Thermal Optimization of Air Foil Thrust Bearings Using Different Foil Materials

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Rieken ◽  
Marcel Mahner ◽  
Bernhard Schweizer
Keyword(s):  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Base Plate ◽  
Outer Radius ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Stick Slip ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Rotor Disk

Abstract Air foil bearings are used in turbomachinery applications with high speeds and in oil-free environments. Their numerical analysis has to account for the multiphysicality of the problem. This work features a detailed thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic model of an air foil thrust bearing with bump-type foil-structure. The bearing geometry is designed to produce a high load capacity while maintaining thermally stable conditions. The presented model considers foil deformations using a Reissner–Mindlin-type shell theory. Dry friction (stick-slip approach) between the top foil, the bump foil, and the base plate is taken into account in the model. Reynolds equation from the lubrication theory is used to study the hydrodynamic behavior of the air film. A thermal model of the lubricating gap, the foil sandwich, and the rotor disk including heat fluxes into the rotor and the periphery as well as a cooling flow on the backside of the rotor disk are presented. Elastic deformations of the rotor disk due to centrifugal effects are calculated; deformations caused by temperature gradients are investigated as well. In air foil thrust bearings, very high temperatures are often observed and a forced cooling flow through the foil sandwich has to be applied. Using a cooling flow by applying a pressure difference between the inner and outer radius of the thrust bearing has several drawbacks: the additional cooling flow reduces the overall efficiency of the machine and requires additional constructive measures. In this work, a passive cooling concept is analyzed, where the typical steel foils are replaced with other materials, which have a significantly higher thermal conductivity. The simulation results show that the bearing temperatures can be reduced markedly (up to 70 °C in the considered test case) by this approach.

Thermal Optimization of Air Foil Thrust Bearings Using Different Foil Materials

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Rieken ◽  
Marcel Mahner ◽  
Bernhard Schweizer
Keyword(s):  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Base Plate ◽  
Outer Radius ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Stick Slip ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Rotor Disk

Abstract Air foil bearings are used in turbomachinery applications with high speeds and in oil-free environments. Their numerical analysis has to account for the multiphysicality of the problem. This work features a detailed thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic model of an air foil thrust bearing with bump-type foil-structure. The bearing geometry is designed to produce a high load capacity while maintaining thermally stable conditions. The presented model considers foil deformations using a Reissner-Mindlin-type shell theory. Dry friction (stick-slip approach) between the top foil, the bump foil and the base plate is taken into account in the model. Reynolds equation from lubrication theory is used to study the hydrodynamic behavior of the air film. A thermal model of the lubricating gap, the foil sandwich and the rotor disk including heat fluxes into the rotor and the periphery as well as a cooling flow on the backside of the rotor disk are presented. Elastic deformations of the rotor disk due to centrifugal effects are calculated; deformations caused by temperature gradients are investigated as well. In air foil thrust bearings, very high temperatures are often observed and a forced cooling flow through the foil sandwich has to be applied. Using a cooling flow by applying a pressure difference between the inner and outer radius of the thrust bearing has several drawbacks: the additional cooling flow reduces the overall efficiency of the machine and requires additional constructive measures. In this work, a passive cooling concept is analyzed, where the typical steel foils are replaced with other materials, which have a significantly higher thermal conductivity. The simulation results show that the bearing temperatures can be reduced markedly (up to 70°C in the considered test case) by this approach.

An Accurate Solution of the Gas Lubricated, Flat Sector Thrust Bearing

1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Etsion ◽  
D. P. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Film Thickness ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
Maximum Load ◽  
Accurate Solution ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Practical Design ◽  
Minimum Film Thickness

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.

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.

The Influence of Ambient Pressure on the Measured Load Capacity of Bump-Foil and Spiral-Groove Gas Thrust Bearings at Ambient Pressures up to 69 Bar on a Novel High-Pressure Gas Bearing Test Rig

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Wilkes ◽  
Ryan Cater ◽  
Erik Swanson ◽  
Kevin Passmore ◽  
Jerry Brady
Keyword(s):  
Power Loss ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Ambient Pressure ◽  
Spiral Groove ◽  
Test Rig ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Foil Thrust Bearing ◽  
Thrust Load

Abstract This paper will show the influence of ambient pressure on the thrust capacity of bump-foil and spiral-groove gas thrust bearings. The bearings were operating in nitrogen at various pressures up to 69 bar, and were tested to failure. Failure was detected at various pressures by incrementally increasing the thrust load applied to the thrust bearing until the bearing was no longer thermally stable, or until contact was observed by a temperature spike measured by thermocouples within the bearing. These tests were performed on a novel thrust bearing test rig that was developed to allow thrust testing at pressures up to 207 bar cavity pressure at 260°C while rotating at speeds up to 120,000 rpm. The test rig floats on hydrostatic air bearings to allow for the direct measurement of applied thrust load through linkages that connect the stationary thrust loader to the rotor housing. Test results on a 65 mm (2.56 in) bump-foil thrust bearing at 100 krpm show a marked increase in load capacity with gas density, which has not previously been shown experimentally. Results also show that the load capacity of a similarly sized spiral-groove thrust bearing are relatively insensitive to pressure, and supported an order-of-magnitude less load than that observed for the bump-foil thrust bearing. These results are compared with analytical predictions, which agree reasonably with the experimental results. Predicted power loss is also presented for the bump-foil bearing; however, measured power loss was substantially higher.

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.

Analysis of Starved Thrust Bearings Including Temperature Effects

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Artiles ◽  
H. Heshmat
Keyword(s):  
Film Thickness ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Direct Iteration ◽  
Finite Thrust ◽  
Raphson Iteration

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.

Rotordynamic and Bearing Upgrade of a High-Speed Turbocharger

2002 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. Pettinato ◽  
P. DeChoudhury
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Vibration Data ◽  
Oil Leakage ◽  
Bearing Life ◽  
Thrust Load

The paper discusses the redesign of a high-speed turbocharger for improved bearing life and mechanical operation. The bearings were changed from a pair of combination journal/thrust bearings to a pair of redesigned journal bearings with double acting thrust bearing at the center of the unit. Internal oil passages, drain cavities, and seals were also revised. These modifications resulted in reduced oil leakage across end seals, reduced coke buildup at the turbine, increased thrust load capacity, and improved rotordynamics. Both the analytical and experimental results, which consisted of bearing performance and vibration data of original and modified systems are presented.

Numerical Investigation on the Mixed Lubrication Performance of Water-Lubricated Coupled Journal and Thrust Bearings

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanfeng Han ◽  
Guo Xiang ◽  
Jiaxu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Friction Coefficient ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Journal Bearing ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Hydrodynamic Pressure ◽  
Mixed Lubrication ◽  
Eccentricity Ratio ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Lubrication Performance

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.

Influence of Groove Molded Lines on the Lubrication Performance of Water-Lubricated Spiral Groove Thrust Bearings

2013 ◽  
Vol 694-697 ◽  
pp. 538-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Yan Liu ◽  
Jia Sheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Pressure Field ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Loading Capacity ◽  
Spiral Groove ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Pressure Fields ◽  
Lubrication Performance

The water lubrication performance of spiral groove thrust bearings was affected by different groove molded lines. The pressure fields and the load capacity of water-lubricated spiral groove thrust bearings with different groove molded lines were simulated by computational fluid dynamics. The results show that the spiral groove which can produce the best loading capacity and steadier pressure field is appropriate to water-lubricated spiral groove thrust bearing. The line spiral groove can be used for decrease the process difficult when the loading capacity require is low.

The Static Characteristics of Bump Foil Thrust Bearing Considering Tilting Condition

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Young Kim ◽  
Dong-Jin Park ◽  
Yong-Bok Lee
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Thrust Bearing ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Static Characteristics ◽  
Thrust Bearings ◽  
Foil Bearings ◽  
Foil Thrust Bearing ◽  
Thrust Pad ◽  
Air Film

Air foil thrust bearings are the critical component available on high-efficiency turbomachinery which needs ability to endure the large axial force. Previous investigations about the static characteristics were obtained over the region of the thin air film using finite-difference method and the characteristics of the corrugated bump foil using finite-element method. Moreover, a recent study demonstrated that bearing performance is sensitive to tilting thrust pad condition. In this study, experimentally measured bearing static characteristics are compared with the numerical model of the foil thrust bearing considering tilting pad condition. Three geometrically different type foil bearings were tested to measure their load capacity under tilting conditions that have continuous angles from zero to 0.0002 rad. These data are presented for use i1n the development of more accurate foil thrust bearing numerical models.

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