A FEM based modeling method for analyzing the static performance of aerostatic thrust bearings considering the fluid-structure interaction

The fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomenon has significant impact on the performance of aerostatic thrust bearings. To rapidly calculate their performance, this paper proposes a finite element method (FEM) based FSI modeling method. A FEM model of aerostatic bearing and a two dimensional FEM model of thrust plate were built, and the bidirectional data exchange between them was realized. Besides, the change of discharge coefficient caused by FSI phenomenon is considered by adopting a discharge coefficient model. The accuracy of the proposed FSI model is verified numerically and experimentally. The average calculation time is reduced from 9.36 h to 86.2 s for the case study. This research provides an efficient modeling method for the design of aerostatic thrust bearing considering FSI.

Automated summary

This study proposes a finite element method-based fluid-structure interaction modeling method for aerostatic thrust bearings. By building finite element models for the bearings and thrust plates, and considering the change in discharge coefficient, bidirectional data exchange is achieved. The accuracy of the proposed FSI model is verified numerically and experimentally, reducing the average calculation time significantly in the case study.