Abstract
The use of mechanical pumps for circulating high-temperature liquid-sodium coolant in nuclear-powered fast reactors emphasizes the problem of designing suitable bearings. This paper presents a semi-empirical theory which describes the (static) performance of a hydrostatic jet journal bearing for such applications where the flow through the bearing is predominantly turbulent. The theory covers both viscous and turbulent regimes of flow. In the presentation non-dimensional groups are plotted to facilitate direct application of the theory to specific design problems.
Experiments using paraffin and water as the working fluid are described; Reynolds numbers of approximately 1700 and 7000 respectively were achieved—compared with Re in excess of 20 000 likely to be encountered in practice.
The design and performance of an 8 in diameter bearing for a 6000 gal/min mechanical sodium pump prototype are briefly described.
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