Experiments on a Large Flexure Pivot Journal Bearing: Summary of Test Results and Comparison with Predictions

Flexure pivot® journal bearings (FPJBs) have typically been used in small high-speed applications such as integrally geared compressors and multistage high-speed compressors, where the temperature management and the rotordynamic stability of the machine are the main targets. Nevertheless, the need for high-speed applications may also be applicable to large compressors and for this reason a large 280 mm diameter four-pad FPJB with L/D = 0.7 has been designed, built, and tested by the Authors. The test facility is a novel rig, setup at the University of Pisa, that includes a floating test bearing and a rigid rotor supported by two stiff rolling element bearings. Both static and dynamic loads are applied through hydraulic actuators, capable of 270 kN static and 40 kN overall dynamic load. The instrumentation can measure all the relevant test boundary conditions as well as the static and dynamic quantities that characterize the bearing performance. This paper presents the results from a test campaign conceived to explore not only the design conditions (7000 rpm rotational speed and 0.75 MPa unit load) but also the sensitivity to the unit load (from 0.2 MPa minimum load up to 2.2 MPa maximum load) as well as the oil flow. The results are discussed and compared with predictions from an existing numerical code.