Tilting Pad Bearing

Description

Tilting pad bearings belong to the hydrodynamic fluid film bearing family. They are used to support, locate, and guide rotors in rotation. In contrast to the fixed-geometry fluid-film bearings, tilting pad bearings consists of a series of pads (typically four to five) supported in a carrier ring; each pad is free to tilt so that it creates a self-sustaining hydrodynamic film. The carrier ring may be in one piece or in halves with varying locating arrangements. The angular oscillation of each pad is dictated by the rotor’s speed and radial or axial load. This auto-adjustment of the pads leads to an optimal oil wedge at each loaded pad. These tilted pad bearings are inherently stable and are heavily used in high-speed applications e.g., power generation rotating machinery such as steam, gas, and water turbines, generators, and compressors.

Advantages of Tilting Pad Bearings are:

Hydrodynamically stable at high speeds.
Can accommodate varying conditions.
Is less sensitive to load direction or shaft misalignment than fixed profile bearings.
Has optimized lubrication for minimum power loss and pad temperature.
Is compact, installation and maintenance are simple.
Advanced materials are available to withstand high speeds, loads and operating temperatures, as well as for special lubricant requirements.

Types of Tilting Pad Bearings

Tilting Pad Journal Bearings: These bearings are used to radially support, locate, and guide rotors in rotation. Tilting pad journal bearings are designed to transfer radial loads from rotating shafts with minimum power loss and optimum dynamic characteristics.

Tilting Pad Thrust Bearings: Tilting pad thrust bearings are designed to transfer high axial loads from rotating shafts with minimum power loss and optimum dynamic characteristics.

Metalcomp can supply customized tilted pad bearings for a diverse range of sizes and applications. We supply these bearings as per client’s drawings and specifications or sample bearings provided by the client.

Manufacturing Standard: We can supply tilted pad bearings as per client's specification and drawing or samples of tilted pad bearings provided by the client.