Manufacturing Effects in Microfabricated Gas Bearings: Axially Varying Clearance

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Piekos ◽  
K. S. Breuer

The effect of axially-varying clearance on microfabricated gas journal bearings is explored. This variation commonly arises from difficulties inherent to etching deep, narrow channels. Two types of clearance variation commonly observed in etched bearings are investigated: taper and bow. Both shapes are shown to have a detrimental effect on load capacity and bearing stability compared to a cylindrical bearing with the minimum clearance. For the same variation magnitude, taper is shown to have a more serious effect, including complete closure of the stability corridor at low speed for some cases. Methods are suggested for estimating variable-clearance bearing performance using cylindrical bearing data.

Author(s):  
Hongyang Hu ◽  
Ming Feng ◽  
Tianming Ren

The upscaling of turbomachinery using gas foil journal bearings (GFJBs) is limited because of their limited load capacity and dynamic stability. The improvement potential of shim foil inserted under the bump foil of such bearings is investigated in terms of better bearing performance. The arch height difference Δ hb between the shim foil and bump foil can be zero or not to attain the different effect. By considering the local hardening structural stiffness and an Initial installation clearance due to the shim foil, the static and dynamic characteristics of the novel bearing were calculated through the finite difference method (FDM) and perturbation method, respectively. In the analysis, a modified bump stiffness model considering the variable foil thickness was established, and a 2 D thick plate model was adopted for the top foil. The characteristics of novel GFJB with and without preload were compared with the traditional bearing. The results indicate that the load capacity and direct stiffness of the novel GFJB with shim foil can be increased largely, especially when there is a preload (Δ hb≠0). And the improvement is reinforced as the increment of Δ hb. Moreover, the stability threshold speed ( STS) of rotor supported by the novel GFJBs is enhanced by the preload, which means better stability. In addition, an air compressor test has also been conducted to verify the improved supporting performance of novel bearings. Based on this study it is convinced that the addition of shim foil under a GFJB's bump foil can be of practical interest in the quest of enhanced load capacity and dynamic stability. Moreover, the installation of shim foil is not affected by the working environment and could even be retrofited on the existing GFJBs.


A theoretical investigation is made to study the way in which thermal distortion of bearing components modifies the characteristics of journal bearings. The thermoelastic treatment developed is two-dimensional and incorporates an existing thermohydrodynamic analysis. It is applied to circular and partial arc bearings for a range of parametric groups governing the bearing operation. The results show that for a fixed journal position, the effect of thermal distortion is to reduce the minimum film thickness, increase the load capacity, increase the peak temperatures and pressures, and also to enhance considerably the stability of the bearing. The effects are more marked for larger oil-lubricated bearings and higher speeds of operation and it is suggested that discrepancies observed between experimental results and existing theory could be largely explained by this phenomenon.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. L Qiu ◽  
A. K. Tieu

This paper solves the Reynolds equation by the finite difference method in a fixed coordinate system with the static load acted in the vertical direction. All static and dynamic characteristics (including load capacity, attitude angle, side flow, friction force, misaligned moments, and eight linear force coefficients) of a horizontally grooved bearing under different eccentricity and misalignment conditions are presented and compared with available experimental data. The effects of misalignment on all these bearing characteristics and on the stability of the rotor-bearing system are analyzed.


Author(s):  
Laiyun Song ◽  
Kai Cheng ◽  
Hui Ding ◽  
Shijin Chen ◽  
Qiang Gao

The spiral grooves structures could promote load capacity and improve stability of the gas journal bearings working in high-speed condition. In this study, the unsteady Reynolds equation is solved by linear perturbation method and finite difference method in which the mesh of the groove region is specially treated. The static and dynamic characteristics of spiral grooves journal gas bearings are investigated in different working conditions and the pumping effect caused by spiral-groove structure is revealed and analyzed. Further, the influences of groove structural parameters on the dynamic stiffness and damping coefficients are studied and discussed, which provides guidelines for the design of the journal gas bearings with spiral grooves.


1975 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bootsma

The theory developed in Part I is applied to the solving of problems encountered in practice. The manner in which the axial and radial load capacity and stiffness depend on bearing dimensions, particularly on groove dimensions, is shown. The important aspect that spherical and conical spiral groove bearings, just as spiral groove journal bearings, can be stable even if not subjected to a radial load is investigated. A necessary condition for the stability of these bearings in the radially unloaded state is shown to be the complete filling of the bearing gap with a lubricant. In the case of an incompletely filled bearing gap the interaction between the gas-to-liquid interface and the pressure distribution in the lubricating film is such that these bearings have a negative stiffness.


Author(s):  
S. Strzelecki ◽  
W. Wojcicki ◽  
W. Famulski

The design solutions of bearings carrying the shafts of rope wheels on the hoist tower of coal mines consists the rolling bearings or plain journal ones. Plain journal bearings allow for easy assembling and for smooth operation without vibrations. Static characteristics of journal bearings consist of oil film pressure and temperature distributions, static equilibrium position angles, load capacity, oil flow and power loss and their knowledge is the basis of bearing design. The paper comprises the static characteristics of low speed cylindrical journal bearings that are applied in the bearing system of the rope wheels of hoist tower. The calculations of these characteristics were carried-out on the assumption of adiabatic oil film.


Author(s):  
J. Sans ◽  
M. Resmini ◽  
J.-F. Brouckaert ◽  
S. Hiernaux

Solidity in compressors is defined as the ratio of the aerodynamic chord over the peripheral distance between two adjacent blades, the pitch. This parameter is simply the inverse of the pitch-to-chord ratio generally used in turbines. Solidity must be selected at the earliest design phase, i.e. at the level of the meridional design and represents a crucial step in the whole design process. Most of the existing studies on this topic rely on low-speed compressor cascade correlations from Carter or Lieblein. The aim of this work is to update those correlations for state-of-the-art controlled diffusion blades, and extend their application to high Mach number flow regimes more typical of modern compressors. Another objective is also to improve the physical understanding of the solidity effect on compressor performance and stability. A numerical investigation has been performed using the commercial software FINE/Turbo. Two different blade profiles were selected and investigated in the compressible flow regime as an extension to the low-speed data on which the correlations are based. The first cascade uses a standard double circular arc profile, extensively referenced in the literature, while the second configuration uses a state-of-the-art CDB, representative of low pressure compressor stator mid-span profile. Both profiles have been designed with the same inlet and outlet metal angles and the same maximum thickness but the camber and thickness distributions, the stagger angle and the leading edge geometry of the CDB have been optimized. The determination of minimum loss, optimum incidence and deviation is addressed and compared with existing correlations for both configurations and various Mach numbers that have been selected in order to match typical booster stall and choke operating conditions. The emphasis is set on the minimum loss performance at mid-span. The impact of the solidity on the operating range and the stability of the cascade are also studied.


1992 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 3315-3317 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. He ◽  
Z. Wang ◽  
D.M. Rote ◽  
S. Winkelman

1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Gupta ◽  
C. R. Hammond ◽  
A. Z. Szeri

The aim of this paper is to make available to the industrial designer results of the thermohydrodynamic theory of journal bearings, by providing a simplified, yet accurate model of journal bearing lubrication that can be implemented on a personal computer and be used in an interactive mode. The simplified THD theory we propose consists of two coupled ordinary differential equations for pressure and energy and an algebraic equation for viscosity, which are to be solved iteratively. Bearing load capacity, maximum bearing temperature, maximum pressure, coefficient of friction and lubricant flow rate calculated from this simplified theory compare well with results from a more sophisticated model. We also make comparisons with experimental data on full journal bearings, demonstrating substantial agreement between experiment and simplified theory.


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