MODULE 15.

1 :
Malaysian InstituteGAS
of Aviation
TURBINETechnology
ENGINE 1
ALD 20203
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GAS TURBINE ENGINE

MODULE 15.8
BEARINGS AND SEALS

Issue: 01 Types of main bearings used for

Module 15.8gas turbine rotor support 2
Revision: 00
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15.8 BEARINGS AND SEALS

1. Bearings
- Bearings provide a means of accurately locating rotors while transmitting
high forces with very little rotational resistance.

Number of bearing is
determined by length, and
weight of the rotor shaft.

Example, split spool axial

compressor have more
bearing than centrifugal
compressor

Module 15.8 Page No: 3

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15.8 BEARINGS AND SEALS

1. Bearings
- There are two types of bearing used in gas turbine engine :
a. Ball bearing
b. Roller bearing
- Ball bearings use balls as the rolling elements, which, because of their
shape, can withstand both radial and axial forces.
- This makes ball bearings suitable for transmitting thrust.

Issue: 01 Module 15.8 Page No: 4

Revision: 00
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1. Bearings – con’d
- Roller bearings use cylinders as the rolling elements.
- The rollers can transmit radial load across their diameters, but allow the
shaft to slide lengthwise.
- Using a single ball bearing for thrust and one or more roller bearings to
support a rotor allows positioning at the thrust bearing. The purpose of a
roller bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads.

Page No: 5
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1. Bearings – con’d
- All rotating shafts in the engine, including the drive shafts from the internal
gearbox to the accessory gearbox and the gear shafts within the accessory
gearbox, are mounted on rolling element bearings.
- All rolling element bearings consist of an inner and outer race, a cage, and the
rolling elements themselves.
Outer Ring / Race

Cage
Inner Ring / Race

Roller Bearing

Page No: 6
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1. Bearings – con’d
- Certain turbines engine uses an oil-dampened bearing.
- This bearing is routed into cavity formed by the bearing housing and bearing
race.
- Oil film will is produced under pressure by the engine lubrications system.
- This oil film effectively dampens rotor vibration and
compensates for slight misalignments in rotor segments. Oil jet

Page No: 7
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1. Bearings – con’d
Disadvantages of both ball and bearing is their vulnerability to damage caused
by foreign matter and tendency to fail without appreciable warning.
- Need proper lubrication.

Page No: 8
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1. Bearings – con’d
a. Ball bearings
- Ball bearings provide axial location for a
rotating shaft, but usually carry a substantial
radial load.
- A rotating shaft is supported by at least two
bearings, one is a ball bearing and the other,
a roller bearing.
- Main shaft location bearings are
situated in the internal gearbox on
three-shaft engines and on many
two-shaft engines.

- Putting these highly-loaded bearings

in a relatively cool part of the
engine greatly simplifies design of
the load paths through the engine Page No: 9
structures.
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Ball bearing

Issue: 01 Module 15.8 Page No: 10

Revision: 00
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1. Bearings – con’d
b. Roller bearings
- Roller bearings are used in all main shaft and auxiliary drive shaft pplications
to support pure radial load.
- They are usually located at the ends of the turbine and compressor shafts
and are often mounted in a housing, but separated from it by a layer of
pressurized oil known as a squeeze film damper.
- In many cases, instead of having a separate
inner race for roller bearings, the inner race is
an integral part of the shaft.
This reduces complexity, weight and build-
up of concentricity tolerances.

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Roller bearing
Outer Ring

Cage
Inner Ring

Roller Bearing

Issue: 01 Module 15.8 Page No: 12

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1. Bearings – con’d
c. Bearing materials
- Bearings are currently manufactured from
steels that may be either case-hardened or
through-hardened to suit the application.
- Rolling element bearings operate with high
local stresses at the contacts between the
rolling elements and the races. This means
that the material have a very high level of
hardness at the surface, high temperature
and wear resistance and a tough core.
- Corrosion resistance and damage tolerance
may be other important characteristics.

Page No: 13
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2. Seals
- Common type of oil seals used are labyrinth, helical thread and carbon seal.
a. Labyrinth seals
- Labyrinth seals are widely used in gas turbine engines for sealing functions of
the air system.
- A labyrinth seal differs from most seals
in that the seal does not press or rub
against an outer surface to create a seal.
- Each seal consist of a series rotating fins
that come very close but do not touch a
fixed abradable race.

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Issue: 01 Module 15.8 Page No: 15

Revision: 00
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- The basic labyrinth seal creates a resistance to airflow by forcing

the air to traverse through a series of fins. The fins run close to
the seal’s outer lining, and pressure losses are generated by the
acceleration and expansion of the air as it passes between each fin
and the lining.
- Enhancements such as inclining the fin into the flow, and radially
stepping up or down successive fins, will improve seal performance.
- To cope with the relative radial movements, the labyrinth seal may
be designed in such a way that the fins never touch the outer
lining, or a soft, abradable material or honeycomb structure may be
included on the outer lining that is designed to tolerate rub.
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- During initial running of the engine, the fin tips rub into the material
and cut grooves to the deepest radial extent seen transiently.
- Thereafter, the fins tend not to rub further but excessive shaft
movements caused by aircraft manoeuvres or hard landings will cause
the fin to rub occasionally.
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a. Labyrinth seals – con’d

Principle of operation:
- Ref. to figure below, air from the gas path is present outside of
the bearing compartment bleeds inward across grooves cut in the
labyrinth seal.
- These grooves form sealing rings in either a concentric path similar
to a screw thread or a non-concentric path with each ring in its own
plane.
- In any case, the seal dams formed by the rings allow for a metered
amount of air from the engine gas path to flow inward.
- Pressure within the bearing compartment is maintained slightly
above atmospheric level.
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a. Labyrinth seals – con’d

- The oil mist created by the oil
jet spraying on the rotating
bearing is prevented from
exiting the bearing compartment
by the air entering across the
labyrinth seal.
- The seal pressurizing air then
leaves the bearing area.
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Main bearing sealed by Labyrinth air-oil seal

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2. Seals – con’d
b. Helical seals
- Helical seals are similar to labyrinth seals except the helicals seals depend on
the reverse threading to stop oil leakage
c. Carbon seals
- Carbon seals are generally used for
sealing oil within bearing chambers and
gearboxes.
- They rely on positive pressure
differential to load the carbon
elements adequately although this is
frequently supplemented by various
compression springs.
- Carbon seals are completely different.
They are spring loaded to hold the
carbon ring against the rotating shaft,
much like carbon brushes in an electric
motor.
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c. Carbon seal – con’d

Principle of operation
- Carbon seals are a blend of carbon and graphite. They are
similar in function and location to labyrinth seals but not in
design.
- The carbon seals ride on a highly polished chrome carbide
surface, while the labyrinth seal maintains an air gap clearance.
- Carbon seal is usually spring-loaded and sometimes pressurized
with air to create a uniform pressure drop across the seal.
- The pressurized air also preloads the carbon segment against it
mating surface, and provides a more positive oil sealing
capability.
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Carbon seal
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A type of roller bearing installation in a gas

turbine engine in which the outer race is
installed in an oil damper compartment
whose inside diameter is a few
thousandths of an inch larger than the

END
outside diameter of the outer race. Oil
under pressure fils the oil damper
compartment and allows the bearing to
compensate for sight misalignment and to
absorb vibrations of the shaft.

Issue: 01 Module 15.8 Page No: 24

Revision: 00