🔍 Key Concepts

• Kingsbury thrust bearing construction – tilting-pad shoes, collar, and how thrust is transmitted • How oil film lubrication is formed between collar and shoes in a thrust bearing • Difference between a flooded housing and a directed oil spray system

💭 Think About

• Think about how a Kingsbury thrust bearing actually carries heavy axial loads – does it rely on splashing oil around, or on a controlled oil film between pads and collar? • Would a fully flooded housing help or hurt the formation of a proper hydrodynamic oil wedge between the collar and the shoes? • For very large, slow-turning thrust bearings on main propulsion shafts, which lubrication method gives better control of temperature and oil flow at the working surfaces?

✅ Before You Answer

• Review how hydrodynamic wedge lubrication works and whether it needs a specific oil flow pattern • Consider whether a totally flooded housing might cause excess drag and heating on a large shaft thrust bearing • Verify in engineering texts how main propulsion Kingsbury thrust bearings are typically supplied oil: by bath, splash, or a directed pressure/spray system