🔍 Key Concepts

• Kingsbury thrust bearing design and purpose • Difference between flat and wedge-shaped oil films in hydrodynamic lubrication • How load is carried by an oil wedge between moving surfaces

💭 Think About

• Think about how hydrodynamic bearings support heavy loads without metal-to-metal contact: what shape of oil film is needed? • Which film shape (flat vs. wedge) naturally builds up oil pressure when one surface is moving relative to another? • In actual thrust bearings with tilting pads, what geometry do those pads try to create in the oil film?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify whether the Kingsbury bearing relies on tilting pads to form a particular oil-film shape • Decide which type of film is easier to maintain under running conditions, not just which can exist momentarily • Focus on which option states a general operating principle, not a secondary effect like heat absorption