Effects of manufacturing errors on parallel surface thrust bearings operating under TEHD regime

Abstract

In the present study, a numerical investigation on the effect of different manufacturing errors on the performance of a parallel thrust bearing is reported. The calculations have been performed utilising a CFD-based TEHD computational approach. An initial investigation of the pressure build-up mechanism in parallel thrust bearings concluded that the two main reasons of load carrying capacity of parallel thrust bearings are (a) the thermal deformation of the pad upper surface and (b) the initial (non-deformed) “quasi-parallel” pad upper surface, being an outcome of the manufacturing process. The present work investigates the importance of the initial geometry of a “quasi-parallel” thrust bearing, and indicates manufacturing tolerance thresholds, below which, the defects of the pad-fluid interface are not the major factor of pressure generation in the lubricant domain of the bearings.