A METHOD FOR DESIGN OF HYDRODYNAMIC

HIGH-SPEED THRUST BEARINGS

S. L. Yampol'skii UDC 621.822-185.4.001.24

One of the main r e a s o n s for unreliability in high-speed thrust bearings is the inadequacy of the en-
gineering methods used for their design which a r e based on a number of assumptions f r o m the classical
theory of hydrodynamic lubrication. These assumptions do not enable design computations to be made to the
degree of a c c u r a c y required in practice - calculated c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of thrust bearings m a y differ f r o m
actual c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s by a factor of 3 to 10 [1].
A wide r a n g e of experimental investigations on special test rigs and on m a c h i n e r y in operation was
made in o r d e r to a s c e r t a i n the essential physical p r o c e s s e s which occur with high-speed thrust bearings
and the effect of these p r o c e s s e s upon the actual relationships between loading and the hydrodynamic lubri-
cation p a r a m e t e r s [2].
Oscillograph r e c o r d i n g s w e r e made, using special inductive t r a n s d u c e r s mounted on the thrust collar
of the bearing, of the loading, the hydrodynamic p r e s s u r e , the thickness and the t e m p e r a t u r e of the h y d r o -
dynamic film in o r d e r to obtain the relationships required to r e v e a l the working p r o c e s s e s o c c u r r i n g in
the thrust bearing. T e s t s were made on 35 standard types of pad type thrust bearings, types widely used
in construction, having thrust collars f r o m 80 to 340 m m diameter, speeds f r o m 3000 to 25,000 r p m with
various oil feed a r r a n g e m e n t s [3]. Type 22, 30, 46, and 57 turbine m i n e r a l oils were used for lubrication
with inlet t e m p e r a t u r e s f r o m 25 to 60~ Oil flow through the bearings was controlled to keep the oil t e m -
p e r a t u r e r i s e at 10 to 30~
These tests revealed the quantitative effects of a number of physical p r o c e s s e s and constructional
f a c t o r s on the l o a d - c a r r y i n g capacity of liquid-friction (hydrodynamic) thrust bearings which a r e not taken
into account by the design methods n o r m a l l y employed.
The h e a t - t r a n s f e r p r o c e s s through the metal of the pads and the thrust collar of the bearing enables
a considerable proportion of heat that is evolved at the hydrodynamic film to be c a r r i e d away; this p r o -
duces substantial reduction in the film t e m p e r a t u r e (Fig. 1).
T h e r m a l deformation of the thrust pads is caused by the p r e s e n c e of t e m p e r a t u r e gradients both
through the thickness and over the length of the pads; this deformation acts together with loading strains
to cause convexity of the pads, thus reducing the l o a d - c a r r y i n g capacity of the bearing (Figs. 1 and 2).
This, unwanted, t h e r m a l deformation can be reduced substantially if m a t e r i a l having high t h e r m a l
conductivity is used for the t h r u s t pads and the latter a r e designed with c o r r e c t geometry; also if double-
l a y e r cooling of the thrust pads is adopted [2, 4].
Figures 2 and 3 show the relationship of the t e m p e r a t u r e conditions at the pads to the number of pads
in the bearing. Optimum values of the "area filling f a c t o r " mop t for different bearings with r e s p e c t to
sliding speed and thermal conductivity of the m a t e r i a l of the pads range f r o m 0.4 to 0.7.
The load that can be c a r r i e d by hydrodynamic thrust bearings b e c o m e s reduced with i n c r e a s i n g sliding
speed. With all bearings tested (number of thrust pads z = 2 to 8), an i n c r e a s e in sliding speeds f r o m 10
to 80 m / s e c resulted in reductions in loads that could be c a r r i e d by f a c t o r s f r o m 3 to 4, which can be ex-
plained by the i n c r e a s e in t e m p e r a t u r e of the thrust collar and thrust pads (see Fig. 1).

Translated f r o m K h i m i c h e s k o e i N e f t y a n o e M a s h i n o s t r o e n i e , No. 11, pp. 6-8, November, 1971.

9 1972 Consultants Bureau, a division of Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York,
N. Y. 10011. All rights reserved. This article cannot be reproduced for any purpose whatsoever without
permission of the publisher. A copy of this article is available from the publisher for $15.00.

954
 tmax, ta, Ark, Atf, ~

tmax (Pm) ~
140

120
i " 47-

lOO

80

gO
atk= f( Pm) / ~ 6 ~..._2
~
20 . "*

0 40 80 "/20 1gOPro' kro - gr ~3 ~5~ 0,7 m

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

F i g . 1. R e l a t i o n s h i p s of t e m p e r a t u r e a t t h e s u r f a c e s of t h e t h r u s t p a d s t m a x
and at t h e t h r u s t c o l l a r t a (with a m e a n c i r c u m f e r e n t i a l s p e e d u m = 60 m / s e c
a t t h e m e a n d i a m e t e r of the t h r u s t c o l l a r ) , of t e m p e r a t u r e d i f f e r e n c e s A t k b e -
t w e e n the w o r k i n g a n d n o n w o r k i n g s u r f a c e s of t h e t h r u s t p a d s , of t e m p e r a t u r e
d i f f e r e n c e s A t f b e t w e e n the e x i t a n d e n t r y e d g e s of t h e t h r u s t p a d s (with u m
= 30 m / s e c ) w i t h r e s p e c t to the s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g Pm upon the t h r u s t c o l l a r (ex-
t e r n a l d i a m e t e r D e = 230 m m , i n t e r n a l d i a m e t e r D i = 140 r a m , r o t o r s p e e d n
- 3000 to 6000 r p m , n u m b e r of p a d s z = 8). - - ) As determined experi-
:mentally; - - - ) a s c a l c u l a t e d f r o m f o r m u l a s (1) a n d (2); 1, 5, and 6) f o r s t e e l
p a d s h a v i n g a h e a t - t r a n s f e r c o e f f i c i e n t f o r t h e pad m a t e r i a l ~k = 0.12 c a l / c m
s e c - d e g C; 2, 3 , 4 , 7, a n d 8 ) f o r c o p p e r p a d s w i t h ~k = 0.92 c a l / c m , s e c - d e g C
f o r c u r v e 4, z = 2 .

F i g . 2. R e l a t i o n s h i p of the l o a d P w h i c h c a n b e c a r r i e d by t h e t h r u s t b e a r i n g
w i t h r e s p e c t to t h e " a r e a f i l l i n g f a c t o r , " m: , , , )
230/140 mm diameter bearings respectively with copper, bronze, composite
,(steel a n d c o p p e r ) , a n d s t e e l r e v e r s i b l e t h r u s t p a d s ; . ) b e a r i n g s 1 1 0 / 6 0 m m
d i a m e t e r ; • b e a r i n g s 8 6 / 5 0 m m d i a m e t e r ; 1) n = 3000 r p m ; 2) n = 6000 r p m , 3)
n = 8000 r p m ; 4) n = 3000 to 6000 r p m ; 5) n = 10,000 r p m ; t h e s h a d e d zone r e p -
r e s e n t s t h e o p t i m u m v a l u e s of m d e p e n d i n g upon the s l i d i n g s p e e d and t h e m a t e -
r i a l of the b e a r i n g t h r u s t p a d s .

It f o l l o w s f r o m t h e d e s i g n m e t h o d s t h a t a r e u s u a l l y a d o p t e d t h a t t h e l o a d w h i c h c a n be c a r r i e d b y a
t h r u s t b e a r i n g i n c r e a s e s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y w i t h i n c r e a s e in s l i d i n g s p e e d a n d t h a t the oil f i l m t e m p e r a t u r e i s
d e t e r m i n e d s o l e l y by t h e s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g and d o e s not d e p e n d upon s l i d i n g s p e e d [5].

B r e a k d o w n of l i q u i d f r i c t i o n ( h y d r o d y n a m i c ) c o n d i t i o n s o c c u r r e d w i t h a l l b e a r i n g s e x a m i n e d w h e n
m i n i m u m oil f i l m t h i c k n e s s e s h m i n = 8.5 to 9.5 p w e r e r e a c h e d ( s e e F i g . 4).*

E m p i r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s for d e s i g n i n g t h r u s t b e a r i n g s w e r e o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e t e s t s c a r r i e d out. T h e s e
r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e v a l i d f o r t h e t h r u s t p a d s of h y d r o d y n a m i c b e a r i n g s of n o r m a l c o n s t r u c t i o n [3] h a v i n g t h r u s t
c o l l a r s 80 to 400 m m in d i a m e t e r and o p e r a t i n g with m i n e r a l o i l s h a v i n g i n i t i a l v i s c o s i t y p = (0.05-1.10) - 10 -~
k g . s e c / m 2 in t h e r a n g e of c i r c u m f e r e n t i a l v e l o c i t i e s u m = 10 to 90 m / s e c . T h e s e p e r m i t c a l c u l a t i o n of
o p t i m u m a r r a n g e m e n t s of t h r u s t b e a r i n g s f o r g i v e n c o n d i t i o n s with s u f f i c i e n t a c c u r a c y f o r p r a c t i c a l p u r -
p o s e s . T h e y al.so e n a b l e t h e m a g n i t u d e s of t h e u l t i m a t e l o a d i n g a c c e p t a b l e to the b e a r i n g s to b e c a l c u l a t e d .
* T h e s e v a l u e s of oil f i l m t h i c k n e s s e s , o b t a i n e d on m o r e t h a n 200 t e s t s , with s u r f a c e f i n i s h V7 to V8 a t t h e
s l i d i n g s u r f a c e s , c o r r e s p o n d to s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g s f r o m 110 to 340 k g / c m 2 a t f a i l u r e .

955
 p , kg/cm2

0 2

0,2
0
0.4~
Fig. 3
8 8
0,,5
lOz

0,Sin
iiO 40 6o 12o
Fig. 4
16o zoo 2r 280 Pro' kg/cm2

F i g . 3. R e l a t i o n s h i p of s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g Pm a t b e a r i n g f a i l u r e with r e s p e c t to
n u m b e r of t h r u s t p a d s z a n d to " a r e a f i l l i n g f a c t o r " m = 0 z / 3 6 0 ( w h e r e 0 i s
t h e a n g l e s u b t e n d e d by t h r u s t p a d s a t a x i s of t h r u s t b e a r i n g ) f o r t h r u s t b e a r -
i n g s 2 3 0 / 1 4 0 m m d i a m e t e r . D e s i g n a t i o n s f o r c u r v e s a s f o r F i g . 2.
F i g . 4. R e l a t i o n s h i p of m i n i m u m oiI f i l m t h i c k n e s s hmi n w i t h r e s p e c t to s p e c i -
fic l o a d i n g Pm f o r t h r u s t b e a r i n g s ( 2 3 0 / 1 4 0 m m d i a m e t e r , z = 8, m = 0.67):
- - ) c u r v e s o b t a i n e d on t e s t ; - - - ) c u r v e s o b t a i n e d by c a l c u l a t i o n ; 1, 2)
w i t h c o p p e r t h r u s t p a d s a t u m = 30 a n d 60 m / s e c , r e s p e c t i v e l y ; 3,4) w i t h s t e e l
t h r u s t p a d s a t u m = 30 a n d 60 m / s e c , r e s p e c t i v e l y ; 1) a s c a l c u l a t e d b y f o r m u l a
(3); 5, 6) a s c a l c u l a t e d b y m e t h o d g i v e n in [5]; s h a d e d a r e a i s f o r v a l u e s of hmi n
c o r r e s p o n d i n g to l o a d i n g s a t f a i l u r e .

W h e n d e s i g n i n g t h r u s t b e a r i n g s , the f o l l o w i n g p a r a m e t e r s a r e u s u a l l y given: the m a x i m u m l o a d i n g

Q (kg) on the t h r u s t b e a r i n g , the s p e e d of r o t a t i o n n ( r p m ) , the i n i t i a I t e m p e r a t u r e t 1 (~ and t h e v i s c o s i t y
of t h e oil U l ( k g - s e c / c m 2 ) . T h e c a l c u l a t i o n i s m a d e a s f o l l o w s .
D e p e n d i n g upon t h e d i m e n s i o n of t h e s u p p o r t i n g j o u r n a l of t h e b e a r i n g , t h e m i n i m u m d i a m e t e r Dint
(m) of the t h r u s t c o l l a r i s fixed.
F o r t h e s e l e c t e d d i a m e t e r of t h e t h r u s t c o l l a r and t h e g i v e n s p e e d of r o t a t i o n , the o p t i m u m n u m b e r
of t h r u s t p a d s Zop t f o r t h e t h r u s t b e a r i n g i s found:
2=
Zopt = - ~ - mopt,

w h e r e 0 i s t h e a n g l e s u b t e n d e d b y t h e t h r u s t p a d s a t t h e a x i s of the b e a r i n g which, a s w e l l a s t h e t h r u s t
pad a r e a F k , i s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m c o n s i d e r a t i o n s of p r e s e r v i n g o p t i m u m g e o m e t r y f o r t h e t h r u s t p a d s [4]:
mopt =0.8--0.00185(3.35--~k)am,

w h e r e k k i s t h e c o e f f i c i e n t of t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y of t h e t h r u s t p a d m a t e r i a l , * c a 1 / c m , s e c 9deg; u m = ~Dmn
/ 6 0 i s the c i r c u m f e r e n t i a l v e l o c i t y a t t h e m e a n d i a m e t e r D m of t h e t h r u s t c o l l a r , m / s e c .
T h e m a x i m u m t e m p e r a t u r e t m a X of the oil f i l m a t the t h r u s t p a d a t t h e g i v e n s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g Pm
= Q/Fk, kg/em 2 and circumferential velocity um is determined:
A ta 43 p~'~
twa x = t t @ ~ - = ~- ~ Urn -~- 0.07 l z r n p ~ - - ( 0 . 3 ut~) - - (0.01Pm)L (1)

w h e r e A t n is t h e t o t a l h e a t r i s e of t h e o i l t h r o u g h t h e b e a r i n g w h i c h i s u s u a l l y k e p t w i t h i n 10 to 30~ [3];
oz1 = 0.2(1 + m) i s a f a c t o r w h i c h t a k e s into a c c o u n t t h e i n c r e a s e in o i l f i l m t e m p e r a t u r e f o r an i n c r e a s e of
1 m / s e e s l i d i n g v e l o c i t y ( d e g . s e e / m ) ; c~2 = 0 . 0 1 3 ( 1 1 - X k ) ( 4 . 3 3 + m ) i s a d i m e n s i o n l e s s f a c t o r w h i c h t a k e s
into a c c o u n t t h e e f f e c t of t h e s p e c i f i c l o a d i n g upon t h e o i l f i l m t e m p e r a t u r e ; a3 = 0.65(2.57 + m) a n d a t
= 0.075(4.54 - 0.3 u m) i s a d i m e n s i o n l e s s f a c t o r w h i c h t a k e s into a c c o u n t t h e r e d u c t i o n i n i n t e n s i t y of the

9 T e s t s h a v e shown t h a t t h e b e s t m a t e r i a l i s l a t t e n b r a s s c o v e r e d by a t h i n (0.5 to 1.5 m m ) l a y e r of B - 8 3

B a b b i t m e t a l a p p l i e d to t h e f l a t s u r f a c e of the pad.

956
 t e m p e r a t u r e r.ma x when u m >> 30 m / s e e , w h i c h o c c u r s t h r o u g h i n c r e a s e d h e a t c o n d u c t i v i t y f r o m t h e t h r u s t
p a d s a s t h e r a t e a t w h i c h t h e y a r e f l o o d e d b y oil i s i n c r e a s e d .

R e d u c t i o n of i n t e n s i t y of i n c r e a s e in t h e t e m p e r a t u r e t m a x o c c u r s e v e n when Pm >> 100 k g / c m 2. T h i s

i s e x p l a i n e d b y t h e i n c r e a s e in h e a t c o n d u c t i o n f r o m t h e t h r u s t p a d s to the oil s u m p b e c a u s e of t h e i n c r e a s e
of b e a r i n g t e m p e r a t u r e - t h i s b e i n g t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t by the l a s t t e r m in Eq. (1). T h e c o e f f i c i e n t 0.07 in
t h e f o u r t h t e r m i n Eq. (1), h a v i n g d i m e n s i o n s ( d e g . s e c 9 c m 2 / k g 9m), t a k e s into a c c o u n t that f r a c t i o n of
t h e e n e r g y in t h e o i l f i l m w h i c h i s c o n v e r t e d into heat.
T h e h e a t i n g o f t h e o i l f i l m (the d i f f e r e n c e A t m in f i l m t e m p e r a t u r e b e t w e e n the e x i t and t h e i n l e t
e d g e s of t h e pads) i s t h e n d e t e r m i n e d :

~e 122
h tf -- ~t Um+ 0.09 ttlTlP'm--(0.3 t / m ) --(0.0i plil)I'7 , (2)

w h e r e fil = 0.035(1.8 - ~k)(1 + m) d e g . s e c / m ; f12 = 0.031(4.4 - ~k)(3.5 + m); fi3 = 0.25(7.35 + m); fi4 = 0.12(3
- 0.3 urn) a r e d i m e n s i o n l e s s f a c t o r s h a v i n g t h e s a m e p h y s i c a l m e a n i n g a s t h e f a c t o r s a l , ~2, ~3, ~4.

The a v e r a g e t e m p e r a t u r e t m of t h e oil f i l m a t t h e p a d s is t h e n c a l c u l a t e d a n d f r o m t h i s i s found t h e

c o e f f i c i e n t of v i s c o s i t y Pill (kg- s e c / c m 2 ) , the s p e c i f i c g r a v i t y Ym ( g / c m 3 ) , and t h e s p e c i f i c h e a t Cm (cal
/ k g . deg) of t h e o i l f i l m
Atf
tin= tmax- 2

T h e m i n i m u m t h i c k n e s s of t h e o i l f i l m a t t h e t h r u s t p a d s can t h e n be found

FR ~lm n (3)
hmin = k2 "(mOrn2 tf

w h e r e k 2 i s a f o r m f a c t o r f o r t h e t h r u s t p a d s [5].
F o r r e l i a b l e b e a r i n g o p e r a t i o n , h m i n f o r t h e d e s i g n c o n d i t i o n s s h o u l d not b e l e s s t h a n 20 p having r e -
g a r d to n o n u n i f o r m i t y of l o a d i n g upon t h e t h r u s t p a d s a n d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of the o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s b e c o m i n g
more severe.
T h e l i m i t i n g l o a d i n g w h i c h c a n b e c a r r i e d b y the b e a r i n g i s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m t h e g r a p h hmi n = f(Pm)
( s e e F i g . 4) a t t h e p o i n t hmi n = 9 to 10 #.

LITERATURE CITED
1. S. L. Yampol'skii, Energomashinostroenie, No. 7 (1905).
2. E. V. Trifonov, S. L. Yampol~skii, V. P. Khomyakov, and O. P. S a r a p o v , V e s t n i k M a s h i n o s t r o e n i e ,
No. 3 (1963).
3. S. L. Yampol'skii, l~nergomashinostroenie, No. 12 (1970).
4. S. L. Yampol'skii, Vestnik Mashinostroenie, No. 7 (1970).
5. G. S. Z h i r i t s k i i , C o n s t r u c t i o n a n d D e s i g n f o r S t r e n g t h of C o m p o n e n t s i n S t e a m T u r b i n e s [in R u s s i a n ] ,
G o s 6 n e r g o i z d a t , M o s c o w (1960).

957