Member Services

Established in the early 1970’s by collaborating faculty in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, the Rotating Machinery and Controls (ROMAC) Consortium supports cross-cutting research efforts conducted by faculty, research staff, and students in the engineering disciplines of Engineering Systems & Environment (ESE), Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE), and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the ROMAC Lab at the University of Virginia located in Charlottesville VA.
 
Ongoing collaboration between industry, university professionals, and graduate student researchers through the medium of ROMAC, provides an understanding of practical industrial problems. A benefit to our industry member participants is access to very timely research results, the use of design and analysis software, and experimental data. ROMAC focuses on theoretical and experimental research in the general areas of rotordynamics, turbomachinery, structural dynamics, magnetic bearings, the application of automatic controls to the dynamics of rotating machinery, internal flows and coupling to the dynamics of rotating machinery, fluid film bearings, seals, and optimization of rotor-bearing systems.
Currently, Consortium membership is available with a one-time initiation fee and an annual fee based on the size of the business. New members receive instruction in the use of ROMAC software.

Areas of Expertise and Current Activity

  • Software Development & Test Rig Validation
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Fluid Film Bearings
  • Seals
  • Squeeze Film Dampers
  • Rotordynamics
  • Magnetic Bearings and Controls
  • Optimization of Rotor-Bearing Systems
  • Experimental, Computational, and Theoretical Studies
  • Problem Consultation

All members are invited to attend an Annual Meeting during which reports are given on research conducted throughout the preceding year at the University of Virginia, as well as reports given by industrial participants on technical topics of interest. The annual meeting serves as an opportunity for members, faculty, and students to network and share knowledge and experiences. Projects are suggested by member companies of ROMAC and are carried out in consultation with both industrial members and faculty. Projects often lead to dissertations and thesis, technical papers, and presentations in recognized technical forums.

Other research opportunities exist for developing focused collaborative research with members and non-member companies.

Software Development

The programs developed by ROMAC engineers are available for use by consortium members. These programs include modules for solving undamped critical speeds, damped mode shapes, and eigenvalues, unbalance response, and seal and fluid film bearing dynamic coefficients. These may be easily incorporated into our primary rotor dynamics solver, known as ROTORSOL, which solves the equations of motion in lateral, torsional, and axial directions. All ROMAC software is being integrated into our new graphical user interface, RotorLab+, and further developments may be expected for generating API automated reports.

Short Courses Offered

ROMAC offers a variety of short courses yearly to both members and non-members. The five- day short courses are held during the summer semester at the ROMAC Lab on the Grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville VA. These courses are offered at a nominal cost which includes course materials, parking, lunch, and breaks. Short Courses can also be offered at locations more convenient to attendees if enough interest is expressed.

For members-only content, please see our Collab.