Neale Consulting Engineers - Plain Bearing Failure - Incorrectly Inserted Thermocouple Causing Distortion of Bearing Surface

PLAIN BEARING FAILURE

Plain bearing failure index

10. Manufacturing faults and Assembly Errors

Manufacturing faults index

10.4 Incorrectly Inserted Thermocouple Causing Distortion of Bearing Surface

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	Incorrectly Inserted Thermocouple Causing Distortion of Bearing Surface
Main Characteristics	This bearing was removed because it recorded a very high temperature when it was put into service
Cause	The surface of the pad was distorted by incorrect assembly of the thermocouple. This led to reduction in the oil film thickness in the distorted area with abnormally high local temperature resulting from the thin oil film.
Note	It a tilting pad bearing it is normal to fit more than one pad with a thermocouple or RTD. This should help to indicate if one of the pads is behaving abnormally.
Possible Confusion with Other Types of Damage
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