Stiffness and Damping Coefficient Estimation of Compliant Surface Gas Bearings for Oil-Free Turbomachinery

Abstract

Gas foil bearings are a key technology in many commercial and emerging oil-free turbomachinery systems. These bearings are nonlinear and have been difficult to analytically model in terms of performance characteristics such as load capacity, power loss, stiffness, and damping. Previous investigations led to an empirically derived method, a rule-of-thumb, to estimate load capacity. This method has been a valuable tool in system development. The current article extends this concept to include rules for stiffness and damping coefficient estimation. It is expected that these rules will further accelerate the development and deployment of advanced oil-free machines operating on gas foil bearings.

KEY WORDS:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Bearings
• Stiffness Damping
• Rotordynamics

AcknowledgEments

The author acknowledges the support of NASA's Subsonic Rotary Wing Project for providing the resources necessary to undertake this work.

This article is not subject to US copyright

Review led by Gita Talmage