Smart materials are widely used for vibration control of rotating machines. This paper considers the control of vibration of a bi-disk rotor bearing system using electro-rheological elastomer (ERE) rings inserted in the bearings. The bi-disk rotor is selected so that vibration response can be studied in a rotating speed range which includes the first two critical speeds. The rotor bearing system is modelled using the finite element method taking into account the gyroscopic effect of the rotor and the internal damping of the shaft. The influence of the active elastomer when it is subjected to different levels of the electric field on the critical speeds is first investigated. Then, the vibration response is determined for both steady-state and transient running up and running down conditions. Simulation results show the potentials of the ERE when used in passive mode for vibration reduction in the steady-state and transient running up and down conditions of the rotor system. In the active mode, the application of an electric field to the electro rheological elastomers shifts slightly the resonant speeds to higher frequencies due to the increase of the stiffness of the bearings while increasing the vibration amplitudes in the steady-state and transient running up and down conditions in the vicinity of the resonant speeds. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the rotor steady-state vibration response can be reduced at other rotating speed range when an electric field is applied.

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