The Influence of Pad Flexibility on the Dynamic Coefficients of a Tilting Pad Journal Bearing

Abstract
An approximate method is developed to include the flexibility of the pad in the calculation of the stiffness and damping properties of a tilting pad journal bearing. It is a small-amplitude perturbation solution in which the pad deformation is accounted for solely by the change in clearance. A comparison of results with those obtained from a more complete elasto-hydrodynamic solution shows good agreement.