Abstract
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-faced hydrodynamic thrast bearings have been used for many years in the former Soviet Union and in the People's Republic of China for large hydrogenerator applications. Although there has been some recent interest in other countries, few installations of this sort have previously been reported in Europe or the USA. This paper describes the state of the art and the development and laboratory testing of a prototype set of PTFE pads. Following these trials, a second larger set of thrust pads was designed for use in the pumped-storage hydroelectric power station at Ffestiniog in North Wales. The pads were installed in September 1996 and inspected in May 1997. After nearly 3000 h of operation including 900 separate occasions when the system was started up under load, the pads were found to be in excellent condition. Further hydrogenerator installations of PTFE-faced pads are planned as a result of this successful development. © IMechE 1998.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 345-352 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology |
| Volume | 212 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 1998 |
Keywords
- Hydrodynamic bearings
- Hydrogenerators
- PTFE bearings
- Thrust bearings