Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 1

Lecture 4
HOLZER'S METHOD AND GEARED SYSTEMS

Main Concepts

Following study of this material you should:

Understand the underlying bases of Holzers method and be able to apply it.
Know the nodal features of a natural mode as a function of the natural frequency number.
Be able to convert a geared system into a vibrationally-equivalent non-geared shaft.

When considering multi-degree-of-freedom systems, even the general method given in section
3.4 can become tedious. The following section develops the method presented by Holzer which
is still the preferred analysis technique of maritime accreditation agencies.

Typical multi-degree-of-freedom torsional systems include the propulsion systems of ships,

turbo-generators of various sorts and road vehicle drive systems. A steam turbine may have
many 'disks' on the shaft. The turbine shown in cross section in Figure 4.1 has 19 stages. It may
be possible to model this as a lumped parameter system with many degrees of freedom.

Figure 4.1 Cross section of a steam turbine.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 2

4.1 HOLZER'S METHOD FOR MULTI-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM

SYSTEMS

The determination of the exact values of natural frequencies for systems having more than three
degrees of freedom becomes complicated and involves finding the eigenvalues and eigenvectors
of the dynamic matrix. While many computer codes exist to perform this function, little insight
is gained by such a 'black-box' approach.

A systematic numerical technique is available for dealing with multi degree of freedom systems,
which enjoys a number of advantages:

It is simple, the analyst being able to follow what is happening at all stages.
It evaluates the natural frequencies (or more precisely, N2 ) and the eigenvectors
simultaneously.
It is suitable for analysis of torsional and translational systems - both in-line and
branched.
It lends itself well to programming on even a simple calculator and hence is not labour-
intensive.

The method is due to H. Holzer 1 and was published in 1921. It is generally known simply as
Holzer's method. These notes develop the method using a torsional system. It could be done
equally using a translational system.

Recall that rotational simple harmonic motion is described by: = sin N t . The angular
acceleration is && = 2 sin t = 2 . When becomes equal to the amplitude + , then
N N N

the acceleration is && = 2 . N

Consider a multi-rotor system (Figure 4.2), vibrating freely in one of its normal modes, at the
instant when each rotor is at its maximum angular deflection, i.e. when the angular displacement
of each rotor is equal to the amplitude of that rotor.

1
2
k1,2 k3,4
k2,3
3
4
1 2 3 4

Figure 4.2

At that instant the effective torque associated with each rotor is:
1
H. Holzer. Die Berechrung der Drehschwingungen. Berlin, Springer-Velaz, 1921.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 3

( ) ( ) (
I 1 1 N2 , I 2 2 N2 , I 3 3 N2 , etc. )
The sum of all such effective torques must be zero since in a freely vibrating system the
externally applied torque is zero. Therefore, for the complete rotor system vibrating in a normal
mode:

i =n

I
i =1
i i
2
N =0

and, observing that N is common to all rotors,

i=n

I
i =1
i i =0 (4.1)

Let 1 , 2 , 3 , K , n be the amplitudes, in radians, of the consecutive rotors, each expressed

under the same convention for the positive direction of motion. Let k1, 2 , k 2,3 , k 3, 4 , K , k n 1, n be
the torsional stiffness, in Nm/rad, of the consecutive spans, (1,2), (2,3), (3,4), etc.

Now let's write the consecutive equations of motion, on the basis of the elastic torques in spans
(1,2), (2,3), (3,4), etc, acting globally on all rotors to the left of these spans. The equation for
rotor 1, driven by elastic torque in span 1,2 of the shaft is:

k1, 2 (1 2 ) = I 1&&1 = I 1 1 N2( )

so that

N2
2 = 1 I 11 (4.2)
k1, 2

Hence, 2 , the amplitude of the rotor 2, consistent with the arbitrarily chosen amplitude 1 , of
the rotor 1, can be found from (4.2).

Next, the equation of motion for rotors 1 and 2, jointly driven by the elastic torque in the span
2,3 is:

( ) (
k 2,3 ( 2 3 ) = I 1&&1 + I 2&&2 = I 1 1 N2 + I 2 2 N2 )
so that

N2
3 = 2 (I 11 + I 2 2 ) (4.3)
k 2,3

Hence, 3 , the amplitude of the rotor 3, consistent with the arbitrarily chosen amplitude 1 , of
the rotor 1, can be found from (4.2) and (4.3).

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 4

Similarly, the amplitude of rotor 4 is:

N2
4 = 3 (I 11 + I 2 2 + I 3 3 ) (4.4)
k 3, 4

In general, for an arbitrary input amplitude 1 , of rotor 1, the corresponding amplitude of the ith
rotor can be found from:

N2 j = i 1
i = i 1
k i 1,i
I
j =1
j j (4.5)

where i = 2, 3, , n.

In order to apply the method, a convenient value for 1 is selected (obviously 1 radian)
and N is assumed. Using (4.5), corresponding values for all the other 's can then be
i =n
calculated so that the sum in (4.1), I
i =1
i i can be evaluated. The correct values of N

are those that render this sum equal to zero as required by equation (4.1).

To reduce the likelihood of errors and to facilitate subsequent programming, it is useful to work
by tabulating the results. It is also necessary, at least initially, to make a plot of I versus the
trial , in order to locate approximately the roots of (4.1). The plot will appear something like
the Figure 4.3.
I

1 2 3 4
0
N

Figure 4.3

Once this is done, the roots N can be evaluated to any desired accuracy using simple
interpolation techniques.

It is probably best to demonstrate the technique by way of worked example. It is suggested that
it is reproduced in detail at least once before using automated versions such as the Matlab script
presented in Appendix 4.1.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 5

4.2 WORKED EXAMPLE USING HOLZER'S METHOD

Find all the natural frequencies of torsional vibration and sketch the modal shapes for the four-
rotor shaft shown in Figure 4.4. For convenience, assume unit amplitude for rotor 1 for each
mode.

300 mm 410 mm 370 mm

34 mm

I1=2.3kgm2 I2=1.9kgm2 I3=3.3kgm2 I4=1.5kgm2

Figure 4.4

Take the shaft material to be steel with G = 80 GPa. Then:

(0.034)4
GJ = 80 10
9
= 10495.5584 Nm 2

32

GJ GJ GJ
k1, 2 = = 34985.2 Nm/rad , k 2,3 = = 25598.9 Nm/rad , k 3, 4 = = 28366.4 Nm/rad
l1, 2 l 2,3 l 3, 4

As a guess, try = 50 rad/sec.

I I I k 2
k
I
2.3 1 2.3 2.3
34985.2 0.164355
1.9 0.835644 1.587725 3.887725
25598.9 0.379677
3.3 0.455968 1.504695 5.392420
28366.4 0.475248
1.5 -0.019280 -0.028919 5.363501
Mode Residual I. Relative angles
Shape Value should be of twist between
zero for N rotors

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 6

As the residual I is not zero, = 50 rad/sec is not a natural frequency. By trying a few
frequencies, the form of the graph as shown in Figure 4.3 can be quickly ascertained and the
correct values read by interpolation. The three correct frequencies are as follows.

1 = 89.91 rad/sec.
I I I k 2
k
I
2.3 1 2.3 2.3
34985.2 0.531446
1.9 0.468554 0.890252 3.190252
25598.9 1.007440
3.3 -0.538886 -1.778325 1.411927
28366.4 0.402369
1.5 -0.941255 -1.411883 0.000044
Mode Residual I. Relative angles
Shape Value should be of twist between
zero for N rotors

2 = 169.31 rad/sec.
I I I k 2
k
I
2.3 1 2.3 2.3
34985.2 1.884554
1.9 -0.884554 -1.680653 0.619347
25598.9 0.693549
3.3 -1.578103 -5.207741 -4.588395
28366.4 -4.636840
1.5 3.058737 4.588106 -0.000289

3 = 213.57 rad/sec.
I I I k 2
k
I
2.3 1 2.3 2.3
34985.2 2.998638
1.9 -1.998638 -3.797411 -1.497411
25598.9 -2.668086
3.3 0.669449 2.209180 0.711769
28366.4 1.144500
1.5 -0.475051 -0.712577 -0.000808

The mode shapes can be plotted as shown in Figure 4.5. The plot of residual I versus the
frequency is shown in Figure 4.6.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 7

M ode S hapes and Natural F requenc ies

4
1.431e+ 001 Hz
2.695e+ 001 Hz
3.399e+ 001 Hz

3
Dis plac em ent Relative to Rotor 1

-1

-2
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Rotor Num ber

Figure 4.5 Mode shapes extracted from the tables

Res idue as a func tion of F requenc y

10

4
Res idue

-2

-4
0 50 100 150 200 250
Frequenc y (rad/s )

Figure 4.6

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 8

These operations can be easily automated. Appendix 4.1 contains a Matlab script to solve for
the natural frequencies and mode shapes.

4.3 SOME NOTES CONCERNING MODE SHAPES

There is a relationship between the 'number' of the natural frequency (i.e., N 1 , N 2 , N 3 , etc)
and the number of nodes present in the mode shape. Excluding rigid body motion for
unrestrained systems
The lowest frequency mode will have one node.
The next higher frequency will have two nodes.
The next higher frequency will have three nodes.
And so on .
The highest frequency mode will contain a node between each pair of inertias. Knowing this it is
possible to identify a mode 'number' by observing the number of nodes present.

A fixed point on a system is necessarily a node. Recall that the number of non-zero natural
frequencies will then be equal to the number of degrees of freedom.

The slope of the mode shape lines gives an indication of the elastic torque in each span.

4.4 TORSIONAL NATURAL FREQUENCIES OF GEARED SYSTEMS

The presence of a pair of gears in a shaft system obviously alters the vibration characteristics of
the system. Displacements, velocities and accelerations on the input and output shafts adjacent
to the gears are not the same but are increased or decreased by the gear ratio. None-the-less such
an arrangement is very common in mechanical systems and we need to develop a method of
analysing such systems.

We shall use the 'equivalent system' approach. It should be noted that we are still considering
lumped parameter systems.

Considering the lower portion of Figure 4.7, we ask the question, "can the right hand portion of
the shaft be replaced with an 'equivalent' shaft stiffness and an 'equivalent' inertia so that the new
shaft is dynamically equivalent to the original?". By dynamically equivalent is meant that its
vibration characteristics will be identical.

Assume that the gears are perfectly rigid and free from backlash (!?). Designate shaft number 1
as the 'reference' shaft and shaft 2 as the 'secondary' shaft. Initially neglect the inertia of the
gears; we shall reintroduce these inertias later. Also define the speed ratio (SR) as the number of
revolutions of the secondary shaft for one revolution of the reference shaft. Finally, replace the
secondary shaft with a direct-coupled shaft (no gears) having torsional stiffness k 2e and carrying
a rotor having the moment of inertia I 2e . For this substitution to result in a dynamically
equivalent system, the reference shaft, which has been carried over to the new system without
any alteration, must remain unaware of the substitution.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 9

IG1

NT1
k1 I = moment of inertia
k = torsional stiffness
Reference NT = number of teeth
G = gear
e = equivalent
k2
NT2
I1
Secondary
IG2

I1 I2 I2e

This lower diagram represents an

k1 k2e equivalent system "referred" to
shaft 1.

Figure 4.7

Since vibration in a conservative system (zero damping or energy loss) such as this consists of a
continual interchange of kinetic and strain energies, the criteria for dynamic equivalence of the
actual geared and the new single shaft system are:
(i) at the same rotational speed &1 of the reference shaft 1, the kinetic energy of the two
systems must be the same.
(ii) at the same angle of twist 1 in the reference shaft, the strain energies in the two systems
must be the same.

Criterion (i)

Kinetic energy of the actual system: [

KE = 12 I1&12 + 12 I 2 (SR )&1 ]
2

Kinetic energy of the equivalent system: KE = 12 I1&12 + 12 I 2e&12

I 2 e = (SR ) I 2
2
And hence the equivalent inertia is (4.6)

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 10

Criterion (ii)

In order to apply criterion (ii), we consider rotors 1 and 2 held fixed and gear 1 twisted through
1 . In the case of the equivalent system it is the junction between the reference shaft and the
equivalent shaft which is twisted through 1 .

SE = 12 k1 12 + 12 k 2 [(SR ) 1 ]
2
Strain energy of the actual system:

Strain energy of the equivalent system: SE = 12 k112 + 12 k 2e12

k 2 e = (SR ) k 2
2
And hence the equivalent inertia is (4.7)

The equivalent single shaft two-rotor system is therefore as shown on Figure 4.8.

I1 (SR)2I2

k1 (SR)2k2
Figure 4.8

I1 IG1+(SR)2IG2 (SR)2I2
Figure 4.9

The inertia of the gears can

k1 (SR)2k2
be inserted at this stage
thereby creating a 3-rotor
system

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 11

Appendix 4.1 Sample Matlab Session and M-Files

Typing help holzer at the command line prompt gives the syntax

help holzer

Holzer's method for undamped multi rotor shafts

Version 2
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[freqs,modeshapes]=holzer(inertias,stiffneses,tol,printon)

where "inertias" is a row vector of the

n inertia values (left to right)
"stiffnesses" is a row vector of
the n-1 shaft stiffnesses
"freqs" are the n-1 natural frequencies (rad/s)
"modeshapes" are the n-1 associated mode shapes
"tol" is the percentage tolerance required on the
natural frequencies
"printon" = 1 to print plots, anything else doesn't

Any set of consistant units may be used.

Uses m-files htable.m

Following is the example used in section 4.2

inert=[2.3 1.9 3.3 1.5];

stiff=[34985.19 25598.92 28366.37];
[freq,shapes]=holzer(inert,stiff,0.01)

freq =
89.9131 169.3074 213.5703

shapes =
1.0000 0.4685 -0.5390 -0.9413
1.0000 -0.8845 -1.5781 3.0586
1.0000 -1.9986 0.6695 -0.4752

The attached plots appear on the screen - the mode shape lines and legend are in different
colours.

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 12

M ode S hapes and Natural Frequenc ies

4
1.431e+ 001 Hz
2.695e+ 001 Hz
3.399e+ 001 Hz

3
Dis plac em ent Relative to Rotor 1

-1

-2
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Rotor Num ber

Res idue as a func tion of F requenc y

10

4
Res idue

-2

-4
0 50 100 150 200 250
F requenc y (rad/s )

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 13

function [freqs,modeshapes]=holzer(inertias,stiffnesses,tol,printon)
%
% Holzer's method for undamped multi rotor shafts
%
% Version 3
% Department of Mechanical Engineering
% Curtin University of Technology
%
% [freqs,modeshapes]=holzer(inertias,stiffneses,tol,printon)
%
% where "inertias" is a row vector of the
% n inertia values (left to right)
% "stiffnesses" is a row vector of
% the n-1 shaft stiffnesses
% "freqs" are the n-1 natural frequencies (rad/s)
% "modeshapes" are the n-1 associated mode shapes
% "tol" is the percentage tolerance required on the
% natural frequencies
% "printon" = 1 to print plots, anything else doesn't
%
% Any set of consistant units may be used.
% Uses m-files htable.m

maxloops=20; % max iterations on bi-section root search

nargs = nargin;
if nargs~=4
error('error: must use four input arguements');
end;

[rows,nrotors]=size(inertias);
if rows~=1
error('error: the inertias are input as a 1 x n row vector');
end;
if nrotors<2
error('error: must have at least two rotors')
end;

[rows,shafts]=size(stiffnesses);
if rows~=1
error('error: the stiffnesses are input as a 1 x (n-1) row vector');
end;
if shafts~=nrotors-1
error('error: must be one less shaft stiffness than inertias');
end;

% locate roots approximately

freq=[];
zeros_passed=0;
w=0;
while (zeros_passed<nrotors-1)
residue(w+1)=htable(inertias,stiffnesses,w);
if (w~=0) & (residue(w+1)./residue(w) < 0)
% crossed a sign change
zeros_passed=zeros_passed+1;
freq=[freq;w-1 w];
end;
w=w+1; %must be +1 as it is also used as an index above
end;
plot(0:1:w-1,residue);
grid on;
xlabel('Frequency (rad/s)');

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 14

ylabel('Residue');
title('Residue as a function of Frequency');

% use bisection method to find roots

for a=1:nrotors-1
flow=freq(a,1);
reslow=htable(inertias,stiffnesses,flow);
fhigh=freq(a,2);
if(reslow<0)
freqs(a)=flow;
dfreq=fhigh-flow;
else
freqs(a)=fhigh;
dfreq=flow-fhigh;
end;
b=1;
while (b<maxloops)&(abs(dfreq)>freqs(a)*tol*0.01)
dfreq=dfreq*0.5;
fmid=freqs(a)+dfreq;
resmid=htable(inertias,stiffnesses,fmid);
if(resmid<0)
freqs(a)=fmid;
end;
b=b+1; % iteration counter
end;
end;
for a=1:nrotors-1
line([freqs(a) freqs(a)],[0 0],'linestyle','o','markersize',12);
end;
if printon==1
print -dwinc -v;
end;
pause;

% Calculate the mode shapes at the natural frequency

modeshapes=[];
for a=1:nrotors-1
[residue,shape]=htable(inertias,stiffnesses,freqs(a));
modeshapes=[modeshapes; shape];
end;

% Plot the mode shapes

plot(modeshapes');
xlabel('Rotor Number');
ylabel('Displacement Relative to Rotor 1');
title('Mode Shapes and Natural Frequencies');
line([1 nrotors],[0 0],'linestyle',':');
v=axis;
for a=2:nrotors-1
line([a a],[v(3) v(4)],'linestyle',':');
end;

legstr=[];
for a=1:nrotors-1
legstr=[legstr; sprintf('%11.3e',freqs(a)./(2*pi)) ' Hz '];
end;
legend(legstr,-1);
if printon==1
print -dwinc -v;
end;

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Dynamic Systems 334 - Course Notes 15

function [residue,modeshape]=htable(inertias,stiffnesses,w)
%
% Holzer's method for multi rotor shafts
%
% Version 1
% Department of Mechanical Engineering
% Curtin University of Technology
%
% [residue,modeshape]=htable(inertias,stiffneses,w)
%
% where "inertias" is a row vector of the
% n inertia values (left to right)
% "stiffnesses" is a row vector of
% the n-1 shaft stiffnesses
% "w" is the frequency in rad/s
%
% Any set of consistant units may be used.

phi(1)=1;
sumiphi=0;
for a=1:length(inertias)
iphi=inertias(a)*phi(a);
sumiphi=sumiphi+iphi;
if(a~=length(inertias))
b=w*w*sumiphi/stiffnesses(a);
phi(a+1)=phi(a)-b;
end;
end;
residue=sumiphi;
if nargout==2
modeshape=phi;
end;

2011 Department of Mechanical Engineering

Curtin University of Technology