Abstract
The popularity of compressors utilizing foil bearings is increasing. Their mechanical design is challenging, and an accurate prediction of the bearing coefficients is important. A mathematical model taking into account the foil structure, and the detailed geometry of a three pad foil bearing are presented. The steady state solution and dynamic coefficients are obtained through zeroth and first order perturbed equations respectively. Analysis of the foil structure reveals the importance of distinguishing between a static foil stiffness for the zeroth order equation and a dynamic stiffness for the first order equation. Calculated bearing coefficients are compared to experimental results obtained from a dedicated test rig. Generally, good agreement is observed and minor discrepancies for the damping coefficients are discussed.
Highlights
After five decades of research, compliant foil bearings are gaining more popularity in the industry than ever before
The experimental results obtained from the test rig are compared to theoretical predictions based on the mathematical model represented by the zeroth and first order Equations (7) and (8), respectively
Validation of the mathematical model is of particular interest around these modes, as they can potentially become unstable during operation
Summary
After five decades of research, compliant foil bearings are gaining more popularity in the industry than ever before. Carpino et al [11] developed a structural finite element model of the bump and top foils. Peng and Carpino [12] investigated the effects of Coulomb friction on the linearised bearing coefficients by means of an equivalent viscous damping coefficient. Their joint effort resulted in the first fully coupled mathematical model [13] with a detailed foil finite element formulation and an equivalent viscous damping for the friction. Other authors have later introduced similar models e.g. Heshmat [14] who coupled the structural results obtained by a commercial FE program with the solution of the Reynolds equation for a thrust bearing, and Lee [15] who solved a fully coupled model of a journal foil bearing in the time domain. Lee et al [16] coupled
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