Fluid Film Bearing Instrumentation

Temperature Measurement

Changes in load, shaft speed, oil flow, oil inlet temperature, or bearing surface finish can affect bearing surface temperatures. At excessively high temperatures, the shoe babbitt metal is subject to wiping, which causes bearing failure.

Consequently, for critical applications, we recommend using shoes with built-in temperature sensors so you can monitor actual metal temperatures under all operating conditions.

Either thermocouples (TCs) or resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) can be installed in the shoe body near the shoe body/babbitt interface. See figure below for Kingsbury's recommended location.

Thrust Measurement

If your bearing is subject to critically high loads, continual thrust measurement will give you a vital indication of machine and bearing condition. To measure thrust, we can install a strain gauge load cell in one or more of the upper leveling plates or thrust shoe.

For the complete paper with associated illustrations, continue reading at Kingsbury.com