Performance characteristics of sector-shaped pad thrust bearings in turbulent regime. 1st report. Static characteristics.

Abstract

This paper describes a study on the performance characteristics of sector-shaped pad thrust bearings subjected to the effects of both turbulence and fluid inertia forces. The basic lubrication equations are derived by integrating the momentum and continuity equations in the polar coordinates throughout the film thickness ; and a numerical calculation technique combining the control volume integration and the Newton-Raphson iteration method is applied to solve the equations. The static characteristics such as the film pressure, the load carrying capacity and the center of pressure are calculated for various values of extent angles and inner-to-outer radius ratios of bearing pads. The theoretical results of the load carrying capacity are compared with the experimental results. It is found that the fluid inertia forces have significant effects on the static characteristics of the bearings. Good agreement is obtained between theoretical and experimental results.