The Rolling-Pad Journal Bearing: A Promising Antiwhirl Configuration

Abstract

The rolling-pad journal bearing is a kinematic variation of the well-known tilting-pad journal bearing. In rolling-pad bearings, the pads, instead of tilting about fixed pivots, roll at their back surfaces on the inside surface of a common sleeve to accommodate changes in the operating conditions of the bearing. This paper presents a comparison of the theoretical performance characteristics of rolling-pad journal bearings with those of tilting-pad journal bearings. The comparative study indicates that the dynamic performance characteristics of the rolling-pad bearing configuration are superior to those of the tilting-pad bearing.