ARTICLE IN PRESS

Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410

www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of aerodynamic

tilting-pad journal bearings
Yang Lihua, Li Huiguang, Yu Lie
Institute of Mechatronics and Information Systems, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry for Modern Design and Rotor-Bearing Systems,
Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an Shannxi 710049, China
Received 14 April 2006; received in revised form 12 March 2007; accepted 28 March 2007
Available online 24 May 2007

Abstract

The dynamic gas–film forces of aerodynamic bearing often can be characterized by eight linear stiffness and damping coefficients.
How to theoretically predict these coefficients is a very difficult issue for tilting-pad gas bearing design because of its structural
complexity. The current study presents a novel and universal theoretical analysis method for calculating the dynamic stiffness and
damping coefficients of aerodynamic tilting-pad bearing. The gas–film pressure within the bearing is expressed in the form of
dimensionless compressible gas-lubricated Reynolds equation, which is solved by means of the finite element method. With the
assumption that the journal and the pads are disturbed with the same frequency, the dynamic coefficients of tilting-pad gas bearing are
computed by using the partial derivative method and the equivalent coefficient method. Finally, the investigations are conducted about
the effects of bearing number, perturbation frequency of the journal and the pads, eccentricity ratios, preload and length-to-diameter
ratio of the bearing on the dynamic coefficients of aerodynamic tilting-pad journal bearing. The numerical results indicate that the
dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of tilting-pad gas bearing are closely related with these factors. The proposed analytical
method provides a valuable means of predicting dynamic performances of tilting-pad gas bearing. The solution can be used for the
purpose of prediction of dynamic behavior of the rotor systems supported by aerodynamic tilting-pad bearings.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Dynamic stiffness coefficients; Dynamic damping coefficients; Perturbation frequency of the journal and the pads

1. Introduction coefficients by the fact that besides the journal degrees of

The dynamic behaviors of the rotor systems supported
by gas bearings are prominently affected by the dynamic
characteristics of these bearings which could be character-
ized by the dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of
their gas film. Furthermore, for the rotor systems
supported by gas bearings, these coefficients are often used
to calculate the critical speeds and unbalance responses of
the rotors, and analyze the stability of the rotor systems [1].
It is a very important problem how to obtain the
dynamic coefficients of gas bearings. Especially, for the
tilting-pad bearings, it is more difficult to get their dynamic
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 29 8266 9160.
E-mail address: yulie@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (Y. Lie).
freedom, they also have additional degrees of freedom
related with the tilting movement of each pad. Many
experimental and theoretical studies have been reported
about the dynamic characteristics of oil-film tilting-pad
bearings. The research results indicate that the dynamic
stiffness and damping coefficients of tilting-pad bearings
are closely associated with the perturbation frequency of
the journal and the pads [2–4]. But the reports about
the dynamic characteristics of gas-lubricated tilting-pad
bearings are very few. So the calculating methods used in
oil-film tilting-pad bearings could be used for references to
the gas-lubricated tilting-pad bearings.
To get the dynamical coefficients of tilting-pad gas
bearings, the dynamic compressible gas-lubricated Rey-
nolds equation must be solved. Many researchers adopted

0301-679X/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.triboint.2007.03.007
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1400 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410
Nomenclature
Cb radius clearance between bearing and shaft
( ¼ RpadR), mm
Cp pivot circle radius clearance ( ¼ RpivotR), mm
W static load of the bearing, N
e0 static eccentricity ratio of pivot and shaft
y attitude angle of bearing, rad
N rotating speed of the journal, rpm
o angular velocity of the journal ( ¼ 2pN/60),
rad/s
n perturbation frequency of the journal and the
pad, rad/s
O dimensionless perturbation frequency ¼ (n/o)
Pa ambient pressure ¼ 0.1 MPa
P dimensionless gas–film pressure
H dimensionless gas–film thickness
T dimensionless time
j angular coordinate, rad
L length of the bearing, mm
R shaft radius, mm
D shaft diameter, mm
R shaft radius, mm
D shaft diameter, mm
m preload coefficient ( ¼ 1Cp/Cb)
d tilting angle of pad in its static equilibrium
position, rad
a pad angular extent, rad
the analytical method to obtain the dynamical coefficients
of the bearings [5–7]. But these solutions are only
applicable to the small eccentricity ratios. Accounting the
calculation accuracy and the application range of the
solutions, some researchers present the numerical methods
to solve the Reynolds equation. In 1968, Lund [8] used
small perturbation method to calculate the dynamical
coefficients of gas–film tilting-pad bearing. His solutions
only give the synchronous perturbation results when
the perturbation frequency of the journal is same as its
rotating frequency. Furthermore, he does not reveal the
correlation between the perturbation frequency and the
dynamical coefficients of bearings. In 1996, Czolczynski [9]
employed the so-called ‘‘orbit method’’ to study the linear
and non-linear stiffness and damping coefficients of gas
bearings.
Although many researchers have done a large amount of
work on the research of dynamic characteristics of tilting-
pad bearings, they do not reveal the universal law of the
effect of the bearing parameters on the dynamic character-
istics of tilting-pad bearings.
In this paper, a theoretical method is presented for
predicting the dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients
of aerodynamic tilting-pad bearing. The dimensionless
compressible gas-lubricated Reynolds equation expressing
the gas–film pressure within gas bearing is solved by
f angle between pad leading edge and pivot
point, rad
c relative clearance ( ¼ Cb/R)
b pivot location of the pad, rad
Z axial coordinate
l dimensionless axial coordinate ( ¼ Z/R)
L bearing number or compressibility parame-
ter ¼ (6moR2)/(paC2b)
j0 leading edge angular coordinate of the pad, rad
j1 trailing edge angular coordinate of the pad, rad
Kxx, Kxy, Kyx, Kyy dimensionless dynamic stiffness
coefficients of the pad only with journal
perturbation
Dxx, Dxy, Dyx, Dyy dimensionless dynamic damping
coefficients of the pad only with journal
perturbation
K xx , K xy , K yx , K yy dimensionless dynamic equivalent
stiffness coefficients of the bearing with the
perturbation of journal and pads
Dxx , Dxy , Dyx , Dyy dimensionless dynamic equivalent
damping coefficients of the bearing with the
perturbation of journal and pads
Subscript
0 refer to the value in the steady-state equilibrium
position
means of the finite element method. The dynamic
coefficients associated with the perturbation frequency of
the journal are firstly calculated by using the partial
derivative method presented by Yu et al. [10,11]. Finally,
the dynamical equivalent coefficients of total tilting-pad
bearing related to the perturbation frequency of the journal
and the pads simultaneously can be obtained by means
of the equivalent coefficient method [1]. This paper
presents the detailed calculating process and partial
numerical results that roundly show the effects of the
bearing parameters such as eccentricity ratios, the preload
coefficient, the perturbation frequency of the journal and
the pad, and the bearing number, etc. on the dynamic
stiffness and damping coefficients of tilting-pad gas
bearings.
2. The dynamic characteristics only with the journal
perturbation
Fig. 1 shows a typical tilting-pad gas bearing schematic
at the arbitrary small perturbation of the journal. The
bearing is composed of three partial-arc pads that can swirl
around their own pivot. In this part, the dynamic
coefficients only with the journal perturbation are calcu-
lated with the assumption that all pads are fixed in their
own static equilibrium positions.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410 1401

2.2. The self-acting gas-lubricated Reynolds equation and

static solution

It is assumed that the flow process is isothermal and the

air is an ideal gas. Under these assumptions, for the tilting-
pad gas bearings, the gas–film pressure distribution
between the journal and each pad is governed by the
dimensionless compressible gas-lubricated Reynolds equa-
tion with the form as follows [11]:
   
q 3 qP q 3 qP
PH þ PH
qj qj ql ql
qðPH Þ qðPH Þ
¼L þ 2L . ð5Þ
qj qT
The gas–film thickness is given by
H ¼ H g. (6)
In the steady state, the Reynolds equation is independent
of time T, so Eq. (5) becomes
Fig. 1. Tilting-pad gas bearing schematic at the arbitrary small perturba-    
tion of the journal. q 3 qP0 q 3 qP0 qðP0 H 0 Þ
P0 H 0 þ P0 H 0 ¼L , (7)
qj qj ql ql qj
with the gas-film thickness H0 determined by the steady-
state equilibrium positions of the pad and the journal.
2.1. The gas–film thickness at the arbitrary journal Appropriate boundary conditions of each pad for Eq. (7)
perturbation is expressed as
(
P0 ðj; 0Þ ¼ P0 ðj; L=RÞ ¼ 1:0;
At the arbitrary time, the position of a rotating journal (8)
can be expressed as follows: P0 ðj0 ; lÞ ¼ P0 ðj1 ; lÞ ¼ 1:0:

 ¼ 0 þ E ¼ 0 þ E 0 eiOT , The static equilibrium position or the static tilting angle

y ¼ y0 þ Y ¼ y0 þ Y0 eiOT ,
where (e0, y0) express the steady-state equilibrium position
of the journal, E0 and Y0 which are defined as complex
numbers, are perturbation magnitudes offfi eccentricity ratio
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
and attitude angle respectively, i ¼ 1.
For the tilting-pad gas bearing, the convergent or
divergent gas–film clearance could be formed between the
surface of the journal and each pad. A single pad is
discussed in the following analysis process. With the
assumption of rigid pad, at the arbitrary coordinate j,
the gas–film thickness between the journal and the pad can
be written as
H g ¼ H 0 þ H gd ,
H 0 ¼ 1  m cosðb  jÞ þ 0 cosðj  y0 Þ
d 2.3. The dynamic solution only with the journal perturbation
þ sinðb  jÞ,
c
H gd ¼ H gd0 e iOT
¼ ½E 0 cosðj  y0 Þ þ 0 Y0 sinðj  y0 Þe
where H0 and Hgd are static and dynamic gas-film thickness
between the journal and the pad, respectively.
d of the pad is decided by the moment equilibrium
ð1Þ condition of the pad. The dimensionless pivoted moment
equilibrium equation is in the form of
Z L=R Z j
1
M¼ ðP0  1Þ sinðb  jÞ dj dl ¼ 0. (9)
0 j0
For all pads of the bearing, the corresponding gas–film
thickness H0 and pressure P0 of each pad can be obtained
by solving Eqs. (3), (7)–(9) simultaneously in finite element
form by an iterative method. Then the static gas–film forces
of the bearing in the vertical and horizontal directions can
be calculated by numerical addition. If the static load is
applied in the vertical direction, the gas–film force of the
bearing in the horizontal direction should be equal to zero.
(2) By using Newton iterative method, the gas–film thickness
H0 and pressure P0 of all pads, which satisfy the balance
conditions of the bearing and all pads can be gained.
ð3Þ
With the small perturbation of the journal, it is assumed
iOT
, that the gas–film pressure and thickness could be written as
follows:
(4)
P ¼ P0 þ Q0 eiOT ,
H ¼ H 0 þ H~ ¼ H 0 þ H~ 0 eiOT , ð10Þ
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1402 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410

  
where Q0 and H~ 0 which are defined as complex, are qH 0 2 qP0 qH 0 qP0 qH 0
þ L  3H 0 þ
perturbation magnitudes of dynamic gas–film pressure and qj qj qj ql ql
thickness, respectively.  2 2 
q P0 q P0 1 qðP0 H 0 Þ
Substituting Eq. (10) into Eq. (5) and neglecting all high- H 30 2
þ 2
QER ¼ 3L H ER
qj ql H 0 qj
order terms of Q0 and H~ 0 , the dynamic Reynolds equation     
Eq. (5) could be simplified and becomes 3 qP0 q 1 qP0 q 1
þ 3H 0 P0 H ER þ H ER
    qj qj H 0 ql ql H 0
q qQ q qQ q
P0 H 30 0 þ P0 H 30 0 L ðP0 H ER Þ þ 2LOðH 0 QEI þ P0 H EI Þ
qj qj ql ql qj
     
q qP 0 q qP0 qP0 qQER qP0 qQER
þ H 30 Q0 þ H 30 Q0 þ H 30  LH 0 þ H 30 , ð15Þ
qj qj ql ql qj qj ql ql
   
q 2 qP 0 ~ q 2 qP0 ~
þ 3H 0 P0 H0 þ 3H 0 P0 H0
qj qj ql ql H ER ¼ cos ðj  y0 Þ. (16)
q    
¼L H 0 Q0 þ P0 H~ 0 þ i2LO H 0 Q0 þ P0 H~ 0 , ð11Þ Similarly, the imaginary part equation becomes
qj
    
where P0 and H0 are all known steady-state variables, Q0 q qQ q qQ
 P0 H 30 EI þ P0 H 30 EI
and H~ 0 are complex variables to be found which are qj qj ql ql
functions of the perturbation magnitudes E0 and Y0.   
qH 0 qP0 qH 0 qP0 qH 0
As a result of the small journal perturbation, the þ L  3H 20 þ
qj qj qj ql ql
increment of the dynamic gas–film thickness between the  2 2 
journal and the pad has the following form as q P0 q P0 1 qðP0 H 0 Þ
H 30 þ 2
QEI ¼ 3L H EI
qj2 ql H 0 qj
    
H~ 0 ¼ H gd0 ¼ E 0 cosðj  y0 Þ þ 0 Y0 sinðj  y0 Þ. (12) 3 qP0 q 1 qP0 q 1
þ 3H 0 P0 H EI þ H EI
qj qj H 0 ql ql H 0
In Eq. (11), the perturbation variables E0 and Y0 are
q
connotative. To obtain the dynamic stiffness and damping L ðP0 H EI Þ  2LOðH 0 QER þ P0 H ER Þ
coefficients of the bearing, the partial derivative method is qj
 
used [10,11]. Let QE ¼ qQ0 =qE 0 , Qy ¼ ð1=0 ÞqQ0 =qY0 , qP0 qQEI qP0 qQEI
þ H 30  LH 0 þ H 30 , ð17Þ
H E ¼ qH~ 0 =qE 0 , H y ¼ ð1=0 ÞqH~ 0 =qY0 . Derivation of qj qj ql ql
Eq. (11) can get the partial differential equation relating
to the variables QE and Qy.
    H EI ¼ 0. (18)
q qQ q qQ
P0 H 30 E þ P0 H 30 E
qj qj ql ql
   
q qP 0 q qP0 QE can be obtained by iteratively solving Eqs. (15)–(18)
þ H 30 QE þ H 30 QE simultaneously.
qj qj ql ql
1 qðP0 H 0 Þ In the same way, Eq. (11) concerning Qy could be
þ 3L HE expressed as
H 0 qj
        
3 qP0 q 1 qP0 @ 1 q qQ q qQ
þ 3H 0 P0 HE þ HE P0 H 30 y þ P0 H 30 y
qj qj H 0 ql @l H 0 qj qj ql ql
   
q     q qP 0 q qP0
¼L H 0 QE þ P0 H E þ i2LO H 0 QE þ P0 H E , ð13Þ þ H 30 Qy þ H 30 Qy
qj qj qj ql ql
1 qðP0 H 0 Þ
þ 3L Hy
H E ¼ cos ðj  y0 Þ. (14) H 0 qj
    
3 qP0 q 1 qP0 q 1
Because both of the QE and HE are complex, let þ 3H 0 P0 Hy þ Hy
qj qj H 0 ql ql H 0
QE ¼ QER þ iQEI , H E ¼ H ER þ iH EI , then the real part
q    
and imaginary part equations of Eqs. (13) and (14) can be ¼L H 0 Qy þ P0 H y þ i2LO H 0 Qy þ P0 H y , ð19Þ
obtained. qj
The real part equations of Eqs. (13) and (14) have the
form of ellipse partial differential equation as follows H y ¼ sin ðj  y0 Þ. (20)
    
q qQ q qQ Let Qy ¼ QyR þ iQyI , H y ¼ H yR þ iH yI , the real part
 P0 H 30 ER þ P0 H 30 ER
qj qj ql ql and imaginary part equations of Eqs. (19) and (20) could
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410 1403

" # " #
be written as Dyx Dy
    ¼ AT . ð26Þ
q qQ q qQ Dyy Dyy
P0 H 30 yR þ P0 H 30 yR
qj qj ql ql
    The coefficients Kij, Dij (i, j ¼ x, y) are the dynamic
q qP0 q qP0 stiffness and damping coefficients of the pad only with the
þ H 30 QyR þ H 30 QyR
qj qj ql ql small perturbation of the journal. Then the dynamic
1 qðP0 H 0 Þ coefficients of total tilting-pad bearing in the same
þ 3L H yR
H 0 qj condition can be obtained:
    
3 qP0 q 1 qP0 q 1 X
3 X
3
þ 3H 0 P0 H yR þ H yR
qj qj H 0 ql ql H 0 K #ij ¼ K ðmÞ
ij ; D#ij ¼ DðmÞ
ij ; i; j ¼ x; y, (27)
q     m¼1 m¼1
¼L H 0 QyR þ P0 H yR  2LO H 0 QyI þ P0 H yI , ð21Þ
qj where the superscript m present the mth pad of the tilting-
pad bearing, K #ij and D#ij are stiffness and damping
H yR ¼ cos ðj  y0 Þ, (22) coefficients of total tilting-pad bearing with small journal
perturbation, respectively.
   
q 3 qQyI q 3 qQyI
P0 H 0 þ P0 H 0
qj qj ql ql 3. The dynamic coefficients with the journal and the pads
    perturbation
q 3 qP0 q 3 qP0
þ H0 Q þ H0 Q
qj qj yI ql ql yI
For a tilting-pad bearing, its dynamic gas–film forces
1 qðP0 H 0 Þ
þ 3L H yI not only relate to the journal perturbation of X, Y, X_ , Y_ ,
H 0 qj but also to the pad perturbation of Dd and Dd. _ In the
    
qP0 q 1 qP0 q 1 Cartesian coordinate system, a single pad of the bearing is
þ 3H 30 P0 H yI þ H yI
qj qj H 0 ql ql H 0 discussed at first. After the dynamic coefficients Kij, Dij
q     (i, j ¼ x, y) of the pad with small journal perturbation are
¼L H 0 QyI þ P0 H yI þ 2LO H 0 QyR þ P0 H yR , ð23Þ obtained, it is assumed that the dimensionless perturbation
qj
of the pad and the journal have the forms as X ¼ X 0 eiOT ,
H yI ¼ 0. (24) Y ¼ Y 0 eiOT and Dd ¼ d0 eiOT , and the perturbation fre-
quency of the pad is same as that of the journal. So the
Qy also can be obtained by iteratively solving Eqs. (21)– increment of the dynamic gas-film forces can be written as
(24) simultaneously. follows
After QE and Qy are obtained, in the coordinate system
shown in Fig. 1, the dynamic stiffness and damping DF x ¼ DF jx þ DF dx ,
coefficients of each pad of tilting-pad bearing could be DF y ¼ DF jy þ DF dy . ð28Þ
calculated according to the formulae below:
RR The Eq. (28) is expressed in the complex form as:
 QE cos j dj dl ¼ K y þ iODy ;
A ðDF x ; DF y ; DF jx ; DF jy ; DF dx ; DF dy Þ
RR
QE sin j dj dl ¼ K x þ iODx ¼ ðF x0 ; F y0 ; F jx ; F jy ; F dx ; F dy ÞeiOT , ð29Þ
A 0 0 0 0
RR (25)
 Qy cos j dj dl ¼ K yy þ iODyy ; where DF jx , DF jy are the gas–film forces produced by the
A
RR journal perturbation, DF dx , DF dy are the gas–film forces
Qy sin j dj dl ¼ K xy þ iODxy ; produced by the pad perturbation. So the magnitude of
A
DF jx , DF jy can be expressed as
The coefficients defined in Eq. (25) could be easily F jx ¼ K xx X 0 þ K xy Y 0 þ iODxx X 0 þ iODxy Y 0
transformed to the Cartesian coordinate system by using a 0

transfer matrix AT: ¼ G xx X 0 þ G xy Y 0 ,

" # " #" # " # F jy ¼ K yx X 0 þ K yy Y 0 þ iODyx X 0 þ iODyy Y 0
K xx  sin y0  cos y0 K x K x 0
¼ ¼ AT , ¼ G yx X 0 þ Gyy Y 0 . ð30Þ
K xy cos y0  sin y0 K xy K xy
" # " # Its matrix form is
K yx K y
¼ AT , 2 3 " #" #
K yy K yy F jx G xx G xy X0
0
" # " # 4 j 5¼ , (31)
Dxx Dx Fy Gyx G yy Y0
0
¼ AT ,
Dxy Dxy where G ij ¼ K ij þ iODij , i, j ¼ x, y.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1404 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410

Fig. 2. Parallel move of the pad center.

To calculate the dynamic gas–film forces produced Fig. 3. Rotary move of the pad to its center.
by the pad perturbation, it is assumed that the re-
lative position of the journal center is fixed in the In the coordinate system x00 O0 y00 , the dynamic gas–film
coordinate system and the perturbation of the pad forces can be written as
to its pivot is composed of the following two move- 2 3 2 0 3 " #" b #
ments [1]: F bx00 Fx
0 Gxx G xy X 0 iOT
4 b 5¼4 5þ e , (35)
F y00 Fy0 G yx G yy Y b0
0
(a) The pad A0B0 along with the coordinate system xoy
move to the new position x0 o0 y0 , the new position of the where
pad and the journal center are A1B1 and O0j , respec- " b# " #
X0 0 cos y0
tively, as shown in Fig. 2. ¼ d0 . (36)
Y b0 0 sin y0
The increment of the gas-film forces can be expressed as In Eq. (35), F 0x , F 0y are gas–film forces of the pad in its
0 0
follows: steady-state equilibrium position. Because eccentricity e is
2 a 3 " #" a # " #" # very far smaller than the journal radius R, a and b are very
Fx Gxx G xy X0 G xx G xy b bigger than eccentricity ratio e0, comparing with X a0 and
0
4 5¼ ¼ d0
F ay Gyx G yy Y a0 G yx G yy Y a0 , X b0 and Y b0 are very small and can be neglected. The
0 a
Eq. (35) becomes
" # 2 3 2 0 3
bG xx þ aG xy
¼ d0 . ð32Þ F bx00 Fx
bG yx þ aG yy 4 b 5 ¼ 4 0 5. (37)
F y00 F 0y
0
The relative displacement of the journal center is
The projections of gas–film forces F bx00 and F by00 in the
Rd0 cos ðp  bÞ d0 coordinate system x0 o0 y0 can be written as
X a0 ¼  ¼  cos ðp  bÞ ¼ bd0 , 2 3
C c F bx0 " #2 0 3 " #2 0 3
cos d0  sin d0 Fx 1 d0 Fx
Rd0 sin ðp  bÞ d0 6 07 4 0
5 4 0 5.
Y a0 ¼ ¼ sin ðp  bÞ ¼ ad0 , ð33Þ 4 b 5¼ 0
C c F y0 sin d0 cos d0 Fy d0 1 F 0y
0 0 0

(38)
1 1
b ¼ cos ðp  bÞ ¼  cos b, Then the increment of gas–film forces produced by
c c
movement (b) in the absolute coordinate system x0 o0 y0 can
1 1
a ¼ sin ðp  bÞ ¼ sin b. ð34Þ be expressed as follows:
c c
2 b 3 2 b 3 2 0 3 2 3
Fx F x0 Fx F 0y
4 05¼6 07 0
4 b 5  4 0 5 ¼ 4 0 5 d0 .
0
(39)
(b) The pad rotates an angle d0 around its arc center O0 F by F y0 Fy Fx
0 0 0
from A1B1 to new position A2B2 as shown in Fig. 3. 0
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410 1405

Therefore, when the journal and the pad are disturbed Substitution of Eq. (45) into Eq. (46), K 0ij , D0ij , i, j ¼ x, y,
with the same dimensionless frequency O, the total gas–film can be obtained as follows:
forces of the journal and the pad can be written as follows:
a2 ðG xx G yy  G xy G yx Þ
" # 2 Fj þ Fa þ Fb 3 K 0xx þ iOD0xx ¼ ,
F x0 x0 x0 x0 a2 Gyy þ b2 G xx  abðG xy þ G yx Þ
¼4 j 5
F y0 F y þ F ay þ F by abðG xx Gyy  G xy G yx Þ
0 0 0 K 0xy þ iOD0xy ¼ ,
" #" # " # 2 3 a Gyy þ b2 G xx  abðG xy þ G yx Þ
2
G xx G xy X0 bG xx þ aG xy F 0y
0 abðG xx Gyy  G xy G yx Þ
¼ þ d0 þ 4 0 5d0 . K 0yx þ iOD0yx ¼ ,
G yx G yy Y0 bG yx þ aG yy Fx
0
a2 Gyy þ b2 G xx  abðG xy þ G yx Þ

ð40Þ b2 ðG xx G yy  G xy G yx Þ
K 0yy þ iOD0yy ¼ . ð47Þ
a2 Gyy þ b2 G xx  abðG xy þ G yx Þ
Neglecting of the effect of movement (b) of the pad,
Eq. (40) becomes Let
" # " #" # " #
F x0 G xx G xy X0 bGxx þ aG xy a2 G yy þ b2 G xx  abðG xy þ G yx Þ ¼ A1 þ iOA2 ,
¼ þ d .
F y0 Gyx G yy Y0 bG yx þ aG yy 0
A1 ¼ a2 K yy þ b2 K xx  abðK xy þ K yx Þ,
(41) A2 ¼ a2 Dyy þ b2 Dxx  abðDxy þ Dyx Þ,
According to the moment balance condition of the pad, D ¼ A21 þ O2 A22 ,
in the absolute coordinate system x0 o0 y0 , the moment
equation of the pad can be described as U ¼ ðK xx K yy  K xy K yx Þ  O2 ðDxx Dyy  Dxy Dyx Þ,
V ¼ K xx Dyy þ K yy Dxx  K xy Dyx  K yx Dxy , ð48Þ
bF x0  aF y0 ¼ JO2 d0 , (42)
The equivalent dimensionless stiffness and damping
where J is the dimensionless moment of inertia of the coefficients of the pad can be obtained as:
pad.
In the ideal state, neglecting of the moment of inertia of a2 ðUA1 þ O2 VA2 Þ
the pad, Eq. (42) becomes K 0xx ¼ ,
D
bF x0  aF y0 ¼ 0. (43) abðUA1 þ O2 VA2 Þ
K 0xy ¼ K 0yx ¼ ,
D
Substituting Eq. (41) into Eq. (43), the perturbation
angle of the pad d0 can be obtained as follows: b2 ðUA1 þ O2 VA2 Þ
K 0yy ¼ ,
    D
bGxx  aG yx X 0 þ bG xy  aG yy Y 0
d0 ¼   . (44)
a2 G yy þ b2 G xx  ab G xy þ G yx a2 ðVA1  UA2 Þ
D0xx ¼ ,
So it can be get from Eq. (44) D
abðVA1  UA2 Þ
qd0 bG xx  aGyx D0xy ¼ D0yx ¼ ,
¼  , D
qX 0 a G yy þ b2 Gxx  ab G xy þ Gyx
2
b2 ðVA1  UA2 Þ
D0yy ¼ . ð49Þ
qd0 bGxy  aGyy D
¼  . ð45Þ
qY 0 a2 G yy þ b2 Gxx  ab G xy þ Gyx Then the dimensionless dynamic equivalent stiffness and
The derivations of both sides of Eq. (41) about X0 and damping coefficients of total tilting-pad bearing with the
Y0 can be obtained as follows: geometry as Fig. 1 can be expressed as

qF x0   qd0 X
3
¼ K 0xx þ iOD0xx ¼ Gxx þ aG xy  bG xx , K ij ¼ K 0ij
ðmÞ
,
qX 0 qX 0
m¼1
qF x0   qd0
¼ K 0xy þ iOD0xy ¼ G xy þ aGxy  bGxx , X
3
ðmÞ
qY 0 qY 0 Dij ¼ D0ij ; ði; jÞ ¼ ðx; yÞ. ð50Þ
qF y0   qd0 m¼1
¼ K 0yx þ iOD0yx ¼ G yx þ aGyy  bG yx ,
qX 0 qX 0 The dimension dynamic equivalent stiffness and damp-
qF y0   qd0 ing coefficients of total tilting-pad bearing can be obtained
¼ K 0yy þ iOD0yy ¼ G yy þ aG yy  bG yx , ð46Þ
qY 0 qY 0 as follows:
where K 0ij , D0ij , i, j ¼ x, y, are defined as the equivalent X3
pa R2 0 ðmÞ
dimensionless stiffness and damping coefficients of the pad kij ¼ K ij ,
in the absolute coordinate system. m¼1
c
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1406 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of tilting-pad journal bearing configuration

with 3-pads.

X3
pa R2 0 ðmÞ
d ij ¼ D ; ði; jÞ ¼ ðx; yÞ. ð51Þ
m¼1
co ij

4. Numerical results and discussions

The dynamic characteristics of a typical three-pad gas-

lubricated tilting-pad journal bearing are calculated based
on the above theory.
The schematic diagram of tilting-pad journal bearing
configuration with three pads is shown in Fig. 4. The
parameters of the bearing are as follows:
a ¼ 94.51,
f/a ¼ 2/3,
g ¼ 501
c ¼ 0.75%.
In this paper, all results are obtained based on the
assumption that the rotating journal and the pads are
disturbed with the same frequency and all pads of the bearing
have the same preload coefficients. The effects of bearing
parameters such as eccentricity ratios, bearing number, etc. on
the dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients are studied.
4.1. The effects of eccentricity ratios and preload on the
dynamic coefficients
Fig. 5 shows the changes of the equivalent dynamic
stiffness coefficients K ij and damping coefficients Dij with
eccentricity ratio e0 at O ¼ 0.25, L ¼ 3.5 and Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0.
The variations of the equivalent dynamic stiffness and dam-
ping coefficients with Cp/Cb and e0 are illustrated in Fig. 6.
Fig. 5. The changes of dimensionless equivalent stiffness coefficients K ij
(a) and damping coefficients Dij (b) with eccentricity ratio e0 at O ¼ 0.25,
L ¼ 3.5, Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0. (a) Stiffness coefficients K ij . (b) Damping coeffi-
cients Dij .
From Figs. 5 and 6, it can be found that:
(1) With the increase of eccentricity ratio e0, the direct
terms of stiffness coefficients K xx , K yy and damping
coefficients Dxx , Dyy increase, and the absolute values
of cross-coupling terms K xy , K yx , Dxy , Dyx also
increase. The direct terms of the stiffness and damping
coefficients are bigger than the absolute values of the
cross-coupling terms.
(2) The trend of the changes of the direct terms of stiffness
and damping coefficients with eccentricity ratio are
different. When the eccentricity ratio e0 is smaller than
0.4, K yy is bigger than K xx . But when e0 is bigger than
0.4, K yy is smaller than K xx . Similarly, when e0 is
smaller than 0.2, Dyy is bigger than Dxx . On the
contrary, Dyy is smaller than Dxx . This is different from
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Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410 1407

Fig. 6. The changes of dimensionless equivalent stiffness coefficients and damping coefficients with Cp/Cb and e0 at O ¼ 0.25, L ¼ 3.5. (a) K xx .
(b) K xy ¼ K yx . (c) K yy . (d) Dxx . (e) Dxy ¼ Dyx . (f) Dyy .

other geometrical bearings such as foil bearing in which the vibration than those in the direction perpendicular
the direct terms of dynamic coefficients in the static to the load line [12]. But for tilting-pad bearings, the
load direction have more dominant effect on reducing direct terms of dynamic coefficients in the vertical
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1408 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410
direction (y) are not always bigger than those in the
horizontal direction (x) although the static load is
applied in the vertical direction. This is accordant with
the results presented by Parsell et al. [2].
(3) The bigger the preload of the bearing, the larger are the
absolute values of the dynamic stiffness and damping
coefficients. The preload coefficient is an important
factor that affects the characteristics of tilting-pad
bearing. In the practical application, the static and
dynamic performances of tilting-pad bearing could be
improved by changing the preload of the bearing.
4.2. The effects of bearing number on the dynamic
coefficients
The effect of bearing number L on the equivalent
dynamic stiffness coefficients and damping coefficients is
seen in Fig. 7 for O ¼ 0.25, e0 ¼ 0.6 and Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0.
Fig. 7. The changes of dimensionless equivalent stiffness coefficients K ij
(a) and damping coefficients Dij (b) with bearing number L at O ¼ 0.25,
e0 ¼ 0.6, Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0. (a) Stiffness coefficients K ij . (b) Damping coeffi-
cients Dij .
It can be seen from the figures that the direct terms and
the absolute values of the cross-coupling terms of stiffness
and damping coefficients increase with the increase in the
bearing number. And in the case of eccentricity ratio equal
to 0.6, the direct term of the stiffness coefficient K xx in the
horizontal direction (x) is bigger than that in the vertical
direction (y) K yy . It is similar to the damping coefficients.
This is agreement with the results in Figs. 5 and 6.
4.3. The effects of perturbation frequency on the dynamic
coefficients
The variations of the equivalent dynamic stiffness
coefficients K ij and damping coefficients Dij with perturba-
tion frequency O at L ¼ 3.5, e0 ¼ 0.6 and Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0 are
shown in Fig. 8.
The results indicate that the perturbation frequency of
the journal and the pads has a very important effect on the
Fig. 8. The changes of dimensionless equivalent stiffness coefficients K ij
(a) and damping coefficients Dij (b) with perturbation frequency O at
L ¼ 3.5, e0 ¼ 0.6, Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0. (a) Stiffness coefficients K ij . (b) Damping
coefficients Dij .
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410 1409

dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of tilting-pad

gas bearings. This has been confirmed by Parsell et al. [2],
Allaire et al. [3] and Ha et al. [4] for the oil-film tilting-pad
bearings. When the dimensionless perturbation frequency
is lower than 1.5, an increase of the perturbation frequency
increases the direct terms of dynamic stiffness coefficients
K xx ,K yy and the absolute values of the cross-coupling
terms of stiffness coefficients K xy , K yx . But with the growth
of perturbation frequency, the direct terms of dynamic
damping coefficients Dxx and Dyy decline, and the absolute
values of the cross-coupling terms of damping coefficients
Dxy and Dyx also decrease. When the perturbation
frequency O is close to or more than 1.5, the dynamic stif-
fness coefficients approach to the constant, and the dyna-
mic damping coefficients to zero. Therefore, for the cases
with the higher dimensionless perturbation frequency, the
effect of the perturbation frequency on dynamic coeffi-
cients of tilting-pad gas bearing is quite small.

4.4. The effect of length-to-diameter ratio on the dynamic

coefficients

Fig. 9 represents the changes of the equivalent dynamic

stiffness coefficients and damping coefficients with length-
to-diameter ratio of the bearing at O ¼ 0.25, L ¼ 3.5,
e0 ¼ 0.6 and Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0.
When the length-to-diameter ratio increases, the bearing
is wider and has a larger surface area to take up the load.
At the same eccentricity ratio, the load capacity is
increased. However, for dynamic performance, the abso-
lute values of dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients
increase slightly with the increase in length-to-diameter
ratio. The effect of length-to-diameter ratio is not very
distinct.
From all results presented above, it can be seen that the
Fig. 9. The changes of dimensionless equivalent stiffness coefficients K ij
cross-coupling coefficients cannot be negligible when
(a) and damping coefficients Dij (b) with length-to-diameter ratio L/D at
compared with the direct coefficients. This is different O ¼ 0.25, L ¼ 3.5, e0 ¼ 0.6, Cp/Cb ¼ 1.0. (a) Stiffness coefficients K ij .
from the results provided by Parsell et al. [2], Allaire et al. (b) Damping coefficients Dij .
[3], Abdul-Wahed et al. [13] because the pads are not
symmetric about the load line and the pivots are not perturbation frequency of the journal and the pads,
symmetric with respect to both x and y axis in present bearing number and the static parameters of the bearing
study model. (eccentricity ratios, preload, length-to-diameter ratio
and so on).
5. Conclusions 3. The numerical results obtained by means of the partial
derivative method and the equivalent coefficient method
The following conclusions can be drawn from the above indicate that the bearing parameters have important
theoretical analysis and numerical results: influence on the dynamic performances of tilting-pad
bearing. This provides necessary references for the
1. A theoretical analysis method for predicting the dynamic analysis and performance prediction of the
dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of the rotor systems supported by tilting-pad gas bearings in a
tilting-pad gas bearings are presented. At the same linear range.
time, the compressible gas-lubricated Reynolds equation
is introduced. These are very effective for calculating the
dynamic characteristics of gas bearings. Acknowledgments
2. It can be found from the theoretical model that the
dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients of self-acting This work is supported by the National Natural Science
tilting-pad gas bearings are the functions of the Foundation of China (Grant nos. 50275116 and 50475088),
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1410 Y. Lihua et al. / Tribology International 40 (2007) 1399–1410
and the National High-Tech Research and Development of
China (Grant no. 2002AA503020).
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