Development of Anti-fluttering Tilting Pad Journal Bearing with the Shape Modification of Upper Pad

상부패드의 형상 변경을 통한 'Anti-fluttering 틸팅패드 저널베어링' 개발

The tilting pad journal bearings have been widely used to support high pressure/high rotating turbine rotors owing to their inherent dynamic stability characteristics. However, fatigue damages in the upper unloaded pads and the break of locking pins etc. by pad fluttering are continuously taken place in the actual steam turbines. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new bearing model that can prevent bearing problems effectively by pad fluttering in a tilting pad journal bearing. A new bearing model which has a wedged groove is suggested from the studies of fluttering mechanism performed by previously research works. The fluttering characteristics of the upper unloaded pad are studied experimentally in order to verify the reliability of a new bearing model. It can be known that the phenomenon of pad fluttering nearly does not occurred in the new bearing model under the various experimental conditions. And it is observed that any kinds of bearing failures by pad fluttering does not detect in the application of acture steam turbines.