Comparison of measured and calculated water film thickness of a water-lubricated elastically supported tilting pad thrust bearing

Abstract

A xenon induced fluorescence technique is used to measure the water film thickness of a rubber-supported water-lubricated tilting pad thrust bearing (RWTB). Film thickness maps are obtained over a range of speeds and loads. Based on a Thermo-Elasto-Hydrodynamic lubrication model, the calculated film thickness is compared with the measured one. The measurement shows that the lubrication regime of the RWTB can be observed and it can form a convergent wedge of lubricant. The calculated results are on par with the experimental results at low speed condition (200 r·min-1). Generally, the calculated film thickness is larger and the discrepancy between them increases respecting to the speed. The RWTB is in the hydrodynamic lubrication regime when the speed is over 200 r·min-1 and the load is less than 0.25 MPa. The comparison between the measurements and calculations verifies that the fluorescence technique can be used to measure the film thickness of water-lubricated thrust bearings.

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ORCID for Robert Wood: orcid.org/0000-0003-0681-9239

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