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The purpose of this paper is to analyze lubrication characteristics of a bidirectional thrust bearing in a pumped storage, considering the effect of the thermal elastic deformation of the pad and collar.

This study used the fluid–solid interaction (FSI) technique to investigate the lubrication characteristics of a bidirectional thrust bearing for several typical operating conditions. The influences of the operating conditions and the thrust load on the lubrication characteristics were analyzed. Then, various pivot eccentricities were investigated to analyze the effects of the pivot position.

It is found that the effect of the radial tilt angle of the collar runner on the oil film is compensated for by the radial tilt of the pad. The central pivot support system is the main factor limiting the loads of bidirectional thrust bearings.

This paper has preliminarily revealed the lubrication mechanism of bidirectional tilting-pad thrust bearings. A three-dimensional FSI method is suggested to evaluate the thermal–elastic–hydrodynamic deformations of thrust bearings instead of the conventional method, which iteratively solves the Reynolds equation, the energy equation, the heat conduction equation and the elastic equilibrium equation.