Prediction of nonlinear dynamic coefficients of tilting-pad journal bearings with pad perturbation

In this paper, a modified partial derivative method is developed to predict the linear and nonlinear dynamic coefficients of tilting-pad journal bearings with journal and pad perturbation. To this end, Reynolds equation and its boundary conditions along with equilibrium equations of the pad are used. Finite difference, partial derivative method, and perturbation technique have been employed simultaneously for solving these equations. The accuracy of the results is investigated by comparing the linear dynamic coefficients of three types of tilting-pad journal bearings with those published the literature. It is shown that the nonlinear dynamic coefficients depend on Sommerfeld number, eccentricity ratio, and length to diameter ratio. Similar to the case of linear dynamic coefficients of TPJB, it is observed that the eccentricity ratio effects on nonlinear dynamic coefficients are more notable when the eccentricity ratio is higher than 0.8 or less than 0.2.