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Performance improvement of tilting-pad journal bearings bymeans of controllable lubrication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2012

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Abstract

Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings (TPJB) are commonly used on high-performance turbomachinerydue to their excellent stability properties at high speed when compared to other designsfor oil film bearings. Hence, efforts have been made to improve the accuracy for theavailable models for these mechanical devices, achieving nowadays anelasto-thermo-hydrodynamic formulation. On the other hand, the basic design of theTilting-Pad Journal Bearing has been modified in order to transform it into a smartmachine element. One approach to do so is to inject pressurized oil directly into thebearing clearance through holes drilled across the bearing pads. By adjusting theinjection pressure, it is possible to modify the dynamic characteristics of the bearing. Acontrollable lubrication regime is obtained, allowing to expand the operational boundariesof the original design. This work focuses on presenting an elasto-thermo-hydrodynamicmodel (ETHD) for the Tilting-Pad Journal Bearing, including the effect ofthe controllable lubrication system. The basic model is validated by comparing its resultsagainst theoretical and experimental results available in the literature. Then, thevalidated code is used to show the benefits of applying a controllable lubrication regime,by means of the modification of the thermal and dynamic behaviour of the bearing.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© AFM, EDP Sciences 2012

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