Inertia Effects in Hydrostatic Thrust Bearings

1961 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Dowson

This paper includes the predominant inertia terms in an analysis of hydrostatic thrust bearings. The influence of centripetal accelerations on the distribution of pressure is found to be considerable. For parallel surface bearings of constant film thickness the inertia effects are found to be detrimental to load capacity. In a stepped bearing however correct location of the step can result in an increased load capacity at speed. No increase in load capacity can result from inertia effects if the step radius is less than 0.4508 of the bearing radius. A consequence of the inclusion of inertia terms in the analysis is the existence of a velocity component in the axial direction. Even in the parallel surface bearing considered a fluid element is found to move toward the rotating surface as it spirals through the clearance space.

1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Etsion ◽  
D. P. Fleming

A flat sector shaped pad geometry for gas lubricated thrust bearings is analyzed considering both pitch and roll angles of the pad and the true film thickness distribution. Maximum load capacity is achieved when the pad is tilted so as to create a uniform minimum film thickness along the pad trailing edge. Performance characteristics for various geometries and operating conditions of gas thrust bearings are presented in the form of design curves. A comparison is made with the rectangular slider approximation. It is found that this approximation is unsafe for practical design, since it always overestimates load capacity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangcheng Xu ◽  
Jianhua Chu ◽  
Wenlin Luan ◽  
Guang Zhao

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.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Artiles ◽  
H. Heshmat

A method of analysis is described treating starvation in finite thrust bearing pads. A variable-size finite difference mesh is used to represent the two-dimensional temperature and pressure fields. A combination of Newton-Raphson iteration, direct iteration, and column matrix methods are used to solve for the start-of-film and minimum film thickness as well as the coupled two-dimensional energy and Reynolds equations. A parametric study describes the performance characteristics of the tapered land thrust bearing (flowrates, extent of fluid film, temperature rises, load capacity and torque) for different minimum film thicknesses and levels of starvation. This study considered variations in the geometrical parameters such as pad aspect ratio (L/R2=1/3, 1/2, 2/3) and extent of the pad (β=27, 42, and 57 deg) with an optimum taper ratio (β1/β=0.8). It is found that the effects of starvation are fairly small near the flooded condition but accelerate rapidly below the 50 percent starvation level. The start of the film (θ1) depends mostly on the level of starvation, and is essentially independent of the geometrical parameters, operating conditions or film thickness.


Author(s):  
Yanfeng Han ◽  
Guo Xiang ◽  
Jiaxu Wang

Abstract The mixed lubrication performance of water-lubricated coupled journal and thrust bearing (simplified as coupled bearing) is investigated by a developed numerical model. To ensure the continuity of hydrodynamic pressure and flow at the common boundary between the journal and thrust bearing, the conformal transformation is introduced to unify the solution domain of the Reynolds equation. In the presented study, the coupled effects between the journal and thrust bearing are discussed. The effects of the thrust bearing geometric film thickness on the mixed lubrication performance, including the load capacity, contact load and friction coefficient, of the journal bearing are investigated. And the effects of the journal bearing eccentricity ratio on the mixed lubrication performance of the thrust bearing are also investigated. The simulated results indicate the mutual effects between the journal and thrust bearing cannot be ignored in the coupled bearing system. The increasing thrust bearing geometric film thickness generates a decrease in load capacity of journal bearing. There exists an optimal eccentricity ratio of journal bearing that yields the minimum friction coefficient of the thrust bearing.


Author(s):  
Tae Ho Kim ◽  
Tae Won Lee

Improvement of the load capacity of gas foil thrust bearings (GFTBs) is important to broadening their application in oil-free microturbomachinery (<250 kW) with high power density. Although GFTBs have the significant advantage of low friction without the use of lubrication systems compared to oil film thrust bearings, their inherently low load capacity has limited their application. The aim of the present study was to develop a design guideline for increasing the load capacity of GFTBs. The Reynolds equation for an isothermal isoviscous ideal gas was used to calculate the gas film pressure. To predict the ultimate load capacity of the GFTB, the pressure was averaged in the radial direction of the gas flow field used to deflect the foil structure. The load capacity, film pressure profile, and film thickness profile were predicted for a GFTB with an outer radius of 55 mm, inner radius of 30 mm, and eight foils each of arc length 45°. The predictions showed that the load capacity of the GFTB increased with increasing rotor speed and decreasing minimum film thickness, and was always lower than the analytically determined limit value for infinite rotor speed (obtained by simple algebraic equations). A parametric study in which the ramp extent (or inclined angle) was increased from 5° to 40°, and the ramp height from 0 to 0.320 mm, revealed that the GFTB had an optimal ramp extent of ∼22.5° and ramp height of ∼0.030 mm for maximum load capacity. Interestingly, the optimal values were also valid for a rigid-surface bearing. The predicted load capacities for a ramp extent of ∼22.5° and increasing ramp height from 0.030 to 0.320 mm were compared with experimental data obtained from a previous work. The predictions for a ramp height of 0.155 mm were in good agreement with the experimental data for all three test GFTBs with outer radii of 45, 50, and 55 mm, respectively. In addition, this paper shows that the predicted drag torque increases linearly with increasing rotor speed and decreasing minimum film thickness, and nonlinearly with decreasing ramp height. The drag torque significantly increased only for ramp heights below the optimal value. The predictions imply that the optimal ramp height improves the load capacity of the GFTB with little change in the drag torque.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae Ho Kim ◽  
Moonsung Park ◽  
Tae Won Lee

The aim of the present study is to develop a design guideline to improve the load capacity of gas foil thrust bearings (GFTBs). The Reynolds equation for an isothermal isoviscous ideal gas calculates the gas film pressure. The film pressure averaged in the radial direction determines the ultimate load capacity. The load capacity, film pressure profile, and film thickness profile are predicted for a GFTB with an outer radius of 55 mm, inner radius of 30 mm, and eight foils each of arc length 45 deg. The predictions show that the load capacity of the GFTB increases with increasing rotor speed and decreasing minimum film thickness. A parametric study, in which the ramp extent (or inclined angle) is increased from 5 deg to 40 deg, and the ramp height from 0 to 320 μm, reveals that GFTBs have an optimal ramp extent of ∼22.5 deg and ramp height of 30 μm for maximum load capacity. A series of maximum load capacity measurements are conducted on four test GFTBs with ramp heights of 50, 150, 250, and 350 μm at the speeds of 12, 15, and 18 krpm. To estimate the maximum load capacity, the applied load is increased until the drag torque rises suddenly with a sharp peak. The test results show that the maximum load capacity generally increases for decreasing ramp height and for increasing rotor speed. The GFTB with a ramp height of 50 μm shows the largest maximum load capacity of 510 N, for example. Test results are in good agreement with model predictions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 319 ◽  
pp. 505-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Ping Pang ◽  
Jin Chen

This paper is focused on multi-objective optimization to find the best performance related to the geometrical design of the hydrodynamic journal bearing in three dimensions 3D. The mathematical model for 3D film thickness profile was driven using Fourier’s series function and axial waviness value to represent in circumferential and axial direction respectively. A Goal attainment function was used as an optimization tool with goals to minimize the power loss and side leakage and to maximize the load capacity, while the amplitude (a), number of wave (m) and Fourier's series coefficients of the general film thickness were taken as design variables subjected to several bounds and constraints. The optimized results show the cylindrical plain bearing is the best to load capacity due to changing the axial shape does not enhance the load capacity without violation of the minimum film thickness. Comparison was made between goal attainment multi-objective optimization and GA single-objective optimization. The new method for shape optimization based on 3D general film thickness is more evident than GA.


1965 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 1025-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Hemingway

A transducer has been developed to sense the variation of oil-film thickness in a thrust bearing by sweeping across the working face of the pads and ‘viewing’ them from the rotor. This device was used to compare the deflection of a circular pad with theory, and some degrees of correlation was found. The pads tested formed wedge-shaped films by elastic flexure and successfully carried considerable loads. A tentative explanation is provided for their means of starting to operate successfully.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Heshmat ◽  
Oscar Pinkus

This paper offers an analysis and computer solutions for misaligned thrust faces, including thermal effects and proper cavitation boundary conditions. The geometries analyzed range from full 2π arcs to pads of 27 deg angular extent, for both parallel surfaces and standard tapered-land thrust bearings. It is shown that, except for parallel surfaces, no cavitation occurs in thrust bearings, even under severe misalignment; that the gain in hydrodynamic force versus a decrease in minimum film thickness is most favorable at low and moderate levels of misalignment; and that for high load capacity, small arcs (many pads) are preferred to large ones.


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