
U'(t) (mm/s)
0 0

-10 -10 4

-20 -20
2
-30 -30

-40 -40 0
0.5 1 0.5 1 .17 .51 .85

2 2
10 10
100 100 0.45 2 2 1.5

/K S 0.348
0.4 1.5
50 50
0.35 1 1
U'(t) (mm/s)

0.3 1

|u| (mm)
0.5
0 0

U'(t) (mm/s)
|u| (mm)

0.25
0 0
0.2
-50 -50 -0.5
/K S 0.25 0.15 0.5
-1 -1
-100 -100 0.1
-1.5
0.05
-2 -2
-150 -150 0 0
0 1 2 0 1 2 .25 .5 .75 1. 0 2 4 .5 1 1.5 2
0 2 4

10 2 10 2
8 1
8
10 3 10 3 10 1
3 3
6
6 /K S 0.428
0.8 4
4 2 2
4
|u| (mm)

2 2
1 1 3
U'(t) (mm/s)

U'(t) (mm/s)

|u| (mm)
0 .5
0 0
-2 -2 2

-4 -4 -1 -1
/K S 0.4095
0.2 1
-6 -6
-2 -2
-8 -8
0 -3 -3 0
-20 0 20 -20 0 20 0 .11 .22 .33 .44 -50 0 50 -50 0 50 0 1 2 3
U(t) (mm) U(t) (mm) Frequency/ U(t) (mm) U(t) (mm) Frequency/

Fig. 13 Shaft response: phase diagram, Poincaré section, amplitude spectra, ξ = 0.50, d = 3%

a new finite element with a stiffness variation identified based on 3D finite element
computations. However, real shafts are often exploited at ξ < 3, thus we don’t focus
on the instability zone for ξ > 3.
For the bifurcation analysis, it is important that the considered data corresponds to a
fully stabilized shaft motion. Hence, the first 3 000 rotations have been discarded in
all cases. For the amplitude spectra plots, data of more than 5 000 rotations is consid-
ered.
Fig.12 shows the bifurcation diagrams for three different rotating frequencies. It ap-
pears that the system response remains bounded for sub- and supercritical forcing
frequencies even after the loss of stability of the periodic solution. However, this sta-
bility loss could lead to different routes to chaos.

For ξ = 0.50, the vibratory response becomes unbounded only at K∆s > 0.428
which corresponds to a very high value of lost stiffness that could not be reached
for real machines before the shaft collapse, cf. Fig.12(a). This response remains pe-
riod one (1XT = Ω1 ) till K∆s ≈ 0.074 (superharmonic resonance), then the period starts
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 19

10 1 10 1 10 -2
3 3 15

2 2 /K S 0.05

1 1 10
U'(t) (mm/s)

|u| (mm)
0 0

-1 -1 5

-2 -2

-3 -3 0
0.4 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 1 2

Fig. 14 Shaft response: phase diagram, Poincaré section, amplitude spectra, ξ = 0.90, d = 3%

changing continuously with the crack depth increasing. It changes to 6T at K∆s ≈ 0.10,
4T at K∆s ≈ 0.25, 2T at K∆s ≈ 0.348 and 9T at K∆s ≈ 0.4095 . At the limit of this
bounded response ( K∆s ≈ 0.428), the system rotation is period one again before en-
tering the chaotic zone where it becomes unbounded. The phase diagram, Poincaré
section and amplitude spectra plotted for different crack depths confirm this period
change preceding the chaotic zone entrance, cf. Fig.13.

According to Fig.14, at ξ ≈ 0.90, the system response remains periodic of period

one till K∆s ≈ 0.114 where it enters the hatched zone, cf. Fig.11(b). Thereafter, As
it could be depicted from Fig.14, the vibratory response becomes chaotic then un-
bounded at K∆s ≈ 0.159, cf. Fig.12(b).

At ξ ≈ 1.70, the system oscillations remain periodic of period T = Ω1 till K∆s ≈

0.30 where a sub-harmonic resonance is observed: the vibratory response goes from
period one to period two response, cf. Fig.15. In fact, at the bifurcation point, one of
the Floquet’s matrix eigenvalues leaves the unit circle through −1. This stable peri-
odic motion persists until K∆s ≈ 0.439, afterward the response becomes period three
till K∆s ≈ 0.4501. For cracks such as K∆s > 0.4501, the response is unbounded, cf.
Fig.12(c).

At K∆s ≈ 0.10, the obtained solution is period six for ξ = 0.50, and period one for
ξ = 0.9 and 1.70. Changes in the oscillations periodicity when varying the cracked
shaft speed has also been noticed in [27].
It is obvious to notice, given this results, that a stable shaft rotating at ξ ≈ 1.70 could
20 Saber El Arem

collapse when slowing down to stop the machine for example since the speed will
go through critical values (ξ ≈ 0.90). The same shaft stable at subcritical rotating
frequencies will also collapse while speeding up if its lost stiffness is that K∆S > 0.158.
Consequently, for cracked shafts, the passage near the exact resonance (ξ ≈ 1) should
be made with a very selective attention to avoid the machine collapse.
In their exploration of the influence of the crack model on the nonlinear dynamics
of a cracked shaft, it was found [27, 13] that in the subcritical speed range, chaotic,
quasi-periodic and sub-harmonic responses are completely absent when considering
a breathing crack model. These phenomena have been noticed only with a switching
crack model and might be due to the instantaneous stiffness change when the crack
opens and closes.

10 -2 10 -1
8 10 2.5 100 100 5

8 80 80 /K S 0.30
6 /K S 0.05
6 2 60 60
4
4 40 40
2
20 20 3
U'(t) (mm/s)

2 1.5
U'(t) (mm/s)

|u| (mm)

0 0 0 0

|u| (mm)
-2 1 -20 -20
-2

-4 -40 -40
-4
-6 0.5 -60 -60 1
-6
-8 -80 -80

-8 -10 0 -100 -100 0

0.55 0.6 0.65 0.55 0.6 0 1 2 3 0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1 1.5 2

10 2 10 2
15 15 6

/K S 0.44
10 10 5

5 5 4
U'(t) (mm/s)

|u| (mm)

0 0 3

-5 -5 2

-10 -10 1

-15 -15 0
-10 0 10 -10 0 10 0 .33 .66 1
U(t) (mm) U(t) (mm) Frequency/

Fig. 15 Shaft response: phase diagram, Poincaré section, amplitude spectra, ξ = 1.70, d = 3%

5 Conclusions

The problem of cracked rotating shafts is very interesting to scientists and engineers
working in sectors like aeronautics, aerospace, and power generation. In this article,
we have considered a simple and very comprehensive mechanical system to high-
light the crack breathing mechanism effects on the system vibratory response. The
mechanical system is composed of two non-cracked rigid bars connected with a non-
linear bending spring that concentrates the global stiffness of the cracked shaft. The
switching crack model is adopted to describe the breathing mechanism of the crack
Nonlinear analysis of a cracked rotating shaft 21

and presented as a specific case of the EDF-LMS family of models. By focusing

mainly on this mechanism which is at the origin of the nonlinear aspect of the prob-
lem, the equilibrium equations are written in a simple, comprehensive and uncluttered
form. When the simplifying assumption of weight-governed oscillations is utilized,
the breathing mechanism becomes dependent only on the angular position of the
crack Ωt leading to linear equilibrium equations that we have solved by means of
the harmonic balance method. In particular, we showed that with a switching crack
model, the abrupt opening/closing of the crack generates shocks with velocity jumps
visible on the shaft phase portrait and responsible for coupling between the system
transverse oscillations. We have found, as well-established in the literature, that the
breathing crack induces higher harmonics in the vibratory response of the cracked
shaft. For supercritical rotating frequencies, the increase of the static deflection and
the vibratory amplitude could be used for early detection of propagating cracks. Also,
using the Floquet’s theory, we have carried out the stability analysis of the shaft with
propagating crack and at a reasonable range of rotating frequencies. We have clearly
identified three zones of instabilities that correspond to three distinct routes to chaos.
It is important to notice that the vibratory response of the system remains bounded
for both subcritical and supercritical speeds even for deep cracks and that the most
dangerous speed range is close to the first critical speed (ξ ≈ 1.0). Also we have
noticed chaotic response which is completely absent when considering a smoothly
breathing crack instead of a switching crack model like in this article. We can confi-
dently attribute these observations to the instantaneous change in the system stiffness
when the crack breathes.

Conflict of Interest: The author declare that he has no conflict of interest

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