The Floating Frame of Reference Formulation for Rotordynamics Applications: Limitations and Practical Solutions

The Floating Frame of Reference Formulation for Rotordynamics Applications: Limitations and Practical Solutions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Floating Frame of Reference Formulation for Rotordynamics Applications: Limitations and Practical Solutions Stefan Holzinger, Andreas Zwölfer, Francesco Trainotti, Johannes Gerstmayr This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6514482/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Multibody System Dynamics → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The floating frame of reference formulation (FFRF) is one of the most widely used computational methods for modeling linearly elastic flexible multibody systems. It offers a convenient and computationally efficient approach, particularly the nodal-based framework. An advantage of the FFRF is its ability to directly utilize 3D models created with CAD software and meshed with finite element tools, making it an appealing alternative to beam-element models for studying rotating machinery. However, it is well known that FFRF is not suitable for rotordynamics applications because it fails to capture centrifugal stiffening. Centrifugal stiffening arises as rotating components, such as discs and blades, experience tensile forces that increase their natural frequencies, effectively enhancing structural stiffness. This study addresses limitations of FFRF for rotordynamic applications and presents a practical solution for incorporating centrifugal stiffening into the nodal-based FFRF for rotordynamics applications without relying on multiple floating frames or hyper-reduction techniques. Our approach introduces an additional stiffness term into the FFRF equations of motion, which we demonstrate is essential for achieving accurate rotordynamics simulations. The significant improvements achieved with our proposed approach compared to the conventional FFRF are demonstrated using two rotors with disks and one bladed rotor. floating frame of reference formulation stress stiffening spin softening rotordynamics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Multibody System Dynamics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 04 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 19 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6514482","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450382790,"identity":"2f08eb33-9a09-4aa5-84c8-a7a120b4cbce","order_by":0,"name":"Stefan Holzinger","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABA0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCD0CcwMDOwHAAxOMHi7HhUc/GwDgDrIUZqkWyjRQtYGBwjIAW+fnNBxt+7mDI42dmf3i44JdNvvH9HtMNDGU2OLUYHGNLbOw9w1As2cyQcHhmX5rltmM8ZjcYzqXh1sLGY/6At40hccNhhgOHeXsOG5iBtDC2HcbtsDb+j41/wVoYG4Ba/hsYt4G1/MftmWM8jM0QW5gZDvP8OGAAtBek5QAev6QZNsu2SSTObGZjOMzbkGwgcSyt7EbCuWTcDms+/LDxbZtNYj97++PPPH/sDPibD2+78aHMDrfDIEACQjG2QfkJhDQgwB/ilY6CUTAKRsHIAQDCalZoCj0orQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stefan","middleName":"","lastName":"Holzinger","suffix":""},{"id":450382791,"identity":"9f6249fa-56da-4d30-8eed-f623df6729c5","order_by":1,"name":"Andreas Zwölfer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andreas","middleName":"","lastName":"Zwölfer","suffix":""},{"id":450382792,"identity":"ffe7ca81-eb81-40db-b4ea-b14f2789f648","order_by":2,"name":"Francesco Trainotti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Francesco","middleName":"","lastName":"Trainotti","suffix":""},{"id":450382793,"identity":"b3edb1ed-d1c9-44eb-888c-95834b4fe2e0","order_by":3,"name":"Johannes Gerstmayr","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Innsbruck","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Johannes","middleName":"","lastName":"Gerstmayr","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-23 16:38:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6514482/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6514482/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-025-10126-5","type":"published","date":"2025-11-10T15:57:53+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96105054,"identity":"457cf133-6d10-40bb-90ee-7deefefd31af","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-17 16:07:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1138299,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"improvingFFRFforRotordynamicsHolzingerEtAl.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6514482/v1_covered_f053b89c-2991-4e14-8c68-8da347432a68.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Floating Frame of Reference Formulation for Rotordynamics Applications: Limitations and Practical Solutions","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"multibody-system-dynamics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"mubo","sideBox":"Learn more about [Multibody System Dynamics](http://link.springer.com/journal/11044)","snPcode":"11044","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11044/3","title":"Multibody System Dynamics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"floating frame of reference formulation, stress stiffening, spin softening, rotordynamics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6514482/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6514482/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The floating frame of reference formulation (FFRF) is one of the most widely used computational methods for modeling linearly elastic flexible multibody systems. 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