A LOOK AT SOME TURBINE BEARING PROBLEMS

The heavily loaded thrust bearing in aircraft turbines must be 100% reliable, which requires a different philosophy from that on which catalog ratings are based, namely, 10% of failures. Principal problems are: 1) to raise the minimum life of bearings regardless of the wide spread between minimum and maximum, and 2) to raise the permissible operating temperature. Metallurgical improvements offer the best possibilities for gain in 1 and 2 above. Other factors such as geometry, finish, and dimensional accuracy are helpful in category 1 but do not promise large gains.