TILT PAD BEARING CLEARANCES and PRELOAD

prepared by: Robert C. Eisenmann, Sr. - May 31, 2007 Abstract: Journal bearings provide the primary support for horizontal turbomachinery rotors. These bearings come in many configurations from simple fixed geometry to complex tilting pad assemblies. The bearing design is dependant upon items such as load carrying capability, operating speed, stability, rotor dynamics, lubricant properties, and cost. Within the array of available design parameters the clearances and associated preload is significant in controlling bearing performance. The following discussion reviews the characteristics of these bearing parameters. Bearing Configuration: Tilting pad bearings are common in many industrial journal bearings. The number of pads typically varies between 3 and 6. Pad orientation may be either Load On Pivot (LOP) or Load Between Pivots (LBP). For a horizontal machine, the primary load is due to rotor weight. Hence, if a single pad is centered at the bottom of the bearing, a LOP condition exists. If two pads straddle the bottom centerline, then the bearing is referred to as a LBP. The adjacent diagram depicts both configurations, and also illustrates the pad rotation of a LBP bearing assembly. This static displacement results in a drop of the shaft centerline below the LOP bearing. The amount of shaft drop is dependant on the specific bearing geometry. As discussed in Chapter 4 of my Book (pages 158 to 173) the bearing diametrical or bore clearance is related to a lift check performed with a dial indicator mounted next to the bearing. These detailed calculations may be summarized into the factors presented in the following table:
3 Pads 4 Pads 5 Pads 6 Pads

LBP LOP

0.667 x Lift 0.667 x Lift

0.707 x Lift Lift

0.894 x Lift 0.894 x Lift

0.866 x Lift Lift

If the measured static lift is multiplied by the appropriate factor from the above table, a good approximation of the bearing diametrical clearance may be obtained. This is also known as the assembly diametrical clearance of the bearing (Cbrg). Numerically, it is equal to the assembly bore diameter minus the journal diameter. It is also equal to the diameter of the largest mandrel that can be inserted into the bearing minus the journal diameter. For example, consider a 4 pad, LBP bearing with a measured lift of 0.0085 inches. From the above table the appropriate correction factor is 0.707 and the diametrical bearing clearance (Cbrg) is easily determined as follows:
Cbrg = 0.707 Lift = 0.707 0.0085 Inches = 0.006 Inches
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As shown in the previous sketch, the curvature of the tilt pad shoes exceeds the shaft curvature. This physical characteristic provides the converging gap that forms the minimum oil film between bearing and shaft journal. The pad diameter is determined during initial machining, and the resulting diametrical pad clearance (Cpad) is equal to the machined pad bore diameter minus the journal diameter.

Bearing Preload:
As the oil wedge clearance (minimum oil film) is varied, the stiffness and damping of the bearing is significantly influenced. In order to provide a common method of describing these variations, the concept of bearing preload is used. Preload is often used to provide a final adjustment of bearing stiffness and damping coefficients to obtain specific response characteristics from a machinery rotor. Since the translational first critical and the pivotal second critical speed are highly dependant on bearing stiffness, proper selection of preload may be necessary to keep the rotor criticals out of the operating speed range. Preload is computed as follows:

Preload = 1

Cbrg C pad

The clearances may be either radial or diametrical, but they must be consistent. As a sample calculation, consider a 4.000 inch (101.6 mm) diameter shaft with a tilt pad bearing that has a diametrical assembly clearance of 0.006 inches (0.152 mm). If this bearing has a machined pad bore diametrical clearance of 0.010 inches (0.254 mm), the bearing preload would be: Preload = 1 Cbrg C pad = 1 0.006 Inches = 1 0 .6 = 0 .4 0.010 Inches

Industrial machines usually have preloads between 0.1 and 0.5. In the field, preload may be changed by adjusting the bearing assembly clearance Cbrg. For instance, ball and socket pad supports may be adjusted with flat shims located at the ball seats. Decreasing the assembly clearance will increase preload, and conversely increasing the assembly clearance will decrease preload. It should be recognized that smaller clearances will reduce shaft vibration amplitudes at the expense of increased bearing temperatures. By the same token, increasing clearances will allow the bearing to run cooler, but the shaft vibration will increase due to the lower oil film stiffness. Changes to the pad curvature and associated pad clearance Cpad generally requires a new set of pads that are machined to the correct diameter. Occasionally, the pad radius may be slightly increased by manually grinding the pads on fine emery cloth wrapped around a properly dimensioned mandrel. Although, this is a long and arduous process, production demands sometimes make it necessary to perform these types of field modifications. The influence of preload upon a bearing may be demonstrated by computing coefficients with two different preloads. For instance, consider a 4 pad, LBP bearing with an assembly clearance of 0.006 inches (0.152 mm) on a 4.000 inch (101.6 mm) diameter shaft, a bearing length of 3.000 inches (76.2 mm), a center pivot on each pad, and a static load of 600 pounds (272 kg). Using ISO 32 oil inlet at 20 psig (1.4 bar) and 120F (49C), the bearing stiffness and damping
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1,000 may be calculated as a function of speed. Since this is a titling pad bearing, the cross 800 Preload = 0.5 coupled coefficients are all equal to zero 600 (Kxy = Kyx.= Cxy = Cyx = 0). Due to the inherent symmetry of the 4-pad LBP bear400 ing, the principal stiffness and damping Preload = 0.1 200 coefficients in horizontal and vertical directions are equal (specifically, Kxx = Kyy 0 1,000 3,000 5,000 7,000 9,000 11,000 13,000 15,000 and Cxx = Cyy). If the bearing preload is Speed (Revolutions/Minute) varied between 0.1 and 0.5, and the bearing coefficients computed between 1,000 and 15,000 rpm, the adjacent plot of stiffness versus speed may be generated. Clearly the 0.5 preload provides significantly more stiffness than the 0.1 preload at all speeds above 3,000 rpm.

Since stiffness and damping coefficients change with preload, and since preload is dependant upon bearing clearances; it is important to compute the changes in parameters between minimum and maximum bearing clearances. These parameters are then used to examine the rotor response characteristics across the entire speed range, and verify that the vibratory behavior is still acceptable across the full clearance (and preload) range of the bearings.

May 31, 2007

Stiffness (K * Pounds/Inch)

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