The influence of Injection Pockets on the Performance of Tilting-Pad Thrust Bearings: Part II - Comparison Between Theory and Experiment

This is Part II of a two-part series of papers describing the effects of high pressure injection pockets on the operating conditions of tilting-pad thrust bearings. Measurements of the distribution of pressure and oil film thickness are presented for tilting-pad thrust bearing pads of approximately 100 cm2 surface area. Two pads are measured in a laboratory test-rig at loads of approximately 0.5, 1.5 and 4.0 MPa and velocities of up to 33 m/s. One pad has a plain surface. The other pad has a conical injection pocket at the pivot point and a leading edge taper. The measurements are compared to theoretical values obtained using a three dimensional thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic (TEHD) numerical model. At low and intermediate loads the theoretical pressure distribution corresponds well to the measured values for both pads although the influence of the pocket is slightly underestimated. At high loads large discrepancies exist for the pad with an injection pocket. It is argued that this is likely to be due to the unevenness of the collar surface. The measured and theoretical values of oil film thickness compare well at low loads. At high loads discrepancies grow to up to 25 %. It is argued that this is due to the accuracy of the measurements.