DefinePK

Abstract

Earlier publications indicate that Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-faced hydrodynamic tilting pad thrust bearings have been successfully designed and applied in large hydro generators in the former Soviet-Union, China, Japan and the UK. The properties of PTFE such as corrosion resistance, anti-seizure characteristics, embeddability, and lower coefficient of friction are found to be much superior to Babbitt’s and it has been recommended by many researchers that the Babbitt-lined bearings could be replaced advantageously by PTFE. In view of this, an analytical study has been made in this present paper to compare the performance between conventional Babbitt-lined tilting pad thrust bearings with PTFE-faced bearings under identical operating conditions. Performance characteristics of both these bearings are analytically studied by solving the Governing equations by suitable numerical methods. The results indicated many advantages in the application of PTFE-faced bearings showing low operating temperature, low power loss, higher load carrying capacity as compared to Babbitt lined bearings.