Experimental study on scaled-down pads for nuclear main pump thrust bearing

The lubrication performance of thrust bearings is essential for the efficient, economical, and safe operation of nuclear main pumps. In this paper, a test system for scaled-down tilting pad thrust bearings was designed and built, and the feasibility of the scaled-down scheme was verified. The test results show that: with the increase of loading force, the pressure and temperature at different measurement points gradually increase. The influence of lubricant temperature on oil film pressure under the same loading force is small. During the rotor start process, the oil film pressure shows a trend of first increasing and then gradually stabilizing, and the temperature of each pad center gradually increases. During the rotor stop process, the oil film pressure initially increases slightly and then drops sharply with the reduction of speed, while the temperature at the center of the pad gradually decreases and the rate of decrease gradually increases.