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Testing and analysis of a profiled leading edge groove tilting pad journal bearing developed for light load operation is described. This bearing was designed for a generic, small, high speed steam turbine operating at projected loads of less than 25 psi (172.4 kPa) and journal surface speeds to 400 ft/s (122 m/s). On the second turbine application, a rotor instability was experienced with the oil flowrate reduced to optimize bearing steady state performance. This instability was eliminated by machining a taper on the exit side of the feed groove on each pad. At the reduced flowrate, the profiled groove bearing greatly improved the operating characteristics of the rotor system by reducing vibration amplitudes and stabilizing operation at speed. This paper is divided into two sections. The first section compares the rotordynamics analysis with test data that shows improved unbalance response and operating stability with the profiled groove bearing. The second section provides original insight of the effect of the profiled geometry on the bearing flow field using computational fluid dynamics models.

For the purpose of assessing combustion effects in a small gas turbine engine, there was a requirement to evaluate the rotating temperature and dynamic characteristics of the power turbine rotor module. This assessment required measurements be taken within the engine, during operation up to maximum power, using rotor mounted thermocouples and strain gages. The acquisition of this data necessitated the use of a telemetry system that could be integrated into the existing engine architecture without affecting performance. Due to space constraints, housing of the telemetry module was limited to placement in a hot section. In order to tolerate the high temperature environment, a cooling system was developed as part of the integration effort to maintain telemetry module temperatures within the limit allowed by the electronics. Finite element thermal analysis was used to guide the design of the cooling system. This was to ensure that sufficient airflow was introduced and appropriately distributed to cool the telemetry cavity, and hence electronics, without affecting the performance of the engine. Presented herein is a discussion of the telemetry system, instrumentation design philosophy, cooling system design and verification, and sample of the results acquired through successful execution of the full engine test program.

It is well established that classical short bearing theory can be applied to assess squeeze film dampers whirling in circular centered orbits. This theory yields accurate values for the stiffness and damping coefficients for designs with small length-to-diameter (L/D) ratios (typically less than 0.5) whirling at amplitudes of less than half the damper radial clearance. For L/D ratio designs above 0.5 and/or whirling amplitudes approaching the damper radial clearance, the short bearing theory increasingly overestimates the stiffness and damping coefficients that stretch its applicability for some designs. There are two limitations with the classical theory that compromise the solution at high L/D ratios and large whirling amplitudes. The first is that as the L/D ratio increases, the unrestricted end flow assumption that forms the basis of the short bearing theory introduces increasingly larger errors. The second is that as the whirling amplitude approaches the damper radial clearance, the stiffness and damping coefficients approach infinity much more rapidly than those from a full solution of the governing lubrication equation. The ideal method for determining more exact values is to numerically solve the full lubrication equation, although not everyone has access to such a code. An alternative approach is to use the expressions presented in this paper that are derived from an optimized solution of the short bearing theory that appreciably reduces the errors introduced at high L/D ratios and whirling amplitudes approaching the damper radial clearance. The optimized solution yields a simple closed form correction factor based on Galerkin’s method that minimizes these errors over the positive pressure region of the oil film. This analytic correction factor increases the accuracy of the short bearing theory for all whirling amplitudes and extends the applicability of the closed form solution to larger L/D ratio damper designs. The simple closed form expressions presented herein apply to a damper whirling in a circular centered orbit for both a partial pi-film cavitated model and a full-film uncaviated model. Examples are given that demonstrate the optimized solution yields stiffness and damping values that are significantly closer to the numerical solution for L/D ratio designs up to 1.0 and/or whirling amplitudes approaching the damper radial clearance.