An efficient iterative coupled model for the study of the insurgence of the Morton effect in tilting pad journal bearings

The introduction of the tilting pad journal bearing (TPJB) technology has allowed the achievement of important goals regarding turbomachinery efficiency in terms of high peripheral speed, enhanced power density, higher efficiency, and tolerated loads. That kind of technology overcomes the typical dynamic instability problem that affects fixed geometry bearings but, under certain working conditions, can be subjected to thermal instability phenomena, which are particularly significant at high peripheral speeds. In this work, the authors propose an innovative iterative procedure to forecast the thermal instability onset by using two coupled models, a thermo-structural one and a fluid dynamic one. The first one calculates the vibrations and the deformations due both to the external forces and to the temperature distribution applied on the rotor. The fluid dynamic model calculates the temperature profile by using as inputs the characteristics of the rotor, of the bearing and of the orbits, obtained by the thermos-structural code. After a general description of the iterative procedure is given, details of each tool are provided. Code validation is presented by means of comparison with available experimental and numerical data. Finally, the results of the iterative procedure are shown to prove its potential in forecasting instability thresholds. The model has shown a good trade-off between accuracy and efficiency, which is very critical when dealing with the extended time windows characterizing thermal instabilities. This research activity is in cooperation with the industrial partner Baker Hughes, a GE company, which provided the experimental data obtained thorough a dedicated experimental campaign.