BEARING JOURNAL

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T URBO
C &
EOMPONENTS
NGINEERING
(713) 943-9100
4th Quarter, 1999 A Quarterly Publication from Turbo Components & Engineering • Vol II, No. 1

Determining the bore of

tilting pad journal bearings
Babbitted journal bearings come in two basic designs: sleeve
and tilting pad. Sleeve bearings have a fixed geometry (no
moving parts) so the bore can usually be measured directly.
Tilting pad bearings have babbitted pads (or shoes) which can tilt
to accommodate the oil film. Because these pads can tilt,
determining their bore is a complicated process. There are two
major subcategories of tilt pad bearings: rocker back and
spherically seated (ball & socket). These procedures apply to
bearings with bores up to 10 inches.
Rocker back bearings
The pads in this bearing have a pivot on their backside. This
pivot can be a radius, a rib, a hardened button, or some other
pivoting mechanism, hence the term rocker back. These pads are
assembled into the outer shell, which has a tightly toleranced
bore where the pivots act. The procedure to determine the
bearing bore is as follows:
1. Measure the inside
“The most critical TCE’s bearing set machine (FIGURE 2, above) with nine-inch bore,
diameter (ID) of the outer
aspect of journal shell.
four-pad bearing installed. Note digital readout on the right. Figure 1
(below) shows the setup for the bump check method.
bearing operation is 2. Measure the individual
the proper clearance pad thicknesses (they should mandrel.
Tilt Pad Journal Bearing
all be within .0005” of each 5. Push (or pull) the bearing
bore over the journal” other). through the clearance. Note
“Bump” Check
Shown looking down at set-up
3. Average the pad thickness that if going between pads the
and multiply this average by two. indicator will read greater Zero Indicator

4. Subtract this from the shell ID to determine the bearing bore. than the bearing clearance.
Pad is hard
The bore of the outer shell can be measured with an inside This reading needs to be against mandrel
micrometer (mic). Measuring the pad thickness (or stack) is a multiplied by a “bump”
little trickier. The easiest way is to use a ball or tubing mic and factor (.8944 for 5 pad
carefully measure the pad thickness; it is important that the pad bearings).
is measured at its thickest location. Another method is to use a 6. Repeat for the other pads
shaft sized mandrel, put the pad on top of the mandrel and and average, add to the
measure the distance from the top of the mandrel to the back of mandrel size to determine the NOTE: Clearances are
exaggerated
the pads. true bore.
There are some rocker back bearing designs that can not easily Note that although you need FIGURE 1
be measured this way, but a modified procedure or the “bump to re-zero the indicator at each
check” method can be used. pad location, the difference between all pad locations should be
Bump check: Another way to measure the bore is to assemble no more than .0005”. Also note that any out of roundness of the
the bearing around a vertical shaft sized mandrel and “bump” the bearing shell can cause some readings to be out of spec, but the
bearing through its clearance (Fig. 1). By bumping from on pad averaged clearance should be in spec.
to between pads (in a bearing with an odd number of pads) the Ball and Socket Bearings
bearing is not only going through the clearance but also outside Again, the bump check method can be used to measure the
of it (when between pads). The procedure here is as follows: bores of these bearings. Using radial measurements, however, is
1. Measure the mandrel. more accurate. At TCE, we use a set machine (Fig. 2) to obtain
2. Assemble the bearing around the mandrel. radial measurements. The set machine uses a horizontal mandrel
3. Locate an indicator reading outer shell movement at the first to hang the bearing and a digital scale to measure the distance
pad location. between the mandrel and the bearing OD. The procedure is
4. Zero the indicator with that bearing pad hard against the
Continued on Page 2
Bore Meet the TCE team
Continued from Page 1
In the first issues of Bearing
roughly as follows: Journal, we introduced you to
1. Measure the bearing shell outside diameter (OD). John, Larry, and a couple of
2. Install the mandrel on the set machine. new employees. Now, every
3. Zero the scale at the mandrel. quarter, we will acquaint you
4. Load the bearing onto the mandrel. with another member of the
5. Record at each pad location the distance from the mandrel to team. We will begin with Clark
the bearing OD (all readings should be within .0005 of each
Maloney. Clark joined us in
other).
July of 1992 and works in
6. Average these readings, multiply by two, and subtract from
the shell OD. This is the bearing bore. outside sales and service. He
This procedure can also be used with rocker back bearings. At graduated from Texas A&M
TCE we use two independent methods that measure the set bore University in 1989. His Clark Maloney
of tilting pad journal bearings: the bump check and the set territory covers parts of Texas, the
machine. Mid-West, Louisiana, Canada, the Caribbean, and accounts in
We hope this quick coverage will help with your understanding several other states. Since joining TCE, Clark has been involved
of measuring tilt pad journal bearing bores. If you are interested in many complete bearing and seal rerates on compressors, steam
in a more in-depth discussion on this particular topic please let and gas turbines, and pumps. His product knowledge, attention
us know; we may want to write up a more detailed procedure to detail and ability to interface with others at all levels makes
with photographs and illustrations. Clark a real asset to TCE. Outside of work, Clark has been busy
this year with his first child, Adam, who was born in January. In
Make sure your babbitted addition to keeping up with his new little one, Clark enjoys

bearings function properly hunting, fishing, snowskiing, and working on his hotrod.

Our featured paper this quarter is Babbitted Bearings: Happy Holidays

Instrumentation, Inspection, and Installation. The paper starts
As we approach the holiday season and the end of this century,
with an introduction to different types of babbitted bearings such
as sleeve bearings, then progresses through pressure dam TCE would like to thank all our valued customers and vendors
bearings, other geometry sleeve bearings, and tilt pad journal we have had the privilege of working with since our inception in
bearings. Thrust bearings are then presented and include flat 1991. The next century will surely produce even greater
plate designs, taper land, tilt pad and the fully equalized style. challenges for our customers and, in turn, for TCE and our
Topics covered include critical areas to be aware of, design vendors. Everyone at TCE wishes all our customers and vendors
"rules of thumb," and installation concerns. The paper has over the very best of the coming holiday season.
twenty figures including such things as lift check multipliers,
how to perform a "bump" check, how to do a crush check for
journal bearing fit, and field lift check procedures. Also included
All TCE e-mail addresses and past
are drawings of different kinds of babbitted bearings, how to issues of Bearing Journal are
check and adjust rotor position and float on thrust bearings, and available on our website:
proper locations to install RTD's or thermocouples. Send us an E- www.tce1.com
mail or give us a call if you would like a copy of this paper.

Recent Orders of Note: TCE First Class Mail

8730 Meldrum US Postage Paid
1. Designed, manufactured and delivered six upgraded "inactive" Houston TX 77075 Mailed From ZIP Code 77546
thrust bearings for GE Frame 5 gas turbine engines. Permit #315
2. Delivered spare Torlon seals for five centrifugal compressors
in an ethylene plant.
3. Refurbished all bearings for two GE Frame 7 turbine generator
sets and two Westinghouse 501 turbine generator sets.
4. Shipped a "bearing set machine" to a customer who wants to
check bearings as described in this issue’s feature article.
5. Worked with Kaydon on rebuilding four Kaydon seal
assemblies for two ammonia compressors.