The effect of thrust bearing rehabilitation on bearing temperature and pressure in hydroelectric power plants

Hydroelectric energy is the most ancient of renewable energy sources. The environmental damage caused by fossil fuel-based energy consumption is increasing day by day. Today, countries are trying to diversify and increase the electricity produced from renewable energy sources to meet their energy needs due to the increase in energy consumption per capita. In our country, renewable energy is diversified and the total amount of energy produced from these energy sources is constantly increasing. For this purpose, water, which is our ancient energy source, should be used more effectively and economically and effectively converted into energy. In this context, rehabilitation in hydroelectric power plants is very important. In this study, the rehabilitation of hydrodynamically lubricated thrust bearings in Keban HEPP units was investigated. The bearing metal temperature, oil inlet temperature, oil film temperature, axial forces on the bearing and bearing pressure parameters were evaluated. The rehabilitation process was calculated with the help of mathematical modeling and comparisons were made with experiments. Attention is drawn to the points that should be done for a good rehabilitation process.