Novel Approach for Optical Characterization of Thrust Collar Lubricated Area: Experimental and Numerical Results

Abstract

The following paper introduces a new test rig that optically characterizes the thin film region of a thrust collar. The test rig geometries, speeds, and loads match those typically seen in IGC applications. Cavitation and turbulence areas are captured for pinion speeds of 2.5, 5, and 7.5 krpm, and axial loads of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 kN. Cavitation occurs in the diverging (upper) region of the TC and appears at pinion speeds over 5,000 rpm, but does not change in shape after that speed. The cavitation is independent of applied load. Turbulence at the inlet region (bottom) occurs at all speeds, but increases to almost 35% of the total area at the highest speed. This paper also presents a finite element (FE) model that includes predictions for the static characteristics of the TC, specifically the cavitation area. The cavitation modeling uses an iterative Elord's method, which conserves mass. The model predicts a similar cavitation area for all speeds and loads. A computation fluid dynamics (CFD) study predicts a similar cavitation area, and pressure field to the FE model. The CFD model predicts turbulence in the lower region that increases for increasing spin speed, which matches the experimental results. The CFD model tends to underpredict the turbulence area when compared to the experiments. As IGCs move into novel application areas to satisfy new needs, the increase in efficiency and capacity comes at a cost of more load and higher speed requirements on the TCs.