Flexure Pivot Tilt Pad Thrust Bearings

Standard type thrust bearings form a converging wedge through rocking motion of the pad pivot support. FLEXURE PIVOT tilt pad thrust bearings form a wedge through flexure of the post support while eliminating the pivot wear and high contact stresses. These unique, patented fluid film thrusts bearings reduce power losses and extend bearing life over a wide range of speeds, loads, and temperatures. Major product applications include electric motors, pumps, gear boxes, compressors, engines, turbines, turbochargers, oil well drilling motors, marine shafts, and other rotating machinery.

Key Benefits

• Design of the FLEXURE PIVOT post support. The FLEXURE PIVOT post support is designed to provide the excellent performance characteristics of conventional tilt pad thrust bearings.
• Retrofit in small envelopes. The FLEXURE PIVOT thrust pad design permits retrofitting in a small envelope space where only taper land or flat thrust plates would fit. This is an advantageous design flexibility which allows space saving and load capacity upgrades for existing thrust bearings.
• Simple construction and manufacturing. The construction of FLEXURE PIVOT tilt pad thrust bearings is simple, and contains fewer parts than conventional tilt pad bearings. Manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, and inspection are much simpler than with other bearing types. The absence of moving parts eliminates wear and fretting in service.
• Elimination of pad flutter. The rotational stiffness provided in the FLEXURE PIVOT tilt pad bearing eliminates the pad flutter problem typically experienced on the inactive side of conventional tilt pad thrust bearings.
• Higher load capacity in reverse rotation. Offset FLEXURE PIVOT tilt pad thrust bearings can carry higher load capacities in reverse rotation than conventional tilt pad bearings giving them an additional benefit in certain high load applications.
• Static and Dynamic misalignment capability. Although the self-leveling links in standard type tilt pad bearings provide some misalignment capability, the stack-up of tolerances on the pads and on the lower and upper leveling links consumes most of this capacity. FLEXURE PIVOT tilt pad bearings are ground and lapped flush after assembly ensuring adequate misalignment capability through their ability to flex and follow the runner. They are also more capable of handling the dynamic misalignment of the runner which causes excessive wear and fretting in standard type tilt pad bearings.

Download Brochure: Flexure Pivot Tilt Pad Bearings
Download Inquiry Sheet: Thrust Bearing Application Inquiry

Please complete our Bearing Application Inquiry Sheet if you would like us to evaluate your application. The completed inquiries can be sent to sales@kmcbearings.com