Tilted Pad Bearing

Tilted pad thrust bearings are used in rotating machineries with high thrust loading. The thrust load is transferred from a sliding part to a stationary part through hydrodynamic oil films. The tilted pad thrust bearing consists of a series of flat surfaces sliding over stationary tilted pads. The space between the flat surface and the tilted pad is filled by a lubricant that is drawn in due to the sliding motion of the flat surface. The pressure developed in the lubricant in between the sliding surface and the tilted pad counteracts the external load applied to the sliding surface and thus prevents contact between the two surfaces. Integration of the pressure values on the surface of the tilted pad gives the total load on the tilted pad. This total load is used to analyze elastic deformation of the tilted pad. In this model, Reynolds equation is used to calculate the pressure in the film and structural analysis is performed to find the elastic deformation of the tilted pad.