Numerical and Experimental Studies on Performance Enhancement of Thrust Pad Bearing Employing Surface Texture: A Review

This article aims to review the research findings in the field of surface texture on fixed pads, tilting pad thrust bearings and sliders. Numerical/computational and experimental explorations have been done by researchers to improve the performance behaviours by varying texture parameters such as the shape of texture, its depth, width, texture area density, location and extent. Articles are classified as experimental and numerical techniques which are further categorized depending on the inclusion of cavitation and thermal effects. There are indications that the presence of texture (comprising of pits, dimples grooves and pockets) on the pad surface results in a reduction of the coefficient of friction and enhancement of load-carrying. The presence of a pocket is more beneficial in terms of increasing the minimum film thickness and decreasing the coefficient of friction than a pad with dimples or grooves. It is also observed that self-adaptive and bionic textures improve the performance behaviour of thrust pad bearings in comparison to conventional textures.