Optimal pad sensor position in a Tilting Pad Journal Bearing

Tilting pad journal bearing performance is strongly affected by film pressure, thickness, temperature, and by variations in pad clearance due to thermomechanical deformations. An accurate characterization of the bearing should include multiple measurements of such quantities. In this work, the optimal positioning of sensors for film pressure, film thickness, pad temperature and pad deformations is discussed. The optimal placement is proposed by targeting the largest absolute value of each signal, considering several operating conditions of a 5-pad flooded rocker pivot bearing [1] within a virtual computational framework (Fig. 1). The proposed measurement setup aims to monitor essential quantities in the bearing while using a limited amount of sensors.