Increasing requirements for environmental protection make it necessary to introduce new materials and designs. Hydroelectric power plants operating in direct contact with water reservoirs and rivers are potentially endangering water cleanliness, hence they should also be modernized in the way minimizing the environmental hazards. A lot of progress in this field has been achieved in last decades, but still there is much work to...

The bearings used in shipbuilding, hydropower, and water pumps have undergone a metamorphosis in recent decades. Because of environmental regulations, lubrication with grease or mineral oil is prohibited. Thus, the standard solutions include water-lubricated bearings with polymer bushings or sealed systems lubricated with oil. When properly designed, assembled, and operated, bearings can operate reliably for years. However, specific...

The aim of the study is to investigate the performance of a thrust bearing equipped with hydrostatic lift pockets under different lubrication modes. Three types of flat land bearing lubrication modes are studied experimentally: hydrostatic lubrication (HS; forced oil injection to the pockets), hybrid lubrication (HS + HD; hydrostatic lubrication combined with the external forced bearing oil supply) and hydrodynamic lubrication...

Water-lubricated bearings with polymer bushes are steadily gaining popularity due to their advantages, including environmental friendliness, relatively simple construction and long-term operation. Nevertheless, in practice instances of damage to such bearings occur due to insufficient or absent flow of the lubricating agent. In this study, experimental tests established that elastic polymer bush bearing is capable of operating...