자려 평형 틸팅 패드 스러스트 베어링의 정렬불량에 따른 베어링 특성에 관한 실험적 연구

Abstract

Self-equalizing tilting pad thrust bearings are usually employed in turbomachines to achieve high stability and reliability. A tilting pad bearing can incorporate self-equalizing links to handle the misalignment between the bearing and the thrust collar. In this popular design method, the pads sit on the upper-level plates and the lower-level plates stay on the retainer base. With misalignment, the pads that are heavily loaded are pushed down. Consequently, the link pushes up the pads on the opposite side, keeping the bearing surface parallel to the thrust collar surface. The self-equalizing link is used to handle the misalignment from the thermal and mechanical effects. In this study, the experimental investigation deals with the performance of self-equalizing tilting pad thrust bearings. The test rig for evaluating the performance of bearing is developed which can control the misalignment angle. Simultaneous measurements are taken for the force acting on each pad. Pad metal temperature and oil film thickness are functions of the shaft speed, bearing load, misalignment angle, and design of leveling plates. The effect of misalignment on bearing performance is discussed. The results demonstrate that the load on each pad depends on the test conditions(especially misalignment angle), and the load influences the performance of bearings.