An Experimental Study of High-Speed Rotors Supported by Air-Lubricated Foil Bearings—Part 1: Rotation in Pressurized and Self-Acting Foil Bearings

1969 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Licht
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Temperature Rise ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Air Gap ◽  
The Self ◽  
Wear Characteristics ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Mode Of Operation

A high-speed rotor, supported by an air-lubricated foil bearing, is rotated in both the vertical and horizontal attitudes at speeds in excess of 60,000 rpm. The rotor is stable and free from “half-frequency” or “fractional-frequency” whirl instability encountered in conventional gas bearings. External pressurization is applied to separate the foil surfaces from the journal during the initial and final stages of rotation, with adequate self-acting support and foil separation established at relatively low transition speeds. In the pressurized mode of operation, the system is characterized by a series of ultra-harmonic resonances, of sharply defined frequencies, related by fractions to speeds of synchronous resonance. In the self-acting mode of operation, the response of the system to residual imbalance is influenced by both the foil bearing and by the pressurized thrust bearings. The magnitude of the air gap (clearance) is determined at various rotational speeds and compared with theoretically predicted results. The temperature rise of the foil with speed is measured at various locations in order to assess its contribution to clearance growth. The journal and foil surfaces are examined and it is found that the foil bearing is endowed with excellent wipe-wear characteristics.

The Dynamic Characteristics of a Turborotor Simulator Supported on Gas-Lubricated Foil Bearings—Part 3: Rotation in Foil Bearings of Reduced Length, With Starting and Stopping Unaided by External Pressurization

1972 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Licht
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Characteristics ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Experimental Methods ◽  
Wear Characteristics ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing

Experiments and analysis, reported in detail in references [1] through [5], demonstrated that high-speed rotors, supported by foil bearings, were free from whirl-instability and sensitivity to excitation at frequency equal one half the speed of rotation. It was shown also that the foil bearing could accommodate thermal and geometrical distortions, combining this attribute with excellent wipe-wear characteristics and tolerance of particles. The present investigation was directed toward the solution of two important problems: (a) the reduction of foil bearing length without detriment to rotor performance, and (b) the elimination of the foil-lift system and attainment of multiple start-stops without the aid of external pressurization. A description of experimental methods, which lead to the realization of the foregoing objectives, is given.

scholarly journals Development and Application of Integrated Aerodynamic Protuberant Foil Journal and Thrust Bearing in Turboexpander

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianwei Lai ◽  
Yu Guo ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Yu Hou
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Least Square Method ◽  
Air Separation ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Rotor Bearing ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Bearing System

Foil bearing provides compliant support and moderate Coulomb friction for rotor-bearing system, which is conducive to stability and reliability of high speed rotating machinery. In this paper, both hydrodynamic lubricated foil journal and foil thrust bearings are applied in a 150 m3·h−1 turboexpander for air separation. In the bearings, protuberant foil is chosen as the supporting subfoil due to its merits of easy fabrication and assembly. Static loading and deflection of the bearings are tested, respectively, before integration into the turboexpander. Afterwards, the loading and deflection curves of the journal and thrust bearings are polynomial fitted using least-square method. Then, performance tests are carried out on the rotor-bearing system, including transient speed-up, high speed, and speed-down processes. In the tests, the turboexpander supported by the hydrodynamic foil bearings operates smoothly with repeatability. Maximal rotor speed of the turboexpander reaches 52000 rpm with hydrodynamic lubricated protuberant foil bearings.

An experimental investigation of a microturbine simulated rotor supported on multileaf gas foil bearings with backing bump foils

2017 ◽  
Vol 232 (9) ◽  
pp. 1169-1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Shemiao Qi ◽  
Sheng Feng ◽  
Haipeng Geng ◽  
Yanhua Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Rotating Machinery ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Simulated System ◽  
First Time

Two multileaf gas foil journal bearings with backing bump foils and one set of gas foil thrust bearings were designed, fabricated, and used in a 100 kW class microturbine simulated rotor system to ensure stability of the system. Meanwhile, a preliminary test rig had been built to verify the simulated system stability. The rotor synchronous and subsynchronous responses were well controlled by using of the gas foil bearings. It is on the multileaf gas foil bearings with backing bump foils that the test was conducted and verified for the first time in open literatures. The success in the experiments shows that the design and fabrication of the rotor and the gas foil bearings can provide a useful guide to the development of the advanced high speed rotating machinery.

Rotordynamics Performance of Hybrid Foil Bearing Under Forced Vibration Input

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daejong Kim ◽  
Brian Nicholson ◽  
Lewis Rosado ◽  
Garry Givan
Keyword(s):  
Impulse Response ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Supply System ◽  
Forced Response ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Lateral Acceleration ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Gas Supply

Foil bearings are one type of hydrodynamic air/gas bearings but with a compliant bearing surface supported by structural material that provides stiffness and damping to the bearing. The hybrid foil bearing (HFB) in this paper is a combination of a traditional hydrodynamic foil bearing with externally-pressurized air/gas supply system to enhance load capacity during the start and to improve thermal stability of the bearing. The HFB is more suitable for relatively large and heavy rotors where rotor weight is comparable to the load capacity of the bearing at full speed and extra air/gas supply system is not a major added cost. With 4,448N∼22,240N thrust class turbine aircraft engines in mind, the test rotor is supported by HFB in one end and duplex rolling element bearings in the other end. This paper presents experimental work on HFB with diameter of 102mm performed at the US Air force Research Laboratory. Experimental works include: measurement of impulse response of the bearing to the external load corresponding to rotor’s lateral acceleration of 5.55g, forced response to external subsynchronous excitation, and high speed imbalance response. A non-linear rotordynamic simulation model was also applied to predict the impulse response and forced subsynchronous response. The simulation results agree well with experimental results. Based on the experimental results and subsequent simulations, an improved HFB design is also suggested for higher impulse load capability up to 10g and rotordynamics stability up to 30,000rpm under subsynchronous excitation.

Rotordynamic Performance of a Shaft With Large Overhung Mass Supported by Foil Bearings

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen LaTray ◽  
Daejong Kim
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Speed Test ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Bending Mode ◽  
Mode Vibration ◽  
Lift Off ◽  
Compact Design ◽  
Bearing System

This work presents the theoretical and experimental rotordynamic evaluations of a rotor–air foil bearing (AFB) system supporting a large overhung mass for high-speed application. The proposed system highlights the compact design of a single shaft rotor configuration with turbomachine components arranged on one side of the bearing span. In this work, low-speed tests up to 45 krpm are performed to measure lift-off speed and to check bearing manufacturing quality. Rotordynamic performance at high speeds is evaluated both analytically and experimentally. In the analytical approach, simulated imbalance responses are studied using both rigid and flexible shaft models with bearing forces calculated from the transient Reynolds equation along with the rotor motion. The simulation predicts that the system experiences small synchronous rigid mode vibration at 20 krpm and bending mode at 200 krpm. A high-speed test rig is designed to experimentally evaluate the rotor–air foil bearing system. The high-speed tests are operated up to 160 krpm. The vibration spectrum indicates that the rotor–air foil bearing system operates under stable conditions. The experimental waterfall plots also show very small subsynchronous vibrations with frequency locked to the system natural frequency. Overall, this work demonstrates potential capability of the air foil bearings in supporting a shaft with a large overhung mass at high speed.

Theoretical Study on Static Performance of Double-Bump Foil Bearings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangcheng Xu ◽  
Jianhua Chu ◽  
Wenlin Luan ◽  
Guang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Static Characteristics ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Static Performance ◽  
Initial Clearance

Abstract In this paper, single-bump foil models with different thickness and double-bump foil models with different initial clearances are established. The structural stiffness and equivalent viscous damping of double-bump foil and single-bump foil are analyzed by finite element simulation. The results show that the double-layer bump foil has variable stiffness and the displacement of the upper bump is greater than the initial gap when the two-layer bumps contact. A model for obtaining static characteristics of aerodynamic compliant foil thrust bearing is established on the basis of the stiffness characteristics of the double-bump foil. This paper solves gas Reynolds equation, the gas film thickness equation and the foil stiffness characteristic equation via the finite element method and the finite difference method. The static characteristics of the thrust bearings including the bearing pressure distribution, the gas film thickness and the friction power consumption have been obtained. The static characteristics of two kinds of foils have been compared and analyzed, and the effect of initial clearance on the static performance of double-bump foil bearings is studied. The results show that the double-bump foil structure can effectively improve the load capacity of thrust bearing. In addition, the static performance of double-bump foil thrust bearings is between the performance of the single-bump foil bearing and the double-bump foil bearing whose foil’s clearance is zero. The smaller the initial clearance is, the easier it will be to form a stable double-bump foil supporting structure.

Influence of geometric parameters on the bump foil bearing performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (7) ◽  
pp. 1017-1026
Author(s):  
Sadanand Kulkarni ◽  
Soumendu Jana
Keyword(s):  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
High Speed ◽  
System Development ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Radial Clearance ◽  
Load Carrying Capacity ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Load Carrying ◽  
Lift Off

High-speed rotating system development has drawn considerable attention of the researchers, in the recent past. Foil bearings are one of the major contenders for such applications, particularly for high speed and low load rotating systems. In foil bearings, process fluid or air is used as the working medium and no additional lubricant is required. It is known from the published literature that the load capacity of foil bearings depend on the operating speed, viscosity of the medium, clearance, and stiffness of the foil apart from the geometric dimensions of the bearing. In case of foil bearing with given dimensions, clearance governs the magnitude of pressure developed, whereas stiffness dictates the change in radial clearance under the generated pressure. This article deals with the effect of stiffness, clearance, and its interaction on the bump foil bearings load-carrying capacity. For this study, four sets of foil bearings of the same geometry with two levels of stiffness and clearance values are fabricated. Experiments are carried out following two factor-two level factorial design approach under constant load and in each case, the lift-off speed is measured. The experimental output is analyzed using statistical techniques to evaluate the influence of parameters under consideration. The results indicate that clearance has the maximum influence on the lift-off speed/ load-carrying capacity, followed by interaction effect and stiffness. A regression model is developed based on the experimental values and model is validated using error analysis technique.

scholarly journals Rotor dynamic experimental investigation of an ultra-high-speed permanent magnet synchronous motor supported on a three-pad bidirectional gas foil bearing

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 168781401987536
Author(s):  
Wenjie Cheng ◽  
Zhikai Deng ◽  
Ling Xiao ◽  
Bin Zhong ◽  
Wenbo Duan
Keyword(s):  
Permanent Magnet ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor ◽  
Synchronous Motor ◽  
Rotor System ◽  
Permanent Magnet Motors ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Ultra High Speed ◽  
Rotor Dynamic

With a 10-kW, 120,000-r/min, ultra-high-speed permanent magnet synchronous motor taken as a prototype, experimental research is conducted on the rotor dynamic behaviours of a three-pad bidirectional gas foil bearing high-speed motor rotor system. Load-carrying properties of the three-pad bidirectional gas foil bearing are analysed, and natural frequencies of conical and parallel whirling modes of the elastically supported rotor are calculated based on an appropriate simplification to the stiffness and damping coefficients of the gas foil bearings. The prototype passes through a 90,000-r/min coast-down experiment. Experiments show that there are violent subsynchronous whirling motions that are evoked by the gas foil bearing–rotor system itself. The cause of shaft orbit drift is analysed, and the corresponding solution is put forward. The theoretical analysis and experimental results can offer a useful reference to the bearing–rotor system design of ultra-high-speed permanent magnet motors and its subsequent dynamic analysis.

Vibration Mitigation of Rotors Suspended on Low-Cost Hybrid Gas Foil Bearing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal Kumar Basumatary ◽  
Karuna Kalita ◽  
Sashindra K. Kakoty ◽  
Seamus D. Garvey
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Current Source ◽  
Magnetic Bearing ◽  
Active Magnetic Bearing ◽  
Electromagnetic Actuators ◽  
Manufacturing Method ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearing ◽  
Small Series

Abstract The hybrid Gas Foil Bearings combining the Gas Foil Bearing and Active Magnetic Bearing is a possibility for application in high-speed turbomachinery and a few developments have been made in this context. As such, the cost of conventional Gas Foil Bearing increases due to its requirement of precise manufacturing method and the coating material for the top foil and bump foil. In case of Active Magnetic Bearing, the normal electrical arrangement includes a multiplicity of independently controlled current sources usually at least four drives per bearing which increases its cost. Therefore, the hybrid Gas Foil Bearing will have much higher cost. In this work, a new electrical arrangement for the electromagnetic actuators of the hybrid Gas Foil Bearing has been proposed. The new arrangement requires only two drives per bearing and the bias current has been provided (in the same set of windings) through a simple rectifier with small series choke and shunt capacitor. As the number of drives required is less, the proposed bearing will have low cost. Implementing the new approach, the force vectors are achieved using only two current-source drives whereas the usual conventional arrangement requires four such drives. Numerical simulations are performed to explore the capabilities of the low cost bearing.

Development of Foil Thrust Bearings with Simple Structure for Micro Turbines

2011 ◽  
Vol 368-373 ◽  
pp. 1392-1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Zhou ◽  
Yu Hou ◽  
Ru Gang Chen
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Simple Structure ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Complicated Structure ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Rotational Systems ◽  
Micro Turbine ◽  
Foil Thrust Bearing

Because of the low power loss and high stability, foil bearings are suitable lubrication components for high speed rotational systems. At present, the foil bearings used in actual applications almost have complicated structure and are hard to manufacture. In this paper, two kinds of foil thrust bearings with simple structure are presented. Configurations of these two foil thrust bearings are introduced; meanwhile, the load capacity and running stability are also tested in a high speed micro turbine. It is shown that viscoelastic supported foil thrust bearing has higher load capacity and hemisphere convex dots supported foil thrust bearing is more stable in high speed operational condition.

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