Experimental Performance Study of a High Speed Oil Lubricated Polymer Thrust Bearing
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Test Platform
2.2. Bearing and Test Conditions
Pad Bearing (Face) Material | Babbitt or PEEK |
---|---|
Pad backing material | Steel |
Number of pad | 8 |
Pad outside diameter, mm | 279 |
Pad internal diameter, mm | 152 |
Support System | 60% Offset |
Equaling | Mechanical levers |
Pad Size, mm | 62.5 |
Pad aspect ratio | 1 |
Rotational speed, rpm | 6000 1 and 11,000 |
Sliding speed, m/s | 67.7, 124 |
Lubricant | ISO VG 32 |
Lubricant inlet temperature, °C | 48.9 |
Lubricant flow rate, lpm | 125 |
2.3. Results
2.4. Results Discussion
2.4.1. Load Capacity
Properties | Babbitt | PEEK |
---|---|---|
Density, kg/m3 | 7400 | 1450 |
Modulus, GPa | 52.4 | 12.5 |
Tensile Strength (20 °C), MPa | 77 | 140 |
Tensile Strength (100 °C), MPa | 40 | 106 |
Metling Point, °C | 241 | 343 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/mK | 55 | 0.87 |
Specific Heat, kJ/kgK | 0.23 | 1.8 |
2.4.2. Power Loss
2.4.3. Temperature
3. Summary and Conclusions
- A PEEK lined thrust bearing was successfully loaded to 14.5 MPa at 11,000 rpm and 16.2 MPa at 6000 rpm without significant indication of bearing distress. The same bearing with babbitt lined pads was only loaded to 9.6 MPa, as shown in Figure 4, before indication of distress. An increase of 50% in load for the PEEK lined thrust bearing was observed over the babbitt lined thrust bearing at 11,000 rpm. Taking advantage of PEEK bearing material, a smaller bearing with lower loss can be designed for the same load or the same bearing can be designed for higher loads by replacing the babbitt lining with a PEEK lining.
- The test thrust bearing with PEEK lined pads did not show significant power loss difference when compared to a bearing with babbitt lined pads of the same design and test conditions, as shown in Figure 8.
- With temperature sensors embedded in the pads 0.8 mm below the bond line, a small range of temperature variation over a wide load and speed range was observed with PEEK lined pads, as shown in Figure 10.
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Zhou, J.; Blair, B.; Argires, J.; Pitsch, D. Experimental Performance Study of a High Speed Oil Lubricated Polymer Thrust Bearing. Lubricants 2015, 3, 3-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants3010003
Zhou J, Blair B, Argires J, Pitsch D. Experimental Performance Study of a High Speed Oil Lubricated Polymer Thrust Bearing. Lubricants. 2015; 3(1):3-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants3010003
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhou, Jie, Barry Blair, John Argires, and Donald Pitsch. 2015. "Experimental Performance Study of a High Speed Oil Lubricated Polymer Thrust Bearing" Lubricants 3, no. 1: 3-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants3010003