• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.197-202
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• 2012

In this study, with the purpose of fundamentally improving the unbalance response vibration of a large PRT motor-generator rotor by design, a performance improvement design analysis is carried-out by retrofitting tilting pad bearings, replacing the plain partial journal bearings that were originally applied for operation at a rated speed of 1,800 rpm. In this process, a goal of the design analysis is to obtain a design solution for maximizing the direct stiffness of the bearings while satisfying the key basic lubrication performance requirements such as the minimum lift-off speed and maximum oil-film temperature. The results show that with a careful design application of tilting pad journal bearings for operation at such a relatively low speed of 1,800 rpm, direct stiffness increment of the bearings by about two times can be effectively achieved. Prevention of pad unloading is also considered in the analysis. Moreover, the designs of elliptical and offset half journal bearings are also analyzed and reviewed.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.265-271
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• 2012

In the preceding Part I study, for improving the unbalance response vibration of a large PRT motor-generator rotor fundamentally by design, a series of design analyses were carried out for bearing improvement by retrofitting from original plain partial journal bearings, applied for operation at a rated speed of 1,800 rpm, to final tilting pad journal bearings. To satisfy evenly key basic lubrication performances such as the minimum lift-off speed and maximum oil-film temperature, a design solution of 5-pad tilting pad journal bearings and maximizing the direct stiffness by about two times has been achieved. In this Part II study, a detailed rotordynamic analysis of the large PRT motor-generator rotor-bearing system will be performed, applying both the original plain partial journal bearings and the retrofitted tilting pad journal bearings, to confirm the effect of rotordynamic vibration improvement after retrofitting. The results show that the rotor unbalance response vibrations with the tilting pad journal bearings are greatly reduced by as much as about one ninth of those with the plain partial journal bearings. In addition, for the tilting pad journal bearings there exist no critical speed up to the rated speed and just one instance of a concerned critical speed around the rated speed, whereas for the plain partial journal bearings there exist one instance of a critical speed up to the rated speed and two instances of concerned critical speeds around the rated speed.