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GENERAL ~ ELECTRIC
SCHENECTADY. N.Y.
GEA-22 51
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FOREWORD
ELECTRIC thrust bearin1:5 are t he simplest and most ,cliable
G ENElc'\L
on the Tll<'l1'ket today . They me r eadily applicable t hroughouL th" entire
range in size and speed of vertical machines. T hey are inherently accessible,
require no adjustment during ;~ssembly. or scraping t o fit the surf<~ccs under load.
and are automatically scl-aligning to equalize the pressure distribution over the
whole smiacc.
This bulletin, which <lescribes the General Electric thmsi ooaring, inclu<les an
explanation of the function that each part exercises in operation. The mo1e
important oper;~ting chnraetcristic.s arc discussed and a description of various forms
of application for different types of machine con~tructions is included, together with
a list of many of ih t: importa nt hydroelectric units equipped with these bcaring8.
T
the
RUNNER GROOVES .-'ioo;A thrust bearing, cunsioting of a solidly supported, plain. stationary pJntr :i.ncJ a rotating
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support
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FLEXIBLE SUPPORT
The fu nction of the flcxiblu pi:Hc tm rl &priug
suppor t is to pc rml t the forrnntion of nn :l ltrrnatcly
ronvcrging and dlv~rging oil Jilm. By this means,
t ht: J)Crfo n nancc becomes far ~upt.:rior to that
obtained wit b a solid SUe,PDil ancJ m:ly be superior
to that o( pivoted scgrncnt I'JC?"tiinw-.. J'n bearings
of the two last-named type, the oil film must be
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS
LOSSES
In c lcct.ric machi nes, b<'::t.r1n,g losse s ure rel.ntivcly
significant
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G - E THR US T BEARINGS
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G- E TH RUST BEARING S
Two men can oft,CI\ r cslu1't a large mnchine and keep
it roc.,~ting by hand a(Wr it has bcon st,oppcd fo r an
insl..rmt .
i\n c cdlent illust.r,.Lion of oil-film stbilily at
iow ~pccds wn~ afforded by a sc.ric5 of accidents
which req uired n Gcncru1 Elect t ic bea ring, o f 92-in.
out~ide dia meter wlth H. norma l spcccl of S8 rvm , to
carry the weight of the rotatinx parts (nbout
1,'100.000 lb) fo r more (,han two hou rs aL 2 or a
rpm. Subsequent to this inndvcrtent operat ion, the
botuing stuiuces '''"ere cxnm incd c.:arefully ancl no
distre.c;s whntsocvcr wa.s di...;ccrniblc.
'
G - E THRUST BEARINGS
TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
BEARIN G ARRANGEMENT
1. \Vit h the convcn t ionnJ bearing a rrangcmt!nt,
in usc for Ulany years on vcd.ical machines, the
t.hn1st bearing i~ loca.tcrl at t.hc top oi the machine
with u pper and !QWct' guido, or slcady, betlring;s.
This provic.Lcs maximum ben ring acccssibilil)r $incc
~he continuous he:tring plates can he lifted out after
removing exciters or othrr equipmen t mounted
alJo,c t.ho bearing.
In t he s.m;_tHcr sizes the u pper guide bearing is of
the "combined" type acting on the collar of the
l.hrust 1waring. Thh; rcsui Ls in a sol foiling ~uidc
bearing which pumps lts ow n oil. Th~J illustrn1io ns
on l..his J>af!C show t.his type o i constn1ction. In t.hc
illuSll';>li\ln below, tbc o il suprly to the guide IJ<ar
ings is l.hrough ~uit.ablc g rooves in th-.; habbit.t.. The
t.'vo 1Jlust.rulions nt the right show :m a~rangc
mcnt wherein ihc intake is through p:u...c:..1:ges in lhc
Lhtnst collar. These lean to spiral ~;rooves in t.hc
journal ~Ul'(occ. T his construc t io n gives ver y posit ivc action at !ow shalL speeds. \Vit.h either arrangement., the lowe r 1-:uidc bc:1ring is scp:uately Oill><l.
usuaJiy by mc('l ns o [ tl geared pu m p.
ln lnrg..,r s izes. whtrc ,:u l i:d-~rrn upJxr brackets
on: n:-quirl---d in ord<.:r to support the." ,ery lwa,y
loo.ldS c ucourlt<'J'Cd, iL is pr<:fcrabl<.: to em ploy a
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arc as Io11ows:
a . It is lim ltod to mod e rate or low spccd.s.
b. Station hcadrnom may h0 lowc1 i( genera tor
lift is limi ti ng f(;aturc .
c. 'f'he generator price: is ~ligh tl y lower.
d. Stator and rotor arc mere acc~ihlc.
c. Location of the thrust bearing below tlte
ro tor invol \'<'~ io\pccial 'prob:em~ in p rov1diug
for accessibility of the thrust hC1<11'ing, p;_;,rticularly in Hmull machines. [n l.hrt l;~ rgc1
sizes, the bcurings can usually ho maflc
li.COO~siblu w it hou t di:;turbing t.ho rnajor
1>art.s.
f. The oiling system is somewhat simplified.
g. ~erators of this type cannot be tested in
th e field with the water wheel di.<eo nncctcd.
h. The ,gc.n<t'O.lOr in here n tly has less mecha nical
st:tbility d\\ring l.ransien t el4!Ctric O J' hydm ulic
clist\\rbances.
\~' here an a.pprccinblc sa ving in stn1.i011 COSl can
be made by t h<- reduction in hca drocm, and where
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O ILING SYSTEMS
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!it:cmfll vi~1c of Jlmull illuhtwltt!ddliVt'~ g.;nurfor utitl roml'l(llcd 11/l(Jcr gu;d~: qnd th rttd l)Nuim~ uMIII~(/oiUng
lt>U:rr <TUfd~ f}fi!titl(l
G- E THRUST BEARINGS
scpnra tc g uid e hearings employ [ I gt-nred pwnp
wh ich pump~ (til past ;-, sigh t:... n O\\ ' indicator nnd
lO lhe top of the bearing.
In some ca..cw.og~ separate guide bearings h nvc
fx-e n made ~1-oi ling withou t. the u se of a gc:a rcd
pump by ml'athi of a slee.ve c>n t he shaft. This
results in n n arT~\Ilg'cJn en t sirnila r to llwt of t.he,.,
combined g uide bcouin g whkh p umps it.s ()WU
oil. The illusl.l'atinn on page ll shO\"\"S a machin{
wlth a combinL'CI upt)C.r guide ancl th.rust bearing
nnd a self...oiling low-.:r J,'l.tide Jx..:uing.
Bccauso of the heavy londs CfiiTi(:d o n tht
t hrust bearinf!S o( ver tic:)] gtncrn to r.s, it is vcry
<:SSf:l1t.i<l l th:1 t un ly h igh .. grad < Ju hricat.i ng o il be
m:cd. Oil shou ld he p urclmscd dircct1y Crom oil
manufaCt.Ut'\''1"!-i O( recognized Stnn<ling who will
assume the uponsibility for tlw !<t'lcction of tlw
bt."'St oil for tlw ~rvi <X.
EXJ>er icnct has shown Lhnt, in gcnc m l, thr
viscoslty of t he oil at a tompern hii'C of I OU 1"
~~:-; (!ctcrmiru.:cl hy the Saybolt.. v iscosimeter. shou lcl
not be less Lh:m :lOO seconds, u r much rnorc t huu
:100 scconds.
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BEARING COOLING
~rn:.Jl t.hru:-.1: hcMlngs u'H-Y he l'un air-coolud.
hut the la rg<;l o 1ws require oLhl' l' m ca11s fo1 cmoving- hc~-,L from Lhc oil ~n d housi n~. The simpl~sl.
nnd most common way to kt"cl) the oil <X>QI i~ hy
th<' cireu la.t.ion d( water t.hrou~o:h coolers in lh<-" oil
--
oil
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disassemble.
INITIAL STARTING
Jf t.lu..1-c an: cooling coil:> in the thrus1..-bc1ing
...