Determination of Oil-inlet Boundary Condition of Circular Tilt-pad Thrust Bearing

The Reynolds equation, energy equation and elastic equation of a circular tilt pad thrust bearing were solved by using finite element methods. The oil inlet boundary condition of the bearing was determined by calculation of the normal velocity on the edge of the pad. Thus the pressure distribution and temperature distribution were determined more accurately. It has been found that the calculated results agree well with the ones obtained on a bearing bench test rig.