Tilting Pad Journal Bearing

CLASSIFICATION: C0 - NON-CONFIDENTIAL
Machinery Diagnostics Institute
TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING

PRESENTER BIO
 Name: Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim
 29 years of experience in Oil and Gas industry

 Acquire 16 international certificates in the fields of vibration analysis,
lubrication, reliability, maintenance and rotating equipment inspection
from many international organization.
 Rotating Equipment inspector, SIRE, certified from API
 VA CAT IV, ARP-E certified from Mobius Institute
 MLE, MLAIII, MLTII, VPR, VIM certified from ICML
 CLS certified from STLE LinkedIn profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/m
 CMRP certified from SMRP
ohamed-ibrahim-va-cat-iv-cls-
 CRL certified from AMP mle-mlaiii-mltii-vim-vpr-arp-e-
crl-cmrp-21222bb6
 Member of STLE , SMRP, ICML organizations.
 Member of ICML technical committee.
CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• TILTING PAD BEARING TYPES
• TILTING PAD BEARING CONFIGURATION
• OIL WHIRL AND OIL WHIP PHENOMENA
• TILTING PAD BEARING MAINTENANCE
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
 Bearings are one of the most critical machinery elements.

 Bearings provide the primary interface between the moving and the stationary parts
of a machine.
 Bearings provide most of the stiffness and damping for the moving assembly.
 All dynamic forces developed on the moving parts are transmitted to the stationary
parts across these main support bearings.
 Industrial turbomachinery, such as steam turbines, gas compressors, pumps and
motors, contain a variety of different types of hydrodynamic journal bearings.
INTRODUCTION
 Tilting pad bearings are a type of fluid film bearing used in rotating machinery to
support shafts and provide a low-friction interface. They are particularly common in
high-performance applications, such as gas turbines, steam turbines, and high-speed
compressors.
 Whether the fault is in the bearings themselves or in other components,
modifications of the bearing design parameters has, and continues to be, the most
direct and economical means of altering and correcting the fault or malfunction. This
fact further adds to their importance particularly in existing machinery.
INTRODUCTION
The bearing design is dependent upon items such as

 Load carrying capacity
 Operating speed
 Stability
 Rotor dynamics
 Lubricant properties
 Cost.
Within the array of available design parameters, the clearances and associated preload
is significant in controlling bearing performance.
BEARING TYPES:
Bearings which support rotating shafts classified into four basic categories:
1)Rolling contact
Load supported by balls or rollers.
2)Hydrostatic
Load supported by high pressure fluid.
3)Hydrodynamic
Load supported by a lubricant film.
4)Magnetic
Load supported by magnetic fields.
HYDRODYNAMIC/FLUID FILM JOURNAL BEARINGS

The types of bearings most found in turbomachinery include:

 Plain cylindrical
 Multi-axial groove (Two, Three, Four)
 Lemon bore or Elliptical
 Multi lobe (Three, Four)
 Pressure dam
 Offset halves
 Tilting-pad Thrust bearing

HOW JOURNAL BEARING WORKS,

 Stationary and rotating surfaces are separated by a thin film of lubricant.

 The film pressure that separates the surfaces is created by the relative motion (rotation) of
the surfaces as the lubricant is pulled into a converging geometry between the surfaces.
 No contact of the surfaces takes place except during start-up and shutdown.
HOW JOURNAL BEARING WORKS,

Video clip about how

bearing works
HOW TILTING PAD BEARING WORKS

 Each bearing consists of a series of pads

supported in a carrier ring (retainer).
 Each pad is free to tilt, resulting in a self-
forming hydrodynamic film.
 The self-equalizing design balances the load
between the pads and accommodates
misalignment or deflection between the
bearing and collar.
HOW TILTING PAD BEARING WORKS

 The carrier ring may be in one piece or in halves,

and the size and number of pads are selected to
suit the operating conditions.
 In addition, pads can be supplied with centre
pivots for bi-directional running or offset pivots
for increased load capacity and lower pad
temperatures.
TILTING PAD BEARINGS ADVANTAGES:

 Cross coupling stiffness:

• The main advantage of this category of bearing is that, it keeps a large stability of the
rotor-bearing system by removing all sub-synchronous instabilities particularly by
reducing cross-coupled stiffness terms.
 Load Distribution:
• The ability of the pads to tilt helps distribute the load more evenly across the bearing,
reducing localized stresses and wear.
WHTILTING PAD BEARINGS ADVANTAGES:

 Vibration Damping:
• The tilting motion of the pads helps dampen vibrations, contributing to smoother
operation and increased machinery reliability.
 Flexibility:
• Tilting pad bearings are adaptable to changes in load and speed, making them
suitable for applications with variable operating conditions.
 High-Speed Applications:
• These bearings excel in high-speed applications where precise control of lubrication
and reduced friction are critical.
TILTING PAD BEARINGS DISADVANTAGE :

 High replacement cost as a retrofit.

 Inability to be retrofitted on some
machines.
 Requires careful design procedures
 Poor damping at critical speeds

 High horsepower loss.
 Installation problems.
 Complex and expensive to fabricate.
TILTING PAD BEARINGS DISADVANTAGE :

Theoretically, fluid film bearings are often

considered as lifetime bearings, however
the reality is that, these Babbitt bearings are
subject to physical damage whenever the
oil film collapses.
This oil film collapse could be caused by:
1) Heavy shock loads on the bearings
2) Loss of lubricant
3) Excessive unbalance or misalignment.
HOW TO DESCRIBE THE TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING:

1. Number of pads
2. Configuration
3. Pad arc angle
4. Pivot Offset
5. Rotor diameter , D
6. Pad axial length , L
7. L/D ratio
8. Diametrical clearance
9. Preload
10. Radial pad clearance Cp
11. Radial bearing clearance Cb
HOW TO DESCRIBE THE TILTING PAD THRUST BEARING:

1. Number of pads
2. Configuration
3. Flooded
4. Leading edge groove, LEG
5. Between pad groove, BPG
6. Bore diameter
7. Seat diameter
8. Pivot Offset
9. Pad axial length , L
EXAMPLE: BEARING INFORMATION IN API 617 STANDARD DATA SHEET FORM

CONFIGURATION
TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS CONFIGURATION

 According to contact area

1) Rocker back pad design offset pivot
2) Spherical point pivot design.
3) Spherical surface pivot design
 According to Load
1) Load between pads, LBP
2) Load on pad, LOP

1) LINE CONTACT ROCKER BACK PAD DESIGN.

This design is the simplest and least expensive to
manufacture. The pad design allows tilting motion in the
circumferential direction but none axially. Since the
support contact is a line, the pivot stresses may be high
especially if a good alignment is not achieved.

2) SPHERICAL POINT PIVOT DESIGN

This allows tilting in all directions, but because
of high pivot stresses, it is subject to pivot
flattening and rapid clearance increase. This
may be minimized by using hardened mating
surfaces. Cracking of these supports has been
observed under high impact loads.

3) SPHERICAL SURFACE PIVOT DESIGN

The pad load is transmitted into the housing through a
ball and socket arrangement. Under normal conditions,
the ball and socket size can be selected to quite easily
control pivot stresses to a low level.
GEOMETRIC AND OPERATING PARAMETERS

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS

The fundamental geometric parameters for multi pads journal bearings are,
1) Length/Diameter
2) Pad arc angle
3) Length-to-Diameter (L/D) ratio
4) Running clearance.
5) Number of pads (3,4,5,7,..)
6) Preload (Positive, negative, zero)
7) Pad pivot set up
(point contact, line contact, ball and socket)
1) Load orientation ( LOP or LBP )
TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS OPERATING PARAMETERS

In addition to the fundamental geometric

parameters, there are several important
operating parameters like,
1) Oil viscosity
2) Rotating speed
3) Gravity load at the bearing
4) External loads like unbalance
All the above operating parameters will
affect the coefficient of friction and oil film
thickness.
TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING CONFIGURATION

 The number of pads utilized in the tilting-pad bearing

can be three, four, five, or seven. However, the most
common tilting-pad bearing arrangements have four or
five pads.
 The bearing pad configuration divided into two types:
1) Load On Pad (LOP)
2) Load Between Pad (LBP).
For both types,
Pad will tilt due the shaft weight.
Shaft drop from the shaft centerline is bigger for LBP.
TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING CONFIGURATION

• LOP configurations are more suitable for high-speed,

lightly loaded bearings applications.
• LBP configuration is mostly used for highly loaded
cases.
• No off pads in addition of the bearing configuration
will affect the stiffness.
• For example,
5-Pad bearing, LOP configuration will have a low
horizontal stiffness compared to the vertical stiffness
However, a 4-Pad bearing LBP configuration, the
horizontal and vertical stiffnesses are equal
throughout the speed range.
FLUID INDUCED INSTABILITY

OIL WHIRL & OIL WHIP


 Fluid induced instabilities (oil whirl and oil whip) are characterized as occurring at a sub-
synchronous vibration frequency, typically 0.42–0.48× rpm.
 It is a type of self excited vibration that results from the rotor’s interaction with a
surrounding fluid in an enclosed space, i.e. inside a bearing or seal for example.
 For a shaft rotating inside a fluid-film bearing or seal, the fluid in the gap will have an average
angular velocity slightly less than ½ rotative speed due to the following,
1) Internal shear
2) Frictional losses
3) The geometry of the bearing,

4) The rate of end leakage out of the bearing

5) The eccentricity ratio of the rotor in the
bearing
6) The presence of any pre-or anti-swirling
What is oil whirl?

What is the operating condition cause oil
whirl?
How to control oil whirl?
OIL WHIRL:
What is oil whirl?

Oil whirl is an oil film-excited vibration. It is known to occur on
machines equipped with pressure-lubricated journal bearings
operating at high speeds (beyond their critical speed).
The oil film is wedged between the shaft and the bearing and
should ideally rotate at a speed of 0.5× rpm. However, some
frictional losses cause the oil film to rotate at 0.42–0.48× rpm.
An eccentric crescent-shaped wedge is created
that has sufficient pressure to keep the rotor in the ‘lifted’
position.
OIL WHIRL:
 The bearing stiffness K and damping C coefficients

include both direct (XX, YY) and cross-coupled (XY, YX)
components.
 The main advantage of the tilting pad bearing is that, it
kept a large stability of the rotor-bearing system by
removing all sub-synchronous instabilities particularly by
reducing cross-coupled stiffness terms. If cross- coupling
not reduced and kept under control, under certain
conditions, it can cause the bearing to be unstable and an
oil whirl will result.
OIL WHIRL:
What is the operating condition cause oil whirl?

Some conditions would tend to generate an oil film pressure in
the wedge much higher than required to just hold the shaft.
These conditions can cause an increase in bearing wear
resulting in the shaft to have lower eccentricity (the shaft center
is close to bearing center) causing a reduction in stiffness, oil
pressure or a drop in oil temperature.
In these cases, the oil film would push the rotor to another
position in the shaft. The process continues over and over and
the shaft keeps getting pushed around within the bearing.
This phenomenon is called oil whirl.
OIL WHIRL:
Under normal circumstances, the oil film

pushes the rotor at an angle (5 o’clock if
the shaft is rotating CCW), the system is in
equilibrium and there are no vibrations.
This whirl is inherently unstable since it
increases centrifugal forces that will
increase the whirl forces.
The operating condition which affected the
oil whirl is speed, bearing types and
design, lube oil temperature and supply
pressure.
OIL WHIRL:
How to control oil whirl?

 Oil whirl can be minimized or eliminated by
changing the oil velocity, lubrication pressure and
external pre-loads.
 Oil whirl frequency tracks with speed, usually at <
0.5X (<50% running speed frequency).
 Oil whirl instability occurs at 0.42–048× rpm and is
often quite severe. It is considered excessive when
displacement amplitudes exceed 50% of the
bearing clearances.
OIL WHIRL:
Oil whirl is basically a sub-synchronous fluid

instability.
Orbit shown with the characteristic two dots.
When viewed in live mode, two dots do not appear
stationary, but seem to be rotating.
This is because the frequency is marginally less than
0.5×.
An oil whirl phenomenon generates a vibration
precession, which is always forward.
OIL WHIP:
 Oil whip phenomenon occurs when the rotor is

passing through its critical speed.
 Oil whip is a destructive bearing defect. The
precession of vibration is in the forward direction in
this case, but some reverse 1× and sub-synchronous
components are present due to anisotropy (changes
in response when operating conditions change) of the
bearing pedestal stiffness.
 The period of this self-excited defect may, or might
not, be harmonically related to the rotating speed of
the shaft.
 When it is not harmonically related, the dots appear
to be moving randomly as shown.
 When it is harmonically related, they appear
stationary.
TILTING PAD BEARING MAINTNANCE

BEARING INSTALLATION
 When a journal bearing is installed, it is essential that the bore be aligned parallel and
perpendicular with the axis of the journal.
 When a bearing is misaligned, the unit loading is increased and the maximum oil film
pressure may increase, resulting in higher oil-film temperatures and Babbitt metal
premature failure.
 Bearing clearance is one of the most important parameters in the operation of a bearing.
Therefore, it is important to determine the installed clearance along with the bore contour
and concentricity to the outside fit diameter
BEARING INSTALLATION
 The final bearing clearance is influenced by the contour of the housing into which it is
installed, and also by the amount of interference or crush between the bearing shell and
the support housing.
 It cannot be assumed that the bearing will aligns itself automatically with the shaft without
doing a certain no. of checking like
1) Rotor Journal Contact Check.
2) Bearing Ring Contact to Pedestal Check.
1) VISUAL CHECK
 All bearing parts in general shall be

examined visually for any abnormalities.
 Bearing dimensions shall be checked
 Bearing pads shall be checked for,
1) Deep Grooves
2) Aberrations
3) Excessive porosity
4) Localized dents
2) BLUE CHECK
 The curvature of the pads of tilting pad bearings

should be checked by bluing to a mandrel of
diameter equal to shaft diameter plus diametral
clearance.
 Any sharp edges found in the journal may be
carefully smoothed with a fine stone or by lapping
with very fine emery cloth paper size zero-zero
 Such journal imperfections should not remove
completely because hand operations may change
the contour of the journal sufficiently to adversely
affect the balance of the rotor.
3) DYE PEN CHECK

• This test is mandatory to check cracks which

compromised the white metal integrity
• It is carried out to check any surface
cracks/abnormality in the white metal.
• It can also give indication to Un bonding in the
visual joints of the bearing Babbitt with the Shell.
• For any cracks, the bearing pads should be
replaced.
4) ULTRASOUND CHECK
• Pads shall be tested by ultrasound testing.

• Any surface damage such as scoring, smeared
babbitt, or heavy wear pads should be replaced
by new pads.
• Pads should be replaced if anyone has more
than 35% of the babbitt-steel interface area
unbonded at the top of the dovetail, when
checked ultrasonically
5) BEARING HOUSING CRUSH TEST

 Most machines operate with an interference fit, or

crush, of 1 or 2 Mils; and a clearance of 1 or 2 Mils
 Excessive crush can reduce the bearing clearance and
distort the bearing assembly resulting in premature
failure.
 Excessive clearance will reduce the support stiffness.
and allow a rotor resonance that normally resides
above operating speed to creep back into the
operating speed domain.
 When this occurs, shaft vibration increases, and the
tendency towards early failure of the bearing
increases.

• A CRUSH TEST PROCEDURE

1. Place shims of equal thickness (Ts) along both
sides of the split lines.
2. Lay a strip of plastigage or lead wire on top of the
bearing shell along the shaft axis.
3. Install the bearing cap or strap and tighten all split
line bolts.
4. The plastigage or lead wire should indicate a
thickness (Tf) than the shim
thickness used at the split line.

• A crush test procedure

1. Calculate the interference (crush) the difference
between the indicated clearance (Tf) and the shim
thickness (Ts) i.e ( )
2. A negative value for the crush indicates a loose
bearing . To be rectified by replacing the bearing
or using shims around the circumference to
maintain an interference fit.
3. Once the desired crush has been obtained, the
bearing clearance should be checked again by
to ensure that the crush is not
excessive to the point of significantly reducing the
bearing clearance.
TILTING PAD BEARING CLEARANCE

TILTING PAD BEARING CLEARANCE MEASUREMENT

Bearing clearance play a vital rule and affects all the following parameters ,
1) Oil film stiffness
2) Oil film damping
3) Shaft vibration
4) Bearing temperature
The important term which reflect the bearing clearance and used by the bearing
designer is know as Bearing Clearance Ratio or BCR.

 What will happen if the clearance is tight ?

1)High temperature
2)Oil film thickness reduced
3)Oil film breakdown or starvation
4)Varnish
5)White metal blackish color
6)Melting white metals in severe condition

 What will happen if the clearance is beyond

the limit
1) High vibration
2) Oil film thickness instability
3) Oil film breakdown or starvation
4) Direct contact between the white metal
with the shaft
5) Melting white metals in severe condition
BEARING CLEARANCE RATIO, BCR

BCR is the ratio between bearing diametral clearance and journal diameter.
 In most horizontal industrial machines, the BCR is seldom less than 1.0, and it
generally does not exceed 2.0.
 In specialized applications, with special mechanical designs and metallurgy,
these traditional limits may be extended. However, in most cases, the BCR runs
between 1.0 and 2.0.
MINIMUM BEARING CLEARANCE RATIO, BCR

Most bearing manufacturers have suggested

minimum bearing clearance for journal
bearings which can be obtained from two
methods,
1) From the attached figure
2) An equations, such as (N^0.25)/6000)
where N is speed.
Note,
These recommendations are guidelines only.
BEARING CLEARANCE RATIO, BCR

General trends of key bearing parameters with variations in bearing clearance

ratio (BCR) for horizontal machines mounted in fluid film bearing as shown in the
below table
CLEARANCE MEASUREMENT

There are many methods used to measure the tilting

pad clearance in assembly or disassembly condition.
1) Plastigauge
2) lead wire
3) Physical measurement method
4) Lifting method
5) Dummy shaft or mandrel
Note,
In assembly condition, the clearance is influenced by
pivoting of the bearing shoes.

1) BY PLASTIGAUGE
Plastigauge can be used if the shaft is resting

solidly in the bottom half of the bearing.
The common colours and measurement ranges
are as follows
Green Plastigauge .................1 to 3 Mils
Red Plastigauge .....................2 to 6 Mils
Blue Plastigauge ................... 4 to 9 Mils

1) BY PLASTIGAUGE
1) Plastigauge placed on top of the shaft

2) Upper bearing half installed, bolted down
3) Unbolted, and then removed upper half.
4) Compare the deformed width of the Plastigage
against the Width Chart supplied on each package
of Plastigage to identify the diametrical clearance.

2) BY LEAD WIRE
If plastic gauge not available, use lead wire (or soft solder)
may be used.
The thickness of the lead wire may then be measured with
a 0.00 to 1.00 inch micro-meter in this case.
Micrometer shall be used to measure the lead wire
thickness to deduce the bearing clearance.
CLEARANCE MEASUREMENT TIPS AND TRICKS

 Measure the shaft diameter at two or more axial locations (minimum fore and aft
positions).
 Each axial location is typically measured at three to five different diameters.
 Record average shaft diameter, checks for taper across the length of the journal.
 If the bearing is assembled (without the shaft), the inner diameter of the bearing
should be measured in a manner similar to the shaft.
 A lift check in an assembled machine can be difficult.
 Depending on the lifting method and the location of the dial indicator, the reading
could be false high or false low.

1) LIFTING METHOD
There are two methods for measuring the lift :

I) MECHANICALLY BY USING DIAL INDICATOR
A dial indicator is used to record position changes when the shaft is moved vertically
from one side of the bearing to another
II) USING PROXIMITY PROBE
A method to quickly check the bearing clearance on horizontal machines when the
machine is stopped by lifting the journal vertically upward.
I) LIFTING METHOD USING DIAL INDICATOR

 A lift check is commonly utilized to check the tilting

pad bearing clearance.
 A lift check should be used with caution and mainly
to check gross problems and not as a qualifying
check for acceptance or rejection of the bearing.
 Some of the problems encountered in a field lift
check are,
1) Sticky or uncalibrated dial indicators
2) Soft foot on the machine
3) Flexible housing support.

PRECAUTIONS:
 In any lift measurement on assembled machines,
consideration must be given to physical
configurations or conditions that could cause
measurement errors.
 For instance, close clearance seals, or a long
balance piston might restrict the rotor lift and
appear as reduced bearing clearances.

PRECAUTIONS:
 Excessive crush can reduce the installed clearance.
 Incorrect alignment between the upper and lower
halves of the housing can alter the lift results.
 Verify the fit of the bearing within the housing.
 Verify how are the two halves of the bearing connected
 Verify how are the two halves bolted together
 Type of pivots (Spherical, point contact, line contact)
will affect the reading.

• The below is equation applicable for a tilt pad bearing with an odd number of pads.

• For symmetrical tilting pad bearings with an

odd number of pads, the angle between the
vertical centerline and the pad pivot point θ is
fixed.
• 3 Pads θ = 60°
• 4 Pads θ = 45°
• 5 Pads θ = 36°
• 6 Pads θ = 30°
• 7 Pads θ = 25.7°
• 8 Pads θ = 22.5°

• For an even number of pads with LOP configuration where θ = 90°.

• The following equation will be applicable.

• For an even number of pads with LBP configuration.

• The following equation will be applicable.

Example
If a Lift of 16 Mils was measured by dial indicator or proximity probe, and the bearing was a five pad
assembly, the diametrical bearing clearance is determined from the tables follows,
Cd_odd = 0.894 × Lift = 0.894 = 16 × Mils = 14.3 Mils ≈ 14 Mils
Note,
Correction factor is the same for both LOP, LBP

A correction factor must be applied for tilting pad bearings, because pad movement
can give the false impression of greater diametral clearance.
Diametrical Clearance = Correction Factor x Lift
II) LIFTING METHOD USING PROXIMITY PROBE

Since vertical Lift or Shift measurement could not be made

directly at the bearing and in many cases it is physically
impossible to both mount a dial indicator next to the
bearing housing, and position the indicator on top of the
shaft, a vertical proximity probe mounted adjacent to the
bearing can be used.
II) LIFTING METHOD USING PROXIMITY PROBE
Assumptions,
1) Outboard bearing proximity probe will be considered as pivot

point.
2) The change in DC gap voltages at both bearings will be used
to determine the lift so as shown in the below equation.
In many cases, the vertical shaft lift measured by a proximity

probe Liftp may be very close to the shaft shift within the bearing
Liftb.
The bearing diametrical clearance may be determined by
applying the appropriate correction factor from the previous
table.
2) DUMMY SHAFT OR MANDREL

 When a lift check of the journal within the bearing is not

physically possible, one method of measuring
clearances for tilting pad bearings is to use a mandrel
with a dial indicator.
 After the bearing is assembled around the mandrel, the
bearing is pushed up against one of the pads directly
toward the pivot.
 The dial indicator is zeroed and the bearing moved to
between the opposite two pads.
2) DUMMY SHAFT OR MANDREL

Tips,
 It is desirable to check clearances in more than one
direction.
 Four pad bearing should be checked at orthogonal
diameters.
 For a five-pad bearing, a total of three positions should
be checked to insure that clearances.
.
DO & DON’T
DO
1. Always use the proper lubricant as determined by the manufacturer or engineering.

2. Understand the additive package in your lubricants to avoid potential conflicts with
process fluids and/or component materials.
3. Provide proper cooling to the bearing and the lubricant.
4. If applicable, provide proper filtration to the lubricant.
5. Implement a regular oil analysis program for all critical machinery. Monitor lubricants
for viscosity changes, wear metals and contamination, especially water.
6. Stay within design guidelines on clearances General rule is
Normal clearance
1.5 mils /inch of shaft journal diameter.
Excessive clearance
3.0 mils/inch of shaft journal diameter
DO
7. Handle bearings carefully. Babbitt surfaces are very soft and thin liners are easily
distorted.
8. Inspect bearings under magnification or have a professional evaluation before reuse.
Early fatigue damage is usually invisible and other damage like electrostatic discharge
may not be readily apparent.
9. Replace bearings if any doubt exists as to the serviceability of the used bearing.
10. Tilting pad bearings may have back-of-pad and pivot wear and brinelling concerns.
11. Lubricate bearings during replacement with a heavy pre-lube oil such as an ISO 460
especially if a lot of shaft rotation will occur as during alignment.
12. Monitor bearing temperatures, preferably metal temperature with embedded
thermocouples or resistance temperature detectors (RTD).Calibrate transducers before
installation in the bearing.
DO
13) Install dual sensors in case one fails - leave the spare unconnected.
14) Drain temperatures, while useful to monitor, will not give an early enough indication of
heat problems.
15) Carefully protect the temperature device leads during handling and installation.
These bearings do not self align! The user must manually align these bearings.
17) Fix damaged shaft journals with submerged arc welding or plasma spray - NOT chrome
plating.
DON’T
1) Never use unapproved substitute lubricants.

2) Never mix different lubricants unless the combination has been evaluated and
approved different additive packages may react.
3) Never mix mineral oils and synthetic lubricants.
4) Using synthetic oil in a system previously using mineral oil may loosen old deposits.
5) Never bypass oil filters or coolers.
7) Do not use automotive viscosity enhancers (e.g. STP) when fitting bearings.
8) Never hand scrape bearings for proper fit. Take the time to have bearing properly
machined by a qualified shop. No pocketknives touching babbitt!
DON’T
11) Never install temperature sensors in the babbitt, rather 0.030" behind in the steel
backing. Those wires sticking out of the bearing are not used to carry the part!
12) Don’t use the low bid to buy or repair bearings. Reusing babbitt from old jobs or
overflow is forbidden. Tiny contaminations can lead to early bearing failure
13) Never let oil reservoir or sump temperature exceed 200 F ( 93.3 Celsius )
14) Don’t expect thick babbitt (e.g. 0.060") to be better than “thin” babbitt (<0.015") The
fatigue resistance of thin babbitt can be more than 10 times greater than thick babbitt.
DON’T
16) Don’t use copper backed pads in the initial design unless there is no other option.
This method of increasing capacity should be “held-back” in case additional
capacity is needed in the future. It is easier than increasing bearing size.
17) If there is a choice, don’t use spherically seated bearings, use cylindrical fits.
18) Do not roll shafts in Teflon strips or “V” blocks due to micro embedment. This could
result in the shaft being unable to properly “wet” and causes failure.
Use almost any other coating.

Chrome is porous and water may get trapped behind the chrome and pop off the
chrome layer causing catastrophic failure.
THANK YOU. ANY QUESTION ?

REFRENCES
• HYDRODYNAMIC BEARING DAMAGE AND REMEDIATION OF CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN ROTATING

MACHINERY BY BLAIR BJ A AND PETHYBRIDGE GB
• MACHINERY MALFUNCTION DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECTION BY BOB EISENMANN, CHAPTER 4, BEARING
• JOURNAL BEARING DESIGN TYPES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS TO TURBOMACHINERY BY DANA J.

SALAMONE
• UNDERSTANDINGA JOURNAL BEARINGS MALCOLM E. LEADER, P.E.
• TILTING PAD BEARING DESIGN BY JOHN C. NICHOLAS
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FLEXURE PIVOT TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING BY THIBAUD PLANTEGENE
• FLUID FILM BEARING FUNDAMENTALS AND FAILURE ANALYSIS BY FOUAD Y.ZEIDAN AND BERNARD S.
HERIBAGE
• DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FLUID INDUCED INSTABILITY (OIL WHIRL AND OIL WHIP) AND A RUB BY
RICHARD THOMAS- TURBOMACHINERY MAGAZINE.

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CLASSIFICATION: C0 - NON-CONFIDENTIAL

Machinery Diagnostics Institute

TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING

 29 years of experience in Oil and Gas industry

 Bearings are one of the most critical machinery elements.

The bearing design is dependent upon items such as

HYDRODYNAMIC/FLUID FILM JOURNAL BEARINGS

The types of bearings most found in turbomachinery include:

 Tilting-pad Thrust bearing

HOW JOURNAL BEARING WORKS,

 Stationary and rotating surfaces are separated by a thin film of lubricant.

HOW JOURNAL BEARING WORKS,

Video clip about how

HOW TILTING PAD BEARING WORKS

 Each bearing consists of a series of pads

HOW TILTING PAD BEARING WORKS

 The carrier ring may be in one piece or in halves,

TILTING PAD BEARINGS ADVANTAGES:

 Cross coupling stiffness:

WHTILTING PAD BEARINGS ADVANTAGES:

TILTING PAD BEARINGS DISADVANTAGE :

 High replacement cost as a retrofit.

 Poor damping at critical speeds

TILTING PAD BEARINGS DISADVANTAGE :

Theoretically, fluid film bearings are often

HOW TO DESCRIBE THE TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING:

HOW TO DESCRIBE THE TILTING PAD THRUST BEARING:

EXAMPLE: BEARING INFORMATION IN API 617 STANDARD DATA SHEET FORM

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS CONFIGURATION

 According to contact area

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS CONFIGURATION

1) LINE CONTACT ROCKER BACK PAD DESIGN.

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS CONFIGURATION

2) SPHERICAL POINT PIVOT DESIGN

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS CONFIGURATION

3) SPHERICAL SURFACE PIVOT DESIGN

GEOMETRIC AND OPERATING PARAMETERS

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS

TILTING-PAD JOURNAL BEARINGS OPERATING PARAMETERS

In addition to the fundamental geometric

TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING CONFIGURATION

 The number of pads utilized in the tilting-pad bearing

TILTING PAD JOURNAL BEARING CONFIGURATION

• LOP configurations are more suitable for high-speed,

FLUID INDUCED INSTABILITY

OIL WHIRL & OIL WHIP

FLUID INDUCED INSTABILITY

FLUID INDUCED INSTABILITY

4) The rate of end leakage out of the bearing

What is oil whirl?

What is oil whirl?

 The bearing stiffness K and damping C coefficients

What is the operating condition cause oil whirl?

Under normal circumstances, the oil film

How to control oil whirl?

Oil whirl is basically a sub-synchronous fluid

 Oil whip phenomenon occurs when the rotor is