Application of Pivoted-Pad Bearings in Grinding Mills

This paper describes the analysis, design, and experimental evaluation of a new bearing concept for grinding mills. This concept was applied to 11 m (36 ft) diameter autogeneous mills which were the largest mills worldwide at the time of their installation. The large size of the mills, coupled with a slower rotational speed than prior application, led to concern that conventional bearing designs would not be appropriate. Therefore, alternate concepts were considered, and a pivoted-pad design was selected. Factors in the evaluation process are included in this paper along with a description of the final design. A scale model of the bearing was constructed and oil-film thickness, pressure, flow, and temperature data were obtained. Test results are presented and compared to calculated values. Presented at the 40th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada May 6–9, 1985