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tilting pad journal bearing

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Compressors, Journal Bearings, Seals, Thrust Bearings, Turbines, Bearing Design, Cross-Coupling

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Hydrodynamic Lubrication
In Tribology Series, 1990

13.3 Examples of Actual Bearings

13.3.1 Tilting pad journal bearings
The hydrodynamic tilting pad journal bearings are used in large size turbogenerators (Fig. 13.18) and high rotation speed
compressors (Fig; 13.19). A hydraulic pad support system was designed to permit a homogenous distribution of stresses and to
preserve the shaft alignment characteristics [9].

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Fig. 13.18. Tilting pad bearing of a large turbo - alternator (doc. EDF)
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Fig. 13.19. Tilting pad bearing of a high speed compressor (doc. ALSTHOM)

The tilting pad bearings are also used in hydraulic turbines with relatively small rotation speeds: 60 to 100 rpm. The supported loads
may reach 3 to 4 MN. These bearings are particularly used to support the shafts of hydraulic turbines.

13.3.2 Hydrodynamic thrust bearings with low losses

Thrust bearings with low losses were developed to be used in high speed rotating machinery [10]. The monitored lubrication system
(Fig. 13.20) reduces, to a greater extent, the parasitic losses associated to splash lubrication and may lead to a reduction of consumed
power of the order of 50 %.

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Fig. 13.20. Oil flow distribution in a monitored lubricated thrust bearing

(after [10])

13.3.3 Heavily loaded thrust bearings

The large hydraulic turbines with vertical axes comprise thrust bearings supporting heavy loads. These ones may exceed in some
particular machines 4 to 50 MN. Beyond 10 MN the uniform automatic load distribution on pads becomes an important security
factor. The uniform load distribution on the pads may be obtained by an assembly of steel membranes having the shape of a torus
with thin walls, filled out with oil and linked by a common circuit; they support the pads.
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Fig. 13.21. shows the assemblage of this type of bearing.

13.3.4 Hydrostatic bearing

To simplify sealing problems, bearings for numerous pumps are lubricated by the working fluid. This is for example, the case of the
lower bearing of the primary pump of “Super - Phoenix” (Fig. 13.22).

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Fig. 13.22. Assemblage of a hydraulic turbine thrust bearing

This bearing, a hydrostatic one, has a diameter of 850 mm and a width of 300 mm and comprises 12 recesses tooled on the shaft.
The lubricant used is liquid sodium for which the viscosity at operating temperature is comparable to water viscosity.

Remarks:
This chapter reviewed the main parameters to be taken into account for the preliminary choice of a bearing technology. The
optimisation was examined for a simple geometry and for an isothermal regime.
The isothermal analysis allows us to obtain acceptable results only if the energy dissipated by stresses within the lubricant is rather
small and then leads to little heating and viscosity decrease, that is particularly the case of water as a lubricant.
For industrial bearings, it is necessary to use more complicated computational methods of thermohydrodynamic or elasto-
thermohydrodynamic type, which take into account thermal exchange and deformations, respectively.

Investigation of the influence of thermal effects in the dynamic

coefficients of a tilting pad journal bearing
G.B. Daniel, K.L. Cavalca, in 10th International Conference on Vibrations in Rotating Machinery, 2012

2.2.1 Full model

As previously described, for the tilting pad journal bearings, perturbation should be applied to the shaft and the pads. According
Allaire [14], each pad results in eighteen (18) coefficients (nine stiffness and nine damping coefficients) due to the direct and cross-
coupling coefficients in x, y and a. Hence, these coefficients can be written in a square matrix of order N+2 (global matrix), where N is
the number of pads in the tilting pad bearing. From the global matrixes of the stiffness and damping coefficients, the dynamic
behavior of the bearing system can be written in the full model through the equation of motion presented in the equation (8):
(8)
Equation (8) can be written in expanded form as [8]:
(9)

Where mS represents the mass of the shaft, JPj represents the mass moment of inertia for each pad j about the pivot.

Successful trials of turbo-boosting of positive displacement

compressors
A. Alford, P. Nichol, in 7th International Conference on Compressors and their Systems 2011, 2011

3.2 Implementation
The set up for this machine was similar to that previously described: The turbocompressor used in this case was a 50kW, single stage,
high speed machine. The shaft of the machine was supported on hydrodynamic tilting pad journal and thrust bearings. The impeller
was fitted to one end of the motor shaft which incorporated permanent magnets. The maximum speed of the turbocompressor was
72000 rev/min and the design point pressure ratio was 2.5:1. Air was supplied to the bearings from the screw compressor for starting
and stopping only. This machine has since been up-graded so that it needs no auxiliary air supply to the bearings. The
turbocompressor was mounted on a frame within the screw compressor package and the inverter to provide high frequency current
for the motor was mounted inside the existing screw compressor switch panel. A small blower was fitted to provide cooling air for the
turbocompressor motor and bearings.
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Figure 6. Flow diagram of turbocompressor with screw compressor

Air to the compressor was drawn in through an air filter into a small plenum box on the inlet to the turbocompressor. The output of
the turbocompressor was fed through a pipe to a spray intercooler, then to the inlet valve of the screw compressor. This patented
intercooler design (3) uses injection water from the screw compressor to cool the air leaving the turbocompressor by direct contact.

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Figure 7. 50kW single stage turbocompressor

The screw compressor delivery port was modified to a lower volume ratio to match the duty required. The water cooler, water
separation vessel and piping were oversized to deal with the higher heat load and flow rate of the combined machine. The entire
package was water cooled including the turbocompressor motor and inverter. No aftercooler was fitted as the temperature of the air
leaving the screw compressor was acceptable for direct connection to the network. The objective of adding the turbocompressor to
the existing screw compressor package within the existing frame size was readily achieved. Testing was carried out with no enclosure
fitted; our partners fitted an acoustic enclosure prior to starting field trials.

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Figure 8. Combined turbocompressor with screw compressor package

Gears
Meherwan P. Boyce, in Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook (Fourth Edition), 2012

Types of Bearings
Bearings of all types can be used to support gears. Normally, gear drives proposed for turbine-driven applications, whether they are
single or double helical, will be supported in hydrodynamic journal bearings.
 g pp y y j g
The most basic type used is plain journal bearings. They have good load carrying capacity, but they can also have oil whirl problems.
To prevent oil whirl problems, pressure dam or tilting pad journal bearings are used. Gear motors have imposed operating loads, and
do not require the same degree of no-load bearing stability as compressor turbines, which have only the rotor weight applied to the
bearings.
The exclusion of rolling-type bearings from drives of this class may be unwarranted. In the low-horsepower ranges, bearing ratings
can be easily provided so that race and roller fatigue can be ignored as a source of failure. Drives using rolling element bearings may

sometimes provide additional design latitude for the gear manufacturer. The extensive use of rolling element bearings in
contemporary light-weight gas turbine designs bears strong testimony for this point.
Thrust bearings vary from the ball bearing to the self-equalizing tilting pad type. The most common type is the babbitt-lined, flat-
face thrust bearing. The flat-face bearing is sometimes modified to add tapered lands that double the load-carrying capacity. Tilting
pad bearings are becoming more popular because of their high-thrust capacity and misalignment capabilities. Also, the tilting pad
thrust bearing is more efficient because of the higher allowable loading and lower rubbing speeds.

Journal (Radial) Bearings

Michael Forsthoffer, in Forsthoffer's Component Condition Monitoring, 2019

Hydrodynamic Bearings
Hydrodynamic bearings use oil to support the rotor. The bearing itself has a clearance (typically 1.5 thousandths of an inch per inch
of shaft diameter) on the shaft, and oil is injected between the bearing and shaft. The oil wedge created (the oil between the bearing
and shaft at the load point) is only about 20–25 μm tick, about the thickness of a human hair. Oil can handle a load of approximately
500 psi before it breaks down, so the equipment OEM selects a bearing design and size to be loaded at a maximum of 250 psi at
normal operating conditions. See Fig. 4.6 for a picture of typical hydrodynamic tilting pad journal bearings which is used in the
majority of compressors and steam turbines.

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Fig. 4.6. Hydrodynamic tilting pad journal bearing.

Since there is a clearance between the bearing and shaft for a hydrodynamic bearing, we can monitor the amount of vibration on the
shaft. Therefore, equipment with these types of bearings are typically fitted with vibration probes (usually by Bentley Nevada/GE) that
are charged with an AC current and use voltage gap to calculate how close the shaft is to the probe on every revolution. See Fig. 4.7
for a description of this setup.
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Fig. 4.7. Vibration probe setup.

The parameters that are typically monitored in real time for these bearings are overall vibration and bearing pad temperature. See
Table 4.2 for a spreadsheet showing the parameters monitored and trended for hydrodynamic journal bearings in a steam turbine-
driven compressor train.

Table 4.2. Hydrodynamic Journal Bearings Parameters to Monitor

Steam Turbine/Compressor Train Journal Bearing Monitoring

Item #

Date/Time:

Journ. Brgs.

Compressor DE horiz. vibes (micron)

Compressor DE vert. vibes (micron)

Compressor DE pad temp (Deg C)

Compressor DE pad temp (Deg C)

Compressor NDE horiz. vibes(micron)

Compressor NDE vert. vibes (micron)

Compressor NDE pad temp (Deg C)

Compressor NDE pad temp (Deg C)

Steam turbine DE horiz. vibes (micron)

Steam turbine DE vert. vibes (micron)

Steam turbine DE pad temp. (Deg. C)

Steam turbine DE pad temp. (Deg. C)

Steam turbine NDE horiz. Vibes (micron)

Steam turbine NDE vert vibes (micron)

 Steam turbine NDE vert. vibes (micron)
Steam Turbine/Compressor Train Journal Bearing Monitoring
Steam turbine NDE pad temp. (Deg. C)

Steam turbine NDE pad temp. (Deg. C)

When vibration or temperature increases by 20%, you then need to utilize the diagnostic systems in your plant to analyze the cause
of the vibration increase. These days, the majority of compressor trains are equipped with Bentley Nevada System 1 or equivalent

systems that can analyze phase angle, bearing orbit, and shaft centerline position. Fig. 4.8 details all of these parameters and typical
alarm limits.

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Fig. 4.8. Hydrodynamic journal bearings parameters to monitor.

Again, remember that the parameters discussed in this chapter need to be trended with the other component condition parameters.
For example, an increase in 1 × vibration, for a compressor that is in a service that could foul, indicates fouling, but needs to be
confirmed by trending efficiency over the same time that the 1 × vibration has increased.
Also, components 2–4 (journal bearings, thrust bearings, and seals) depend on their support systems in order to operate properly for
an acceptable lifetime; therefore it is essential to monitor and trend the support system parameters along with these components.
Chapter 7 will discuss these systems in detail.
Now we will discuss the monitoring of antifriction and hydrodynamic thrust bearings which is not much different than monitoring
journal bearings.

Machinery Component Maintenance and Repair

In Practical Machinery Management for Process Plants, 2005

Reassembly
Once the machine has been opened and all parts cleaned and inspected, the reassembly procedure can begin. There are many critical
phases involved with this operation, one of the most important being care in handling the rotor. Large heavy rotors (over
approximately 2,500 lbs) require special handling and, in some cases, special guide fixtures should be fabricated to avoid damaging
components. This is particularly necessary with gas turbines which have many exposed, fragile parts. A solid rotor cradle is also a very
necessary item. Do not jeopardize your most valuable spare part by failing to protect it during the course of an overhaul or during
transit to or from the storage warehouse.
When fitting housings and other components with multiple O-rings in blind areas, we have found that it is usually beneficial to first
remove the O-rings and fit the housing by hand to check the alignment of the assembly. Blind dowels or concealed shims can be
located in this manner with pencil marks. The O-ring fits should be touched lightly with Grade 600 wet or dry emery paper to remove
any burrs, and then checked carefully by hand. Lubricate the O-rings with a suitable grease or oil. A cut O-ring, worth very little in
itself, can bear heavily on the success of an overhaul.
Bearing clearance is one of the most important checks during reassembly. We have found that after several years of operation, the
pads of a tilting pad journal bearing will wear small depressions in the support ring or housing which can open the clearance beyond
specifications. Also, replacement pads may not be within tolerance. The only proper way to check bearing clearance with this type of
bearing is by using a mandrel the size of the journal and a flat plate. The clearance in a sleeve-type journal bearing can be checked
i h Pl i G ® B h b i b l l f l di
with Plasti-Gage®. Be sure to torque the bearing cap bolts correctly or you may get a false reading.
When assembling bearings be sure the anti-rotation dowels are in place and look to be sure the oil dam (if used in that particular
bearing) is in the correct direction of rotation. Some of these steps will sound obvious, but each one results from a problem
experienced in the field. It is also useful to check the alignment of oil supply holes in the housing with oil feed grooves in the bearing.
For want of a 3/8-in, groove in the housing of a replacement bearing, one user lost a high speed shaft and impeller assembly in a
plant air compressor package.
Before the upper half of the casing of a horizontally split machine is bolted in place, a final rotor mid-span bow check is
recommended. This is particularly useful if you, as the responsible engineer on an overhaul, have not been able to personally witness
all rotor movements during the course of the job.
Coupling hub fit is another area requiring consideration. The assumption that the taper is correct provides a false sense of security.
By lightly bluing the shaft and transferring the bluing to the coupling bore, the fit can be properly checked. It is prudent to require at
least 85 percent contact. If the contact pattern is not acceptable, the question of whether to lap or not to lap needs to be addressed.
We will not lap using the coupling half for obvious reasons, but will lap using a ring and plug gauge set. The advance of the coupling
on the taper must be correct and should be witnessed and recorded by a knowledgeable individual. Coupling bolts must be torqued
to the coupling manufacturer's specifications as the clamping force, not the bolt body, is generally the means of transmitting the
torque.

As the machine goes back together, fill in the information in the critical dimension diagram. Labyrinth and bearing clearances, total
rotor float, thrust clearance, coupling advance, bolt torque, etc., should all be measured and logged. Shaft alignment and cold
baseline data for comparison with hot growth data taken after startup should also be logged on the appropriate sheet. Remember to
check the shaft end gap, as not all rotors are created equal and the wrong dimension could damage your coupling. When leaning
into an open machine, it is well to remember to remove all loose objects from shirt pockets!
There are some other checks which may or may not have been incorporated in the critical dimension diagram, most notable of them
being whether the rotor is free to turn and whether oil is flowing to and from the proper places. This latter item can be viewed just
prior to bolting bearing caps or covers in place, assuming the oil lines have been reconnected. On some machines with internal oil
tubing, it is possible to have oil flow showing in the main oil drain sight flow indicator while no oil is reaching the bearings or seals!

Bearings and Seals

Meherwan P. Boyce, in Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook (Fourth Edition), 2012

Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings

Normally, the tilting-pad journal bearing is considered when shaft loads are light because of its inherent ability to resist oil whirl
vibration. However, this bearing, when properly designed, has a very high load-carrying capacity. It has the ability to tilt to
accommodate the forces being developed in the hydrodynamic oil film, and therefore operates with an optimum oil-film thickness
for the given load and speed. This ability to operate over a large range of loads is especially useful in high-speed gear reductions with
various combinations of input and output shafts.
Another important advantage of the tilting-pad journal bearing is its ability to accommodate shaft misalignment. Because of its
relatively short length-to-diameter ratio, it can accommodate minor misalignment quite easily.
As shown earlier, bearing stiffness varies with the oil-film thickness so that the critical speed is directly influenced to a certain degree
by oil-film thickness. Again, in the area of critical speeds, the tilting-pad journal bearing has the greatest degree of design flexibility.
There are sophisticated computer programs that show the influence of various load and design factors on the stiffness of tilting-pad
journal bearings. The following variations are possible in the design of tilting-pad bearings:
1. The number of pads can be varied from three to any practical number.
2. The load can be placed either directly on a pad or to occur between pads.
3. The unit loading on the pad can be varied by either adjusting the arc length or the axial length of the bearing pad.
4. A parasitic pre-load can be designed into the bearing by varying the circular curvature of the pad with respect to the curvature of
the shaft.
5. An optimum support point can be selected to obtain a maximum oil-film thickness.

On a high-speed rotor system, it is necessary to use tilting-pad bearings because of the dynamic stability of these bearings. A high-
speed rotor system operates at speeds above the first critical speed of the system. It should be understood that a rotor system
includes the rotor, the bearings, the bearing support system, seals, couplings, and other items attached to the rotor. The system's
natural frequency is therefore dependent on the stiffness and damping effect of these components.
Commercial multipurpose tilting-pad bearings are usually designed for multidirectional rotation so that the pivot point is at pad
midpoint. However, the design criteria generally applied for producing maximum stability and load-carrying capacity locates the
pivot at two-thirds of the pad arc in the direction of rotation.
Bearing pre-load is another important design criterion for tilting-pad bearings. Bearing pre-load is bearing assembly clearance
divided by machined clearance:

A pre-load of 0.5–1.0 provides for stable operation because a converging wedge is produced between the bearing journal and the
bearing pads.
The variable C′ is an installed clearance and is dependent upon the radial pivot position. The variable C is the machine clearance and
is fixed for a given bearing. Figure 13-7 shows two pads of a five-pad tilting-pad bearing where the pads have been installed such that
the pre-load ratio is less than one, and Pad 2 has a pre-load ratio of 1.0. The solid line in Figure 13-7 represents the position of the
journal in the concentric position. The dashed line represents the journal in a position with a load applied to the bottom pads.

From Figure 13-12, Pad 1 is operating with a good converging wedge, while Pad 2 is operating with a completely diverging film, thus
indicating that the pad is completely unloaded. Therefore, bearings with pre-load ratios of 1.0 or greater will be operating with some
of their pads completely unloaded, thus reducing the overall stiffness of the bearing and decreasing its stability, since the upper pads
do not aid in resisting cross-coupling influences.

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Figure 13-12. Tilting-pad bearing pre-load.

Unloaded pads are also subject to flutter, which leads to a phenomenon known as “leading-edge lock-up." Leading-edge lock-up
causes the pad to be forced against the shaft, and it is then maintained in that position by the frictional interaction of the shaft and
the pad. Therefore, it is of prime importance that the bearings be designed with pre-load, especially for low-viscosity lubricants. In
many cases, manufacturing reasons and the ability to have two-way rotation cause many bearings to be produced without pre-load.
Bearing designs are also affected by the transition of the film from a laminar to a turbulent region. The transition speed (Nt) can be
computed using the following relationship:

where:

Turbulence creates more power absorption, thus increasing oil temperature that can lead to severe erosion and fretting problems in
bearings. It is desirable to keep the oil discharge temperature below 170°F (77°C), but with high-speed bearings, this ideal may not
be possible. In those cases, it is better to monitor the temperature difference between the oil entering and leaving as shown in Figure
13-13.

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Figure 13-13. Oil discharge characteristics.

JSME v_BASE activities and some troubleshooting case studies of

rotating machinery
M. Tanaka, in 10th International Conference on Vibrations in Rotating Machinery, 2012

5.2 Case study No. 581

This case study reports a self-excited vibration of a multi-stage back-to-back centrifugal compressor (rated speed 11,520 rpm)
supported in tilting pad journal bearings.
(Phenomena observed) A subsynchronous vibration appeared at 11,100 rpm in a full load operation. The vibration amplitude was
larger than that of synchronous component. The amplitude increased further with shaft speed and the machine tripped before
reaching the rated speed. The vibration frequency remained constant (61.25 Hz), close to the 1st bending critical speed. Furthermore,
the discharged oil temperature in the bearings showed no significant change after the vibration started.
(Causes presumed) The vibration was regarded a self-excited vibration caused by the destabilising force (cross-coupling stiffness) of a
centre labyrinth seal.
(Analysis) The subsynchronous vibration proved to be a self-excited vibration, because complex eigenvalue analyses with all the
labyrinth seals incorporated gave a logarithmic decrement of minus 0.03 at the onset speed of 11,100 rpm.
(Countermeasures taken and results) The centre labyrinth seal was replaced with a shorter seal equipped with a shunt hole, but it
was not sufficient. Then, the labyrinth seal was replaced with a highly stable seal (not specified) equipped with inlet preswirl brake.
Then, the subsynchronous vibration disappeared. On the other hand, synchronous vibration increased in amplitude, presumably due
to a large residual mass unbalance, lower damping capability of the new seal with a larger clearance and the insufficient damping
capability of tilting pad journal bearings. Consequently, the rotor was balanced again and the bearings were replaced by damper
bearings (journal bearing combined with squeeze film damper). Then overall vibration decreased in amplitude.
(Lessons) Tilting pad journal bearings are often believed to have large damping capability, but, in fact, they have lower damping
compared to other types of journal bearings. Consequently, the bearings have limited capability of suppressing unstable vibrations
caused by destabilising forces of seals and impellers and also unbalance vibration amplitudes, although the bearing can suppress oil
whip because of little destabilising forces.

Centrifugal Compressors
Jason Wilkes, ... George Talabisco, in Compression Machinery for Oil and Gas, 2019
Bearings
Proper rotor position is maintained by journal and thrust bearings. Two journal bearings are used for radial positioning of the
compressor rotor supporting the gravitational load of the shaft as well as various dynamic forces caused by rotor unbalance,
misalignment, and other sources. Thrust bearings are used for axial positioning of the compressor rotor supporting thrust loads that
arise from gas forces within the compressor case. The arrangement of the bearings is as shown in Fig. 3.17 such that the bearings are
external to the gas flow path outboard of the DGSs. This keeps lubricants out of the process gas and process gas out of the lubricants.
This arrangement also allows for relatively easy access for maintenance such as bearing and DGS replacement. Bearings used in

centrifugal compressors can be hydrodynamic, magnetic, or rolling element. Hydrodynamic bearings are the most prevalent,
whereas magnetic bearings are popular in niche applications such as pipeline compressors and hermetically sealed subsea
compressors.

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Fig. 3.17. Bearing arrangement with bottom halves installed.

(Courtesy of Elliott Group.)

Hydrodynamic bearings are highly advantageous because they suffer little or no wear due to the formation of a hydrodynamic wedge
of oil that separates the rotating journal from the stationary bearing. They have exceptionally long life thereby enabling long periods
of continuous operation, often in excess of 5 years. In addition, these bearings possess dynamic characteristics that allow for vibration
control thereby enabling high-speed operation and traverse of rotor critical speeds. They offer very good load capacity in a reasonably
compact design envelope, and they accommodate transient loads very well. This leads to a robust rotordynamic characteristics. The
primary disadvantages are relatively high-power loss compared to other bearings and need for a reliable oil supply system.
Hydrodynamic journal bearings can be either tilting pad or fixed geometry design. Almost all centrifugal compressors are equipped
with tilting pad journal bearings. Fixed geometry designs (plain, elliptical, lobed, pressure dam, and others) are seldom encountered
in compressors constructed after about 1970. Fig. 3.18 shows a tilting pad journal bearing with self-aligning pivots and chromium
copper pads for temperature reduction. Tilting pad journal bearing designs consist of several pads arranged in an annular ring
around the shaft with the pads free to tilt about their respective pivots. Tilting pad journal bearings may include several design
variations such as self-aligning features to compensate for misalignment, specialized materials, and special oil feed and drain
configurations for reducing temperature and power loss. Fig. 3.19 shows a tilting pad journal bearing with directed lube features with
oil introduced close to the pad inlet. One particular advantage of tilting pad journal bearings is their dynamic characteristics and
inherent resistance to rotordynamic instability, which enables passive control of vibration while traversing the rotor's critical speed
and further enables reliable stable operation at speeds well above the first critical speed.
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Fig. 3.18. Tilting pad journal bearing with self-aligning spherical seat.
(Courtesy of Elliott Group.)

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Fig. 3.19. Tilting pad journal bearing with directed lubrication.

(Courtesy of Waukesha, Barry Blair.)

Hydrodynamic thrust bearings are usually of the self-equalizing tilting pad design. Fixed geometry designs (plain, tapered land, and
compound tapered land) are seldom encountered in centrifugal compressors constructed after about 1970. Fig. 3.20 shows a self-
equalizing tilting pad thrust bearing. This type of thrust bearing has a linkage construction that will compensate for misalignment.
The bearing shown operates in an oil-flooded cavity with oil exiting primarily through a top tangential drain and secondarily through
shaft oil seals. Fig. 3.21 shows a bearing for the same envelope with directed lube features consisting of oil feeds going directly to the
pads. These bearings are operated within an evacuated cavity with oil drained from the bottom. The directed lube design with
evacuated cavity reduces thrust bearing temperatures and power consumption.

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Fig. 3.20. Self-equalizing tilting pad thrust bearing.

(Courtesy of Kingsbury, Scan DeCamillo.)
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Fig. 3.21. Self-equalizing tilting pad thrust bearing with directed lubrication.
(Courtesy of Kingsbury, Scan DeCamillo.)

Thrust bearings are positioned in a double-acting arrangement as shown in Fig. 3.22 to control thrust loads in both directions. When
considering a compressor's entire operational map, the thrust direction can reverse. The most severe condition would typically
involve the loss of either a balance piston seal or center seal, at which point the bearing must survive until the unit is shutdown.

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Fig. 3.22. Self-equalizing tilting pad thrust bearing with directed lubrication.
(Courtesy of Kingsbury, page 50 of “LEG Bearings, Thrust and Journal,” Kingsbury, Inc.)

Bearing surfaces consist of a soft metal bonded to a hard metal backing. The soft metal surface is most often an ASTM B23 grade 2
babbitt comprised of 89% tin alloyed with other metals. Babbitt provides a good bearing surface that protects the shaft from damage.
It is good for embedding hard contaminant particles and for resistance to seizure and galling. The main disadvantage of babbitt
bearing materials is their relatively low compressive, tensile, and fatigue strengths especially at high temperature. The babbitt surface
material is cast and bonded as a thin layer to a hard metal backing. The thin babbitt layer is typically less than 1 mm thick and the
hard metal backing is typically steel or chromium copper. Steel is the most prevalent and least expensive backing material.
Chromium copper is used for its superior thermal conductivity enabling reduced bearing metal temperature.
Introduction of advanced technologies for steam turbine bearings
P. Pennacchi, in Advances in Steam Turbines for Modern Power Plants, 2017

15.1.1 Journal bearings

Journal bearings are classified themselves on the type of the sliding surfaces:
• if the journal bearing has fixed sliding surfaces, then it is defined as a “sleeve bearing” (Fig. 15.1);

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Figure 15.1. Sleeve bearing.

Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.

• otherwise, the bearing has several pivoted pads, which can tilt freely and it is defined as a “tilting pad journal bearing” (TPJB).

15.1.1.1 Sleeve journal bearings

The basic shape of sleeve bearings is the cylindrical bearing, in which the cross-section of the bearing surface is a circle. Actually, this
kind of bearing is not of use in steam turbines, since it is prone to causing instability, in particular oil-whip [5], and is has been
replaced for a long time by other designs, i.e., by multilobe bearings or by TPJBs.
Multilobe bearings have a cross-section composed of two (Fig. 15.2) to four (Fig. 15.3) circular arcs, forming the so-called “lobes.” In
the case of two lobes, the bearing is sometimes dubbed as “lemon-shaped.” Two-lobe bearings may have a pocket machined in the
upper half, called the pressure-dam, whose aim is to impose an additional downward load on the shaft, which contributes to
stabilizing the rotor (and to increasing the bearing dynamic stiffness).
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Figure 15.2. Two-lobe lemon-shaped sleeve bearing with pressure-dam.

Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.

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Figure 15.3. Bottom half of a four-lobe sleeve bearing.

15.1.1.2 Tilting pad journal bearings

TPJBs may have several pads, around both the halves of the bearing shell (Fig. 15.4) or only in the lower one (Fig. 15.5). Moreover, the
pads may be equal or different between them. Equal pads are the most common case, while, for instance, asymmetric three-pad
TPJBs have been used in large steam turbines employed in nuclear power plants.

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Figure 15.4. Tilting pad journal bearing.

Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.
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Figure 15.5. Load between pads (LBP) tilting pad journal bearing.
Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.

Symmetric TPJBs, with the load applied on the bottom lobe (load on pad (LOP) configuration, Fig. 15.7) or between the two bottom
lobes (with load between pads (LBP) configuration; Figs. 15.5 and 15.9) have the best performances in terms of stability of the rotor-
bearing system.
LBP configuration is preferred when high load capacity is required. In this case, the damping is also higher than in the LOP
configuration, due to the larger support area.
TPJBs have also some drawbacks, like hot oil carry over [4], risk of flutter of unloaded pads [6,7] (i.e., those in the upper half ), higher
costs, and more difficult determination of clearances than sleeve bearings. Pad fluttering is a somewhat difficult phenomenon to
overcome and is defined as the unstable vibration of the pad floating back and forth between the pivot point and the journal
continuously during shaft rotation. It is related to another phenomenon known as “spragging” of bearing pads [8].
However, the advantages of TPJBs outweigh their disadvantages and their use is growing in steam turbines.
The free tilting of the pad is about a pivot, which can be ideal, i.e., the pad rocks about a straight line on the back side (which has a
geometrically ruled surface) of the pad that is in contact with the bearing shell. In this case, the TPJB is said to be of the rocker type
(Figs. 15.6 and 15.7). If the pivot is machined on the pad back (Fig. 15.8) or it is realized by hardened metal inserts in the pad back
and in the shell (Fig. 15.9), the TPJB is said to be of the pivoted type.

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Figure 15.6. Front and back side of a rocker type pad of a tilting pad journal bearing.
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Figure 15.7. Section of a rocker type tilting pad journal bearing, with load on pad (LOP).

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Figure 15.8. Pivoted pad. Note the CuCr1Zr alloy coating base.
Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.

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Figure 15.9. Pivoted type tilting pad journal bearing with load between pads (LBP).
Source: Courtesy of Eurobearings Srl.
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