Beam Rotor

The Beam Rotor interface is an abstract model of the actual rotor assembly, where only the span in the axial direction is modeled explicitly on an edge. The cross-sectional information of the rotor is specified in terms of properties such as area and moments of inertia. This approach neglects the cross-sectional deformation of the rotor. Beam elements, based on Timoshenko theory where shear deformations are taken into account, are used to model the rotor assembly. This also makes it possible to accurately model rather thick rotors using beam elements. In this interface, the vibration response can be split into axial, bending, and torsional components. As it is customary in a rotordynamics study to analyze the response of the rotor at different angular speeds, it is very efficient, in terms of computational cost, to use beam elements to model the rotor system without losing its basic characteristics.