Pad Bearings Research Articles

Control the Working Process of the Rotor System with Tilting Pad Bearing

Various processes take place in rotor systems with tilting pad bearings. It is important not only to control but also to manage these processes. Due to the instability of the oil film layer in a bearing with inclined pads, oil whirl/whip can occur. Such whirl/whip destabilize the operation of the rotor system. Additional elastic elements between the tilt pads suppress oil whirl/whip and thus reduce rotor vibration excitation. By identifying the working zones of such bearings where oil whirl and whip occur, the problems of rotor rotation instability can be solved. In order to determine the effectiveness of the elastic elements between the tilting pads, research was conducted. A special stand with diagnostic equipment was used for the tests. The clearance between the rotor and the bearing was 50 μm. During the research, the rotor rotation speed was varied from 0 to 5000 rpm. After conducting the research, stable and unstable rotor working zones were determined (Zone I: 0 to 1938 rpm; Zone II: 1938–3923 rpm; Zone III: 3923–5000 rpm). Based on the obtained research results, it is possible to control the working process of the rotor system.

Parametric study for shear failure of bearing pads due to hurricane-induced wave loadings

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and rising sea levels due to climate change, presents significant challenges to coastal infrastructure. With 42% of bridges in the United States exceeding 50 years of age, which surpasses their intended service life, there is a pressing need to assess their structural integrity, especially in coastal regions. This study focuses on evaluating the structural performance of bearing pads in coastal bridges under hurricane-induced wave loadings. Utilizing a combination of physics-based models (PBM), nonlinear modal time history analysis, and numerical validation, the research examines the hysteresis response of eight distinct bearing pad configurations. The findings indicate that reinforced circular bearing pads exhibit significantly greater shear displacements compared to plain elastomeric pads, underscoring the critical influence of shape factors on shear response. Fragility functions developed in the study illustrate the probability of shear failure, with reinforced circular pads showing a 28% higher likelihood of exceedance compared to rectangular plain pads. These results highlight the necessity for advanced design methodologies specifically for bearing pads to enhance the resilience of coastal infrastructure against severe hydrodynamic forces induced by hurricanes.

A Thermal Model for a Hybrid Gas Bearing System in Oil-Free Turbochargers

Abstract With little drag friction, gas bearings operate at high rotor speed and high temperature and thus enable long operating life along with material damping for mechanical energy dissipation. However, most computational tools for modeling gas bearings are not accessible to bearing manufacturers or potential end-users, and the models are restricted to specific geometries and operating conditions or are missing important features, thus limiting their utility. This paper presents the thermal energy transport in a hybrid gas bearing for oil-free turbochargers with integrated heat and fluid flow models to produce a comprehensive thermo-hydrodynamic analysis predictive tool, and to design and evaluate air-lubricated gas bearings by predictions and experiments. An efficient algorithm couples the solution of the Reynolds equations and the thermal energy transport equations in the film between the rotor and a pad of the hybrid gas bearing, and updates the temperature-dependent viscosity and film thicknesses during the iterative process. The test repeats and averaged for each rotor speed from 2 krpm to 22 krpm at intervals of 2 krpm, for supply pressure varying along 25 psi to 100 psi and predicted film temperature matches well with the measured one. The parameters of interest in this analysis include the gas supply condition, bearing configuration, and the gas properties at high altitudes and high rotation speeds. The parametric study results show the density and kinematic viscosity are the most dominant properties of the gas lubrication for the film temperature.

Study on the Vibration Reduction Effect of Piezoelectric Actuation on Flexible Tilting Pad Bearings with Different Structural Parameters

To improve the vibration performance of oil-lubricated tilting pad bearing systems, this paper investigates the impact of different structural parameters on the vibration reduction effect of piezoelectric actuators on flexible tilting pad bearings. Four sets of flexible tilting pad bearings were designed and manufactured, including a flexible hinge tilting pad bearing and three sets of double-layer spring-supported flexible tilting pad bearings with different parameters. The radial displacement of the bearing load pad was controlled to varying degrees using a piezoelectric actuator, and semi-active control experiments were conducted on the flexible tilting pad bearings. The experimental results show that appropriately reducing the radial clearance and the stiffness of the bearing’s flexible structure can effectively suppress vibrations, enhance the vibration reduction effect of the piezoelectric actuation, and increase the stability of the bearing-rotor system. This study is of significant importance for the design of flexible tilting pad bearings and the vibration suppression of rotor systems.

Experimental study on low-speed lubrication characteristics of large tilting pad bearings

Experimental study on low-speed lubrication characteristics of large tilting pad bearings

Influence of 3D surface irregularities on the performance of hydrostatic rectangular tilted thrust pad bearing configurations

Tribological behavior of tribo-pairs is strongly dependent on the surface topography. Further, the structural deformation, manufacturing, and assembly errors cause the hydrostatic thrust pad bearings to tilt slightly. The work in this article is aimed to study the effect of tilt and three-dimensional (3D) surface irregularities on the performance of hydrostatic rectangular thrust pad bearings (HRTPB) compensated with capillary restrictors. The 3D surface irregularities are assumed to follow cosine curve. To perform the analysis, a source code has been developed in MATLAB and the Finite Element Method has been used to solve the governing Reynold's equation. The numerical simulation results indicate that the effect of tilt reduces the value of fluid film reaction, fluid film stiffness, and fluid film damping coefficients. The study reveals that 3D surface irregularities results in a higher value of fluid film stiffness and damping coefficient as compared to that of smooth-bearing surfaces.

Design and numerical simulation of the elastomeric support for the topside modules of an FPSO

Elastomeric support utilizing steel-reinforced elastomeric bearing pads (SREBPs) has been applied to offshore structures gradually. This study presented a process for designing the offshore elastomeric support. And a specific numerical method was introduced to synchronously simulate the hydrodynamic responses and structural interactions between hull and topside modules of a spread-moored floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit with elastomeric-supporting topside modules. Furthermore, a model test of the target FPSO was conducted in a deepwater offshore basin to validate the numerical simulation, and the numerical results were consistent with the experimental outcomes overall. The numerical results demonstrated that both bearing force and stress of the SREBPs fell within the design scope, and the maximum bearing force on vertical SREBPs was found to be around 1.3 times the weight of a corresponding topside module, considering the dynamic effects resulted from motion responses of the FPSO. Additionally, the maximum bearing force acting on anti-uplift SREBPs can refer to the peak value of a vertical SREBP's dynamic force correspondingly. The horizontal interactions between hull and topsides mainly depend on inclination of the hull, so the bearing forces of horizontal SREBPs are closely related to the severity of rolling and pitching.

Frictional Characteristics of Tilting Pad Bearings According to Pattern Arrangement on Rough Surface Considering Asperity Contact

Frictional Characteristics of Tilting Pad Bearings According to Pattern Arrangement on Rough Surface Considering Asperity Contact

Modified Reynolds Equation for Thin Film Lubrication with Arbitrarily Enhanced Viscosity Surface Layers and Lubrication Analysis of Micro-Tapered Pad Bearing

Modified Reynolds Equation for Thin Film Lubrication with Arbitrarily Enhanced Viscosity Surface Layers and Lubrication Analysis of Micro-Tapered Pad Bearing

Effect of cutting and feed speed on lubrication performance of large hydrostatic turntable with constant linear velocity

AbstractThe oil film lubrication performance of a large hydrostatic turntable operating at the model of constant surface cutting speed is studied. Firstly, the rotary speed equation which is bound by the constant surface cutting speed is established. According to the fluid lubrication theory, the gap flow equation, the oil film temperature rise equation and the double‐rectangular‐cavity oil pad bearing capacity equation are derived. Further, a prediction model of oil film lubrication performance in the operating mode is established. The change rules of temperature, pressure and other performance indexes of the film with time are obtained by numerical simulation. And, the above laws are verified by design experiments. It is found that the cutting speed, feed rate leaves a significant impact on the law of variations of oil film performance with time. According to the conclusions, it will be beneficial to improve the bearing capacity of the hydrostatic turntable and further improve the machining accuracy by using cutting parameters reasonably to control the speed within a certain range.

A novel transient computational fluid dynamics-fluid–structure interaction model for the pad adaptive motion and rotordynamic coefficients of hybrid porous tilting pad bearings

Hybrid porous tilting pad bearings with the advantages of gas porous bearings and tilting pad bearings exhibited excellent rotor-supporting performance with high accuracy and stability. Under hybrid lubrication, the transient adaptive motion of the tilting pads was important for the rotordynamic characteristics. A novel fluid–structure interaction model of hybrid porous tilting pad bearings was developed to investigate the transient hydro forces and the pad's adaptive motion. The rotordynamic coefficients of the hybrid porous tilting pad bearings were identified using the rotor harmonic trajectory. The computational fluid dynamics-fluid–structure interaction model was validated with the experimental data. The effects of eccentricity ratios, rotor speeds, supply pressures, pivot radial stiffnesses, and dampings on the pad adaptive motion and the rotordynamic coefficients were evaluated. The pad self-adaption motions significantly influenced the supporting and vibration-absorbing characteristics of hybrid porous tilting pad bearings.

Experimental study on the feasibility of alternative materials for tilting pad thrust bearings operating in transition to mixed friction

In hydrodynamic bearings traditional bearing alloys: Babbitts and bronzes are most frequently utilized. Polymer sliding layers are sometimes applied as a valuable alternative. Hard diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, which are also considered for certain applications may show some advantages, as well. Although material selection is of secondary importance in a full film lubrication regime it becomes important in mixed friction conditions, which is crucial for bearings with frequent starts and stops. Experimental research aimed at studying the performance of fluid film bearings in the specific operating regime, including the transition to mixed friction, is described in the paper. The tests were carried out on four tilting pad bearings of different material compositions: Steel/bronze, DLC/steel, steel/polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and steel/Babbitt. The tests comprised stopping under load and reproduction of the Stribeck curve by decreasing rotational speed to very low values, and observing the changes of friction force during the transition to mixed friction regime. Analysis of the transition conditions and other results showed clear differences between the tested bearings, illustrating the feasibility of less popular material compositions for bearings operating in specific conditions. More specifically, the DLC/steel bearing was demonstrating superior performance, i.e. lower friction, transition to mixed friction occurring at higher load, and more stable performance at start-stop regime over the other tested bearings.

Performance analysis of tilting pad thrust bearing incorporating the surface roughness, texture and turbulence effect

In order to improve the lubrication performance of the friction pair, the effect of composite micro-texture on the lubrication performance of the tilting pad thrust bearing is studied. Based on the structural model of tilting pad thrust bearing considering composite micro-texture, the lubrication characteristics of thrust bearing with composite micro-texture parameters and tilting pad parameters are analyzed. At the same time, the theoretical model of tilting pad composite micro-texture bearing considering roughness and turbulence effect is established, and the performance of thrust bearing considering roughness and turbulence effect is studied. The results show that the performance of composite micro-textured bearings is better than that of single micro-textured bearings, the performance of tilting pad bearings is better than that of parallel pad bearings, and the performance of circular composite fish-shaped micro-textured tilting pad bearings is the best. The optimal bearing fulcrum position is near the inner diameter, and the optimal fulcrum circumferential inclination angle is about 27.5°. Considering the roughness and turbulence effect, the maximum pressure and bearing capacity of the bearing improves, and the friction coefficient significantly reduces.

Rigid Mode Vibration Control for 250 HP Air Compressor System With Integrated Hybrid Air-Foil Magnetic Thrust Bearing (i-HFMTB)

Abstract This study aims to verify the effectiveness of the 250 HP class compressor system to which the integrated hybrid air-foil magnetic thrust bearing (i-HFMTB) proposed in (Ha et al., 2023, “Integrated Hybrid Air Foil-Magnetic Thrust Bearing (i-HFMTB) Part I: Preliminary Experimental Test for Rotordynamic Parameter Identification and Behavior With PD Control,” ASME Paper No. GT2023-102860) [1] is applied, and the vibration and instability problems of air-foil journal bearing (AFJB) occurring in the rigid mode are controlled by i-HFMTB. The compressor rotor is supported by two AFJB (journal diameter = 60 mm) and an i-HFMTB, and the length and mass of the rotor are 550 mm and 15.24 kg, respectively. i-HFMTB has a structure in which air-foil thrust bearing (AFTB) pads are inserted into eight slotted active magnetic thrust bearings (AMTB), and PD control (proportional gain: 4000; differential gain: 10) is applied. The operating area was identified through AFJB’s dynamic coefficients and rotordynamic analysis. As a result, in the experiment with the 250 HP compressor system supported only by two AFJB, sub- and super-synchronous vibrations were generated owing to the AFJB’s insufficient load capacity and damping in the rigid mode (7000 rpm) region, and this instability did not disappear even upon increasing the speed to 15,000 rpm. However, when i-HFMTB was turned on in rigid mode, it was confirmed that the sub- and super-synchronous vibrations were significantly reduced. The thrust collar tilt angle was calculated through orbit trajectory analysis of the impeller and cooling side, and it was confirmed that the tilt angle of the thrust collar was reduced during i-HFMTB operation.

Experimental Study of Piezoelectric Control for Changing Tilting Pad Journal Bearing Circumferential Angle and Radial Displacement

In order to improve the vibration performance of the oil-lubricated tilting pad bearing system, an experimental approach using a piezoelectric actuator to control two new flexible tilting pads is proposed. The performance test bench of the bearing–rotor system based on a tilting pad bearing with a flexible support is established. The different circumferential angles of the angle bearing tilting pad and the radial displacement of the displacement bearing are tested by a piezoelectric actuator. At the same time, the trajectory of the rotor center under actual operating conditions is analyzed. The experimental results show that the amplitude of the rotor journal can be significantly reduced by controlling the control variables related to the circumferential angle and radial displacement of the bearing bush. Therefore, this control improvement can improve the vibration performance of two new flexible tilting pad bearing–rotor systems. The technical means are provided for the active control of an oil-lubricated tilting pad bearing.

Modified Reynolds Equation for Confined High Viscosity Film Lubrication and Lubrication Analysis of Micro-Tapered Pad Bearing

Modified Reynolds Equation for Confined High Viscosity Film Lubrication and Lubrication Analysis of Micro-Tapered Pad Bearing

Tribo-behavior of a spiral-grooved annular pocket hybrid tilted thrust pad bearing

Tribo-behavior of a spiral-grooved annular pocket hybrid tilted thrust pad bearing

Research on an Improved Auxiliary Classifier Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network with Gradient Penalty Fault Diagnosis Method for Tilting Pad Bearing of Rotating Equipment

Research on an Improved Auxiliary Classifier Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network with Gradient Penalty Fault Diagnosis Method for Tilting Pad Bearing of Rotating Equipment

Numerical and Experimental Studies on Performance Enhancement of Thrust Pad Bearing Employing Surface Texture: A Review

Numerical and Experimental Studies on Performance Enhancement of Thrust Pad Bearing Employing Surface Texture: A Review

Stress increases in crane runway girders due to rail joints

AbstractVertically acting wheel loads from overhead bridge cranes and potential additional horizontal crane loads induce two types of stresses in crane runway girders: i) global stresses due to bi‐axial bending and torsion and ii) local stresses which mainly affect the girder's web. The latter typically represent one of the most decisive criteria for the fatigue design check of welded girders and are the focus of this paper. Crane rails with foot flange are typically connected to the top flange with rail clips. These clips maintain the position of the rail in vertical and horizontal transverse direction, but they generally allow for longitudinal movement of the rail. Rails with foot flange are used with and without elastomeric bearing pads between the rail and the top flange of the girder. The local stresses in the webs of crane runway girders are strongly affected by discontinuities of the crane rails. Such discontinuities can originate from unplanned rail cracks as well as planned rail expansion joints. The current mechanical models for concentric as well as eccentric wheel loading in relevant design standards assume continuous crane rails. However, rail joints are expected to significantly increase the local stresses in the region beneath rail joints. The present paper focuses on the impact of rail joints on the local stresses in crane runway girders. The research activities comprise experimental tests as well as finite element calculations. The aim of the investigations is to develop a better understanding of the mechanical behaviour in order to avoid future fatigue damage due to an unexpected increase of local stresses at a rail joint.