Performance of additive manufactured hydrodynamic tilting pad bearings with internal pad cooling
Abstract
The demand for higher power densities in gear-type compressors is pushing the loading of its already highly loaded pinions to even higher levels. The typically applied tilting-pad bearings are exposed to high circumferential speeds and high specific bearing loads, thus causing high bearing pad temperatures. The bearing design and especially the maximum realizable pad temperature becomes more and more the limiting design factor. With the draft of the next API 617 9th Edition, tightening the maximum acceptable bearing pad temperature to 203°F (95°C), bearing performance will become an even more determining factor for sound turbomachinery performance.This paper presents a bearing pad design with three-dimensional cooling ducts inside the pad, realized by means of additive manufacturing (AM). A full-scale bearing test-rig was applied for extensive bearing testing up to circumferential speeds of 459.3 ft/s (140m/s) and specific bearing loads up to 362.6 PSI (25bar). Comparisons of the test results with conventionally manufactured bearing pads show the potential of AM bearing pads not only for gear-type compressors but also for high speed and low load turbomachinery.
Description
LectureCollections
Citation
Schoenwald, Dirk; Hoehnerbach, Christoph; Spanel, Axel; Biesenbach, Martin (2020). Performance of additive manufactured hydrodynamic tilting pad bearings with internal pad cooling. Turbomachinery Laboratory, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station; Texas A & M University. Libraries; Texas A & M University. Libraries. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196835.