Bearing cages in Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines must combine good anti-frictional behaviour, high fatigue strength, fine grain size and high thermal conductivity. Langley Hidurel® 5, a copper-nickel-silicon alloy, meets these requirements and has been supplied for many years as ring stampings and forgings for these bearing cages.
Gas turbine rotors run at roughly 10,000 to 16,000 rpm. Rolls-Royce later developed a two-shaft layout to improve efficiency, and then a three-shaft concept for the RB211, with shafts running at different speeds. Ancillary engine equipment also operates at high rotational speeds, so bearing design and manufacture is critical and must meet exacting Rolls-Royce standards.
Many of the rotor main bearings and ancillary bearings in Rolls-Royce gas turbines are supplied by the Fafnir Bearings Co. Ltd. and by Ransome, Hoffman, Pollard, Ltd. The rollers and balls sit in bearing cages whose material must have:
- Good anti-frictional properties, to work well against hardened steel bearings under load
- High fatigue strength and fine grain size
- High thermal conductivity, for efficient heat dissipation
Langley Hidurel® 5 (UNS C64711, DIN 2.0855, DTD 498) more than meets these requirements. This copper-nickel-silicon alloy has been supplied for many years to bearing manufacturers as ring stampings and forgings for bearing cages in Rolls-Royce aero engines.
