Studies on steady state response of floating pad journal bearing for high speed cryogenic turboexpanders

Tilting pad journal bearings are commonly used for high speed rotor applications such as cryogenic turboexpanders. Floating pad journal bearing is a special type of tilting pad journal bearing characterized by the absence of pivots altogether. The aim of this paper is to carry out the analysis of floating pad journal bearing (pivot-less tilting pad) to understand its working and characterize the journal bearings through parametric studies. A mathematical model is developed by using one-dimensional Reynolds Equation for compressible flow and numerical analysis is done using Finite Element Method. The studies involve steady state analysis for computing the stiffness coefficients and load capacity of the bearing. A comparison between standard tilting pad journal bearing and floating pad journal bearing on the basis of performance characteristics, is also carried out and presented.