Single bearing test rig

Purpose designed and built test rig in many variants for testing marine stern tube bearings, main shaft bearings of pumps and water turbines.

In typical case – marine stern tube bearing length of the bush ratio L/2=2, the radial load do not exceed 1 MPa (0.6 MPa– typical operational value).

The test rig was designed for water lubrication. Now is often used for environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) and magneto rheological fluids (MR) with dedicated sliding pair combination.

The test rig was used in many commercial tasks and research [1][2][3]

1 – main shaft,
2 – bearing bush in stiff housing,
3 – covers with sealings,
4 – load hydraulic jack,
5 – pressure gauges,
6 – proximity sensors,
7 – friction force sensor,
8 – thermocouple locations,
9 – supporting ball bearings,
10 – sealing unit, for measuring friction force.

The test rig, general view 

 Specifications
  • Lubricants: water, oil, EAL,  MR liquid
  • Maximum typical load: 40kN
  • Maximum typical specific pressure: 2 MPa
  • Typical shaft rotational speed: 0 - 3000 rpm
  • Diameter of standard journal: 100  mm
  • Width of the bush: up to 400 mm
  • Single bearing tests
Measured and controlled parameters
  • Friction torque and COF
  • Shaft orbits, lubrication film thickness
  • Shaft rotational speed
  • Bearing bush temperature
  • Hydrodynamic pressure distribution
  • Supply in outlet lubricant temperature and flow
Description in scientific papers

[1] W. Litwin and C. Dymarski, “Experimental research on water-lubricatedmarine stern tube bearings in conditions of improper lubrication and cooling causing rapid bush wear,” Tribol. Int., vol. 95, pp. 449–455, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.triboint.2015.12.005.

[2] F. Quinci, W. Litwin, M. Wodtke, and R. van den Nieuwendijk, “A comparative performance assessment of a hydrodynamic journal bearing lubricated with oil and magnetorheological fluid,” Tribol. Int., vol. 162, no. April, p. 107143, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.triboint.2021.107143.

[3] M. Wodtke and W. Litwin, “Water-lubricated stern tube bearing - experimental and theoretical investigations of thermal effects,” Tribol. Int., vol. 153, no. August 2020, p. 106608, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.triboint.2020.106608.

Contact person

Wojciech Litwin wojciech.litwin@pg.edu.pl