Theoretical and Experimental Investigation on Air Film Pressure Field Characteristics of Aerostatic Thrust Bearing

This paper studied the air film pressure field (AFPF) characteristics of aerostatic thrust bearing, in which we proposed the measurement equipment for the 2D AFPF and successfully verified the theoretical simulation results. The experimental results agreed well with the theoretical results. However, in the area between the distribution circle of orifice to the air film outlet boundary, the experimental air film pressure (AFP) was slightly higher than the theoretical one. While for the area between the distribution circle of orifice and the center of the bearing, it showed the opposite law. Besides, the increase ratio of the AFP was close to that of the external load with its increase.

Automated summary

This study investigated the characteristics of the air film pressure field of aerostatic thrust bearing, proposing measurement equipment for 2D air film pressure field and successfully validating theoretical simulation results. Experimental results were in good agreement with theoretical results, highlighting slight discrepancies in air film pressure between different regions and a relationship between air film pressure increase and external load increase.