Publication detail

Experimental validation of the operation of tilting-pad journal bearing lubricated by high-test peroxide under excessive vibrations and reduced flow of the lubricant

POKORNÝ, J. NÁVRAT, T. VAJDÁK, M. OTEVŘEL, M. KOZÁK, J.

English title

Experimental validation of the operation of tilting-pad journal bearing lubricated by high-test peroxide under excessive vibrations and reduced flow of the lubricant

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

en

Original abstract

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a low-toxicity liquid rocket propellant (oxidizer). Hydrodynamic bearings lubricated by this propellant may be applicable in rocket engine pumps. In this paper, a hydrodynamic tilting-pad journal bearing lubricated by highly concentrated (87wt%) hydrogen peroxide was proposed. Furthermore, an experimental validation of the performance of this bearing with pads made of PEEK material (polyetheretherketone) was carried out on the developed high-speed measuring device. To verify the endurance of this bearing, measurements were performed at different peroxide flow rates from 100% to 20% of the nominal flow rate. The tests were also conducted under excessive vibrations induced by the misalignment of the test rotor with the drive connected by a flexible coupling. In addition to vibration measurement, the wear of the bearing sliding surfaces and lubricant temperature variations were evaluated. The measured results were compared with the calculated data. For this purpose, a two-dimensional computational model based on the thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory was presented. To improve the solution convergence, Newton's method was used to calculate the equilibrium tilt of the pads. The involved bearings operated smoothly at the mentioned misalignment even at 20% peroxide flow, only slight foaming occurred at the outlet.

English abstract

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a low-toxicity liquid rocket propellant (oxidizer). Hydrodynamic bearings lubricated by this propellant may be applicable in rocket engine pumps. In this paper, a hydrodynamic tilting-pad journal bearing lubricated by highly concentrated (87wt%) hydrogen peroxide was proposed. Furthermore, an experimental validation of the performance of this bearing with pads made of PEEK material (polyetheretherketone) was carried out on the developed high-speed measuring device. To verify the endurance of this bearing, measurements were performed at different peroxide flow rates from 100% to 20% of the nominal flow rate. The tests were also conducted under excessive vibrations induced by the misalignment of the test rotor with the drive connected by a flexible coupling. In addition to vibration measurement, the wear of the bearing sliding surfaces and lubricant temperature variations were evaluated. The measured results were compared with the calculated data. For this purpose, a two-dimensional computational model based on the thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory was presented. To improve the solution convergence, Newton's method was used to calculate the equilibrium tilt of the pads. The involved bearings operated smoothly at the mentioned misalignment even at 20% peroxide flow, only slight foaming occurred at the outlet.

Keywords in English

Hydrogen peroxide; Tilting pad journal bearing; Measurement; Extreme conditions

Released

22.03.2023

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

Amsterdam

ISSN

0043-1648

Volume

523

Number

6

Pages count

13

BIBTEX


@article{BUT183512,
  author="Jan {Pokorný} and Tomáš {Návrat} and Michal {Vajdák} and Marek {Otevřel} and Jiří {Kozák},
  title="Experimental validation of the operation of tilting-pad journal bearing lubricated by high-test peroxide under excessive vibrations and reduced flow of the lubricant",
  year="2023",
  volume="523",
  number="6",
  month="March",
  publisher="Elsevier",
  address="Amsterdam",
  issn="0043-1648"
}