Additively Manufactured Compliant Hybrid Gas Thrust Bearing for SCO2 Turbomachinery: Design and Proof of Concept Testing
Abstract The following paper presents a new type of gas lubricated thrust bearing fabricated using additive manufacturing or direct metal laser melting (DMLM). The motivation for the new bearing concept is derived from the need for highly efficient supercritical carbon dioxide turbomachinery in the mega-watt power range. The paper provides a review of existing gas thrust bearing technologies, outlines the need for the new DMLM concept, and discusses proof of concept testing results. The new concept combines hydrostatic pressurization with individual flexibly mounted pads using hermetic squeeze film dampers in the bearing-pad support. Proof-of-concept testing in air for a 6.8" (173mm) outer diameter thrust bearing was performed; with loads up to 1,500 lbs (6.67kN) and a rotating speed of 10krpm (91 m/s tip speed). The experiments were performed with a bent shaft resulting in thrust runner axial vibration magnitudes of 2.9mils (74microns) p-p and dynamic thrust loads of 270 lbs (1.2kN) p-p. In addition, force deflection characteristics of the bearing system are presented for an inlet hydrostatic pressure of 380psi (2.62MPa). Results at 10krpm show that the pad support architecture was able to sustain high levels of dynamic misalignment equaling 6 times the nominal film clearance while demonstrating a unit load carrying capacity of 55psi (0.34Mpa). Gas-film force-deflection tests portrayed nonlinear behavior like a hardening spring, while the pad support stiffness was measured to be linear and independent of film thickness.