Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings With Electronic Radial Oil Injection

Abstract

This paper gives a theoretical treatment of the problem of journal bearings modeling connected to electronic oil injection into the bearing gap. The feasibility of influencing the static behavior of hydrodynamic forces by means of such oil injection is investigated. The lubricant is injected into the bearing gap by two mechanisms of lubrication: the conventional hydrodynamic lubrication and through orifices distributed along the bearing surface (active lubrication in the radial direction). By controlling the pressure of the oil injection, it is possible to get large variations in the active hydrodynamic forces; such effects could be useful for reducing vibrations in rotating machines.