HYDROSTATIC THRUST BEARING WITH REDUCED POWER LOSSES

Abstract

In many cases in rotating machinery, axial load is carried by tilting pad thrust bearings which have been developed since the beginning of 20th century. For high reliability and simplicity, most commonly the bearings are bath lubricated. In the times of sustainable development, however, minimization of friction losses becomes an important criterion for machinery assessment, and a strategic goal of their development. Performed calculations, based on elementary rules of fluid dynamics, showed that shearing losses in specially designed hydrostatic bearings can be considerably smaller than the losses in tilting pad hydrodynamic bearings. The aim of the research described in this paper was to check if the preliminary results presented earlier and conclusions of benefits of the further increase of the size of the hydrostatic pocket can be confirmed with the use of CFD calculations.