The dynamic properties of rotating machines are highly influenced by supporting elements, such as bearings, seals, damping elements or housings. They play a significant role in regulating the characteristics of the interaction between the rotating and stationary parts of machines. Over the past few years, numerous research studies have been published focusing on the dynamics of such devices across a wide range of applications. The advancement of the research has significantly contributed to enhancing their performance and ensuring the smooth operation of rotating machinery by minimizing excessive vibrations that can lead to catastrophic failure. The research work in this thesis explores the dynamics of supporting elements in vertical rotating machinery, with a particular focus on hydropower applications. In fact, some of the concepts are generic and can be applied to horizontal rotors or any other types of rotating machines. Using numerical simulation and actual measurements, their contribution to the system’s overall performance was investigated. These include the self-induced vibration in vertical application tilting pad journal bearings, and vibration issues observed on a hydropower unit attributed to large bearing clearance. Also, particular attention was given to the influence of the squeeze film damper on the rotor-stator contact dynamics of hydropower units, using tools such as Poincaré maps and bifurcation diagrams.

Moreover, achieving optimal design of such devices requires, among other key aspects, accurate and reliable simulation models to facilitate the prediction and evaluation of their characteristics at any stage in the product development process. In rotordynamic simulations, a common approach for incorporating bearing forces in the system equation is by representing them with stiffness and damping coefficients. For a small vibrational amplitude about a static position, linearized bearing coefficient assumptions can be valid. This is especially applicable for operation under a large radial static load, such as in horizontal rotors, due to the dead weight of the rotor. For vertical rotors, however, the weight of the rotor acts axially, and the radial bearing load is usually low. The bearing coefficients show nonlinearity, making them dependent on the trajectory of the rotor. Therefore, the linear bearing assumption, which is valid for horizontal rotors, does not hold true for vertical rotors. This makes the simulation of a vertical machine more complicated as it typically involves solving the fluid film lubrication model. The classical numerical models can sometimes be computationally demanding and require impractically long computational time. An efficient and fast numerical simulation method which does not significantly affect the accuracy of the result is critical to facilitating the simulation processes effectively. This thesis details the suggested simplifications employed on the bearing models and transformation matrices in the numerical integration procedure. The results from these models were validated using experiments to ensure their reliability.