Influence of Assembly on the Performance of a Tilting Pad Journal Bearing and Comparison with Predictions

Tilting pad journal bearings (TPJBs) are widely used in turbomachinery due to their superior stability compared to plain journal bearings. Although TPJBs have been extensively investigated through both numerical and experimental approaches, experimental testing remains essential for model validation and calibration, especially considering the effects of geometric asymmetries introduced during manufacturing and assembly. This work presents and compares results from two experimental campaigns conducted on the same 5-pad rocker-back TPJB under similar operating conditions, with differences in instrumentation and assembly. The analysis focuses on variations in both static and dynamic behavior, and includes a comparison with numerical simulation results. The different assembly does not seem to significantly affect the experimental results; discrepancies with predictions are only partly attributable to assembly imperfections and are likely largely influenced by assumed boundary conditions and modeling approximations.