THD Analysis in Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings Using Multiple Orifice Hybrid Lubrication

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 892-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. F. Santos ◽  
R. Nicoletti
Keyword(s):  
Load Capacity ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Bearing Load ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
Experimental Values ◽  
Oil Injection ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

Tilting pad journal bearings (TPJB) using multiple orifice hybrid lubrication are analyzed applying a thermohydrodynamic (THD) theory. Adiabatic boundary conditions are adopted, and a two-dimensional model is used to represent the fluid flow behavior in the bearing gap. The influence of operational conditions on the temperature distribution and on the bearing load capacity is discussed and compared to theoretical and experimental values for a conventional hydrodynamic case (without radial oil injection). To improve the cooling effects, as well as rotor attitudes, the best location for orifices is the area near the pad edges.

Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings With Electronic Radial Oil Injection

1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. F. Santos ◽  
F. H. Russo
Keyword(s):  
Hydrodynamic Lubrication ◽  
Hydrodynamic Forces ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Theoretical Treatment ◽  
Bearing Surface ◽  
Static Behavior ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Surface Active ◽  
Oil Injection ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

This paper gives a theoretical treatment of the problem of journal bearings modeling connected to electronic oil injection into the bearing gap. The feasibility of influencing the static behavior of hydrodynamic forces by means of such oil injection is investigated. The lubricant is injected into the bearing gap by two mechanisms of lubrication: the conventional hydrodynamic lubrication and through orifices distributed along the bearing surface (active lubrication in the radial direction). By controlling the pressure of the oil injection, it is possible to get large variations in the active hydrodynamic forces; such effects could be useful for reducing vibrations in rotating machines.

Feasibility of Gas-Expanded Lubricants for Increased Energy Efficiency in Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Clarens ◽  
Amir Younan ◽  
Shibo Wang ◽  
Paul Allaire
Keyword(s):  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Power Loss ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Reducing Power ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Eccentricity Ratio ◽  
Power Losses ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

Lubricants are necessary in tilting-pad journal bearings to ensure separation between solid surfaces and to dissipate heat. They are also responsible for much of the undesirable power losses that can occur through a bearing. Here, a novel method to reduce power losses in tilting-pad journal bearings is proposed in which the conventional lubricant is substituted by a binary mixture of synthetic lubricant and dissolved CO2. These gas-expanded lubricants (GELs) would be delivered to a reinforced bearing housing capable of withstanding modest pressures less than 10 MPa. For bearings subject to loads that are both variable and predictable, GELs could be used to adjust lubricant properties in real time. High-pressure lubricants, mostly gases, have already been explored in tilting-pad journal bearings as a means to accommodate higher shaft speeds while reducing power losses and eliminating the potential for thermal degradation of the lubricant. These gas-lubricated bearings have intrinsic limitations in terms of bearing size and load capacity. The proposed system would combine the loading capabilities of conventional lubricated bearings with the efficiency of gas-lubricated bearings. The liquid or supercritical CO2 serves as a low-viscosity and completely miscible additive to the lubricant that can be easily removed by purging the gas after releasing the pressure. In this way, the lubricant can be fully recycled, as in conventional systems, while controlling the lubricant properties dynamically by adding liquid or supercritical CO2. Lubricant properties of interest, such as viscosity, can be easily tuned by controlling the pressure inside the bearing housing. Experimental measurements of viscosity for mixtures of polyalkylene glycol (PAG)+CO2 at various compositions demonstrate that significant reductions in mixture viscosity can be achieved with relatively small additions of CO2. The measured parameters are used in a thermoelastohydrodynamic model of tilting-pad journal bearing performance to evaluate the bearing response to GELs. Model estimates of power loss, eccentricity ratio, and pad temperature suggest that bearings would respond quite favorably over a range of speed and preload conditions. Calculated power loss reductions of 20% are observed when compared with both a reference petroleum lubricant and PAG without CO2. Pad temperature is also maintained without significant increases in eccentricity ratio. Both power loss and pad temperature are directly correlated with PAG-CO2 composition, suggesting that these mixtures could be used as “smart” lubricants responsive to system operating conditions.

Modeling of Flexible Tilting Pad Journal Bearings With Radial Oil Injection

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asger M. Haugaard ◽  
Ilmar F. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Reynolds Equation ◽  
Dynamic Properties ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
System Of Equations ◽  
Servo Valve ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Dimensional Finite Element ◽  
Oil Injection ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

The static and dynamic properties of tilting-pad journal bearings with controllable radial oil injection are investigated. The tilting pads are modelled as flexible structures and their dynamics are described using a three dimensional finite element framework and linear elasticity. The oil film pressure and flow are considered to follow the modified Reynolds equation, which includes the contribution from controllable radial oil injection. The Reynolds equation is solved using a two dimensional finite element mesh. The rotor is considered to be rigid. The servo-valve flow is governed by a second order ordinary differential equation, where the right hand side is controlled by an electronic input signal. The constitutive flow pressure relationship of the injection nozzles is that of a fully developed laminar velocity profile and the servo-valve is introduced into the system of equations by a volume conservation consideration. The Reynolds equation is linearized with respect to displacements and velocities of the nodal degrees of freedom. When all nodal points satisfy the static equilibrium condition, the system of equations is dynamically perturbed and subsequently condensed to a 2 by 2 system, keeping only the lateral motion of the rotor. As expected, rotor stability is heavily influenced by the control parameters.

Elastohydrodynamics Applied to Active Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asger M. Haugaard ◽  
Ilmar F. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Reynolds Equation ◽  
Dynamic Properties ◽  
Flexible Structures ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
System Of Equations ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Dimensional Finite Element ◽  
Oil Injection ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

The static and dynamic properties of tilting-pad journal bearings with controllable radial oil injection are investigated theoretically. The tilting pads are modeled as flexible structures and their behavior is described using a three-dimensional finite element framework and linear elasticity. The oil film pressure and flow are considered to follow the modified Reynolds equation, which includes the contribution from controllable radial oil injection. The Reynolds equation is solved using a two-dimensional finite element mesh. The rotor is considered to be rigid in terms of shape and size, but lateral movement is permitted. The servovalve flow is governed by a second order ordinary differential equation, where the right hand side is controlled by an electronic input signal. The constitutive flow-pressure relationship of the injection orifices is that of a fully developed laminar velocity profile and the servovalve is introduced into the system of equations by a mass conservation consideration. The Reynolds equation is linearized with respect to displacements and velocities of the nodal degrees of freedom. When all nodal points satisfy static equilibrium, the system of equations is dynamically perturbed and subsequently condensed to a 2×2 system, keeping only the lateral motion of the rotor. As expected, bearing dynamic coefficients are heavily influenced by the control parameters and pad compliance.

scholarly journals Improvement of Tilting-Pad Journal Bearing Operating Characteristics by Application of Eddy Grooves

Lubricants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Eckhard Schüler ◽  
Olaf Berner
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Journal Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Fluid Film ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Fluid Film Bearings ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Bearing Load ◽  
Bearing Loads ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearing

In high speed, high load fluid-film bearings, the laminar-turbulent flow transition can lead to a considerable reduction of the maximum bearing temperatures, due to a homogenization of the fluid-film temperature in radial direction. Since this phenomenon only occurs significantly in large bearings or at very high sliding speeds, means to achieve the effect at lower speeds have been investigated in the past. This paper shows an experimental investigation of this effect and how it can be used for smaller bearings by optimized eddy grooves, machined into the bearing surface. The investigations were carried out on a Miba journal bearing test rig with Ø120 mm shaft diameter at speeds between 50 m/s–110 m/s and at specific bearing loads up to 4.0 MPa. To investigate the potential of this technology, additional temperature probes were installed at the crucial position directly in the sliding surface of an up-to-date tilting pad journal bearing. The results show that the achieved surface temperature reduction with the optimized eddy grooves is significant and represents a considerable enhancement of bearing load capacity. This increase in performance opens new options for the design of bearings and related turbomachinery applications.

A new dynamic mesh algorithm for studying the 3D transient flow field of tilting pad journal bearings

2016 ◽  
Vol 230 (12) ◽  
pp. 1470-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengxuan Li ◽  
Chaohua Gu ◽  
Xiaohong Pan ◽  
Shuiying Zheng ◽  
Qiang Li
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Equilibrium Position ◽  
Transient Flow ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Dynamic Mesh ◽  
Static Equilibrium ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Tilting Pad ◽  
Grid Nodes ◽  
Tilting Pad Journal Bearings

A new dynamic mesh algorithm is developed in this paper to realize the three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method for studying the small clearance transient flow field of tilting pad journal bearings (TPJBs). It is based on a structured grid, ensuring that the total number and the topology relationship of the grid nodes remain unchanged during the dynamic mesh updating process. The displacements of the grid nodes can be precisely recalculated at every time step. The updated mesh maintains high quality and is suitable for transient calculation of large journal displacement in FLUENT. The calculation results, such as the static equilibrium position and the dynamic characteristic coefficients, are consistent with the two-dimensional (2D) solution of the Reynolds equation. Furthermore, in the process of transient analysis, under conditions in which the journal is away from the static equilibrium position, evident differences appear between linearized and transient oil film forces, indicating that the nonlinear transient calculation is more suitable for studying the rotor-bearing system.

An Approximate THD Theory for Journal Bearings

1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Gupta ◽  
C. R. Hammond ◽  
A. Z. Szeri
Keyword(s):  
Journal Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Pressure Coefficient ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Substantial Agreement ◽  
Interactive Mode ◽  
Lubricant Flow ◽  
Bearing Load ◽  
Sophisticated Model

The aim of this paper is to make available to the industrial designer results of the thermohydrodynamic theory of journal bearings, by providing a simplified, yet accurate model of journal bearing lubrication that can be implemented on a personal computer and be used in an interactive mode. The simplified THD theory we propose consists of two coupled ordinary differential equations for pressure and energy and an algebraic equation for viscosity, which are to be solved iteratively. Bearing load capacity, maximum bearing temperature, maximum pressure, coefficient of friction and lubricant flow rate calculated from this simplified theory compare well with results from a more sophisticated model. We also make comparisons with experimental data on full journal bearings, demonstrating substantial agreement between experiment and simplified theory.

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