Experimental investigation of the flow in a simplified model of water lubricated axial thrust bearing

27th IAHR Symposium on Hydraulic Machinery and Systems

Kirschner, O.^1 ; Ruprecht, A.^1 ; Riedelbauch, S.^1

Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machinery, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 10, Stuttgart

70550, Germany^1

关键词: Bearing modeling;    Experimental investigations;    Higher resolution;    Hydropower plants;    Lower viscosities;    Operating condition;    PIV measurements;    Water lubricated bearings;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/22/1/012005/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1755-1315/22/1/012005

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

In hydropower plants the axial thrust bearing takes up the hydraulic axial thrust of the runner and, in case of vertical shafts, the entire weight of all rotating masses. The use of water lubricated bearings can eliminate the oil leakage risk possibly contaminating the environment. A complex flow is generated by the smaller film thickness due to the lower viscosity of water compared with oil. Measurements on a simplified hydrostatic axial trust bearing model were accomplished for validating CFD analysis of water lubricated bearings. In this simplified model, fixed pads are implemented and the width of the gap was enlarged to create a higher resolution in space for the measurements. Most parts of the model were manufactured from acrylic glass to get optical access for measurement with PIV. The focus of these measurements is on the flow within the space between two pads. Additional to the PIV- measurement, the pressure on the wall of the rotating disk is captured by pressure transducers. The model bearing measurement results are presented for varied operating conditions.