Session: 23-04, Hydrodynamic Bearings
Paper Number: 125725
125725 - Preventing Tilting Pad Fluttering by Using Elastic Pad Fixation
Tilting pad fluttering is a well-known phenomenon in journal and thrust tilting pad bearings. The contact between the pad and the rotor can lead to bearing damage and, in the case of journal bearings, trigger subsynchronous rotor vibration with high amplitudes. Numerous approaches exist to solve the problem, but for various reasons, they do not seem to have found widespread use in practice.
In order to detect the occurrence of tilting pad fluttering, investigate it more closely, and ultimately to develop a solution to prevent it, an experimental investigation was prepared. The test bearing was equipped with a displacement sensor for monitoring one pad. To investigate a new approach, tilting pad fluttering was first triggered and measured during experimental investigations on a conventional bearing. Looking at the trigger points that lead to tilting pad fluttering the solution of an elastic fixation of the tilting pad to the bearing housing was proposed.
The test rig investigations were carried out with and without the elastic fixations to compare the solutions. Depending on the magnitude of the force with which the pads were connected to the housing, the occurrence of tilting pad fluttering was completely prevented. Negative effects of elastic pad fixation were not observed.
This paper will provide a overview of the current state of the art in tilting pad fluttering, including the problems associated with this phenomenon. It will then present the results of an experimental investigation into tilting pad fluttering and known solutions for its prevention. A new solution approach will also be proposed and discussed. Additionally, the paper will include an experimental investigation into elastic pad fixation and its potential to prevent tilting pad fluttering. The results of these investigations will be analyzed, and conclusions will be drawn regarding the effectiveness of the approach to preventing tilting pad fluttering.
Presenting Author: Eckhard Schueler Miba Industrial Bearings Germany Osterode GmbH
Presenting Author Biography: Dipl.-Ing. Eckhard Schueler works at Miba Industrial Bearings Germany as a Senior R&D Engineer. He received his degree from the Ruhr University Bochum in 2002 and has since been working in the field of fluid-film bearings for turbomachinery.
Authors:
Eckhard Schueler Miba Industrial Bearings Germany Osterode GmbHStephan Faulhaber Miba Industrial Bearings Germany Osterode GmbH
Preventing Tilting Pad Fluttering by Using Elastic Pad Fixation
Paper Type
Technical Paper Publication