Theoretical and experimental study on the static and dynamic characteristics of tilting-pad thrust bearing

The static and dynamic characteristics of tilting-pad thrust bearing (TPTB) considering the lubricant viscosity-temperature effect and pad elastic deformation are first analyzed by theoretical thermalelastohydrodynamic (TEHD) modeling. The TPTB test rig with electric oil pump is designed and built to apply axial loads and sinusoidal hydraulic excitation due to the opening changes in the overflow valve. An Instrumental Variable Filter (IVF) algorithm is developed to identify the TPTB stiffness and damping coefficients with pad pivot stiffness considered. Compared to the experimental results, the calculated TPTB temperature is more accurate after using the TEHD model. The TPTB stiffness and damping coefficients calculated by the pressure perturbation method are reasonably close to the experimental results with low-amplitude and low-frequency hydraulic excitation.