Paper XVII(iii) An experimental investigation of the steady-state performance of a compliant surface aerostatic thrust bearing

Abstract

Performance tests have been made on an industrial aerostatic thrust bearing whose surface has a concave flexible steel diaphragm. Experimental results are presented for load, film stiffness and flowrate versus air-gap for various supply pressures and also film pressure and diaphragm deflection. The results show that the compliant bearing has a superior performance in terms of load capacity and film stiffness compared with a flat rigid bearing of the same size. The results are in general agreement with other published work.