INTRODUCTION This Item provides charts and calculation methods for the design of fixed-inclined-pad thrust bearings. The Item may also be used to analyse the performance of existing bearing designs in failure analysis or to investigate the feasibility of uprating their performance. An alternative form of thrust bearing incorporates tilting pads (see Reference 1). A number of factors may influence the choice between the two forms but discussion of these factors is beyond the scope of this Item. The charts and calculation methods presented in this Item have been derived largely from the established data available for rectangular pad bearings with a land length of 20 per cent (measured at the mean diameter). However@ no significant errors should arise for land lengths within the range 10 to 30 per cent. The use of rectangular pad data for the design and analysis of bearings with sector shaped pads does not lead to errors of practical significance with sector angles up to 45??The bearings considered are steadily loaded with the load shared equally between the pads but applications with loads and speeds varying slowly may be treated by the method of this Item. The text of this Item is divided into two major parts. The first part of the text (Sections 3@ 4 and 5) describes the operation of a fixed-inclined-pad thrust bearing@ gives guidance on the specification of the design parameters and provides a method for estimating the required dimensions of the bearing. The second part of the text (Sections 6@ 7 and 8) provides a method for analysing the performance of a bearing design and gives guidance on modifying the performance and ensuring that the bearing operates with an adequate margin of safety.