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Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionsanlagen und Konstruktionstechnik IPK
Prototype tilting pad thrust bearing with novel ceramic material for harsh service environments
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
2022
,
Raeve, Karel de
,
Borsoi Klein, Tiago
,
Matthey, Björn
,
Schmiedel, Christian
,
Kraenzler, Thomas
,
Faulhaber, Stephan
,
Kailer, Andreas
,
Kunze, Steffen
Product-lubricated pumping applications require extremely robust bearings, especially in the case of sand-loaded lubrication fluids. For high power/high speed pump applications, tilting pad bearings are the preferred bearing solution, due to their superior rotordynamic characteristics. For product-lubricated applications, materials with good corrosion and abrasion resistance characteristics have to be used. The lubricant for the bearing in these applications is often a water based fluid (e.g. sea water) with low viscosity and with particle contamination (e.g. sand). Existing tilting pad product lubricated bearings (PLB) solutions have the issue that catastrophic failures tend to occur under severe conditions or that they are limited in available size (e.g. polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearings). A tilting pad thrust bearing and a thrust collar made of a novel ceramic material with improved tribological properties was designed, manufactured and tested for use in such applications.