Tilting Pad Bearing With Rolling Elements for Low-Loss Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tilting pad bearings with frame-like spring devices struggle to efficiently manage converging bearing gaps between tilting pads and rotatable rotor bodies, particularly at high speeds, leading to friction and potential damage in applications like turbocompressors and fuel cell systems.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating rolling elements, such as balls or rollers, between the housing body and tilting pads, supported by a cage and spring device, allows for defined tilting movements and compensates for angular misalignments, reducing friction and enabling low-loss rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If tilting pads are held in a frame with play in radial and circumferential directions to permit tilting, then the bearing can accommodate high-speed rotation with converging bearing gaps, but friction and bearing losses increase at very high speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional frame-like spring device with a magnetic field-based active magnetic bearing system. The magnetic field substitutes for mechanical spring forces, enabling contactless support of the rotor and elimination of mechanical friction between tilting pads and the frame, thereby reducing bearing losses at high rotational speeds
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a gas lubrication system where gas (typically air) is introduced into the bearing gaps to create a hydrodynamic or aerodynamic film. This gas film separates the tilting pads from the rotor surface, eliminating direct mechanical contact and friction, enabling high-speed rotation with minimal energy loss
2Loss of energy
If oil or grease lubrication is used to reduce friction in tilting pad bearings, then bearing losses decrease, but oil contamination occurs which damages fuel cell stacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses gas lubrication instead of oil or grease lubrication. Gas (air) is introduced into the bearing gaps to form a lubricating film that reduces friction without risking contamination of the fuel cell stack, thus eliminating the harmful effect of oil leakage while maintaining low friction losses
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs an active magnetic bearing system that provides contactless support through magnetic fields. This eliminates the need for any lubrication (oil or gas), completely removing the risk of lubricant contamination while maintaining minimal friction through magnetic levitation
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized rolling elements are used to enable tilting movements, then manufacturing cost decreases, but the complexity of managing converging bearing gaps increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical rolling elements with an active magnetic bearing system that uses controllable magnetic fields to support and position the rotor. This substitution eliminates the need for complex arrangements of rolling elements and cages while providing precise control over bearing gaps through electronic regulation of magnetic forces
Solution Approach 2:
The active magnetic bearing system automatically adjusts and maintains optimal bearing gaps through feedback control of magnetic forces. The system self-regulates to accommodate tilting movements and converging gaps without requiring complex mechanical guidance structures or manual adjustment mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively minimizes friction and bearing losses at high speeds, ensuring efficient operation and compatibility with oil-free environments, particularly beneficial for fuel cell applications by using standardized, cost-effective rolling elements and a simplified cage design.
Implementation Method 1
a spring element (43) assigned to the tilting pad (1), which serves to position and hold the assigned tilting pad (1) so as to be tiltable in the housing body (5)
Implementation Method 2
rolling elements (6, 7; 20; 24; 44) arranged between the housing body (5) and the tilting pads (1, 2, 3)
Implementation Method 3
Gas-lubricated bearings are advantageously used for support since, at very high rotational speeds, they have very low friction and thus only low bearing losses
Data Source
AI summary
A tilting pad bearing (10) including tilting pads (1, 2, 3) retained and positioned so that the tilting pads can tilt in a housing body (8) with a frame-type spring unit (8), such that, during operation of the tilting pad bearing (10), converging bearing gaps are created between the tilting pads (1,2,3) and a rotor body (4) that is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation. In order to improve the functioning and/or manufacturing of the tilting pad bearing (10), the tilting pad bearing (10) includes rolling elements (6, 7) arranged between the housing body (5) and the tilting pads (1,2, 3).