Waukesha Bearings is known internationally
for its capabilities,
technology, size and application
experience in the rotating (turbo)
equipment industry. Following is
a brief selection guide intended
to assist engineers, specifiers, integrators
and others in choosing
the right bearing—and bearing
technology—for the application.
(Ed.’s note: the predominant applications
for the following products are:
pumps; motors; compressors; turbines;
generators; and gearboxes.)
Tilting-padthrust bearings.Tiltingpad
thrust bearings (Fig. 1) are available
with a variety of design features,
including directed lubrication, specially
engineered pivot types and offsets,
pad backing material and several
different styles of thrust retainers—all
designed to optimize performance and
meet unique requirements in turbomachinery.
Custom solutions are also
available that offer reduced power
losses, oil flow and pad temperatures,and address industry-wide issues such
as axial vibration.
Tilting-pad journal bearings. Tilting-pad
journal bearings (Fig. 2) help
ensure high performance and optimal
compatibility with a variety of
turbo-machinery. Available options
include hydrostatic jacking, combined single- or double-acting thrust capability,
spherical seats and electrical insulation.
To achieve varying degrees of
alignment capability, a number of pad
pivot types and pad geometries are
available.

Polymer-lined and solid-polymer
bearings. Polymer-lined and solidpolymer
bearings (Fig. 3) feature
bearing-grade polymers used in combination with a variety of custom-engineered
mating surfaces. Polymer-lined
bearings are suitable for both oil and
clean product lubrication. In applications
where the bearing material must
be chemically resistant to the clean fluid
and able to support thin films, solid
polymer bearings provide a high load capacity and inert solution. These specially
engineered polymers are used on
both journal and thrust bearings and
provide exceptional temperature capabilities
(beyond 250°C or 482°F), thin
film operation, high fatigue strength,
insulating properties and the ability to
withstand continuous high load.