Study of Temperature Drop Region in Transitional Region in Fluid-Film Thrust Bearings

A thrust bearing is a type of rotary bearing that permits rotation between parts and is designed to support a load parallel to the axis of rotation. There is a temperature drop region with the increase in speed. However, previous researchers mainly showed such temperature drop experimentally, and the physics causing such temperature drop is not understood. A full fluid-solid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed for a center pivot, tilting pad, and fluid-film thrust-bearing experimental model to study the physics of temperature drop in the transitional region. A novel physics of causing temperature drop in the transitional region was proposed, analyzed, and verified.