Development of Water Lubricated Bearing for Steam Turbine Application

Compliantly mounted rigid pad bearings were designed and tested for steam turbine application. This turbine utilizes exhaust gas waste heat from the main marine gas turbine. Designing these bearings involves combining the fluid film characteristics with the compliancy of the elastic mounts. The present work examines both these aspects and presents design criteria for water lubricated journal bearing operating in laminar and turbulent flow regimes. The predicted bearing performance is checked by the test data.