An Investigation of “Diaphragm” Type Thrust Bearings—Part II: Theory

Abstract

The three types of finite width thrust bearings, tilting pad, diaphragm tilting pad and diaphragm stepped pad, are simulated on the PDP-6 computer taking into account thermal effects on the oil film viscosity and the diaphragm deflection. The temperature boundary conditions of the three-dimensional oil film volume are obtained from the experiment described in Part I. The computed load carrying capacities of the three types of thrust bearings are compared with the experimental results, and quite good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained.