Static Characteristics of a Tilting Five-Pad Journal Bearing with an Asymmetric Geometry

Abstract

In this paper, static characteristics of a tilting five-pad rocker-backed journal bearing with an asymmetric geometry, i.e., different clearance for each pad, are investigated. A thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic (TEHD) model considering the elasticity of the pad and pivot is used for the simulation. The pivot stiffness of each pad obtained by experiment is also introduced in the model. The experimental tests were carried out on a tilting pad journal bearing (TPJB) with a nominal diameter of 100 mm and a length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio of 0.7 with load-between-pad (LBP) and load-on-pad (LOP) arrangements. Several analyses, including numerical simulations and experimental measurements, are implemented in order to obtain the static behaviors of the tilting-pad bearing under variations of rotational speed, amplitude and direction of applied static load, such as clearance distribution profile, static eccentricity, temperature and pressure distribution. The results show that the effect of asymmetric geometry on the static characteristics is not negligible.