Thrust air foil bearings are critical components in highefficiency turbomachinery, such as two-stage compressors subjected to large and irregular axial forces. In this article, a model of thrust bump foil bearings that predicts deflection with variable axial load is developed assuming no tilting effect of the thrust collar. To predict the air clearance, deflection of the elastic foundation was used in the air film height equation. Combined Dirichlet and Neumann-type boundary conditions were used for static load performance predictions.To verify the theoretical model, tests were performed with three different thrust air foil bearings with outer radii of 45, 50, and 55 mm. The rotating speed ranged from 10,000 to 25,000 rpm. From the test results, the model using nonlinear stiffness was in better agreement with the experimental results than the model using linear stiffness.
This paper presents the dynamic behavior of a 225 kW class (300 HP), 60,000 rpm, permanent magnet synchronous (PMS) motor–generator system supported on gas foil bearings (GFBs). The rotor of a 225 kW PMS motor is supported by two identical gas foil journal bearings (GFJBs) and one pair of gas foil thrust bearings (GFTBs). The total weight and axial length of the coupled rotors are 272 N and 1042 mm, respectively. During the speed-up test to 60,000 rpm, unexpected large subsynchronous rotor motions appear at around 120–130 Hz above 35,040 rpm. After disassembling the motor, an inspection of the top foils of the GFJBs reveals significant rotor rubbing. Thus, the GFJBs are redesigned to have a smaller load capacity by reducing their axial length to 45 mm. In addition, three 50 μm thick shims are installed in the GFJBs at 120 deg intervals for reducing the swirl speed of air and producing bearing preloads. The modification delays the onset speed of subsynchronous motions to 43,200 rpm and decreases the amplitude of the subsynchronous motions from 20 to 15 μm. These results indicate that the modification improves the stability margin of the high-speed rotor system with increasing stiffness and damping. In addition, the logarithmic decrement trends are in good agreement with the test results.
Metal mesh materials have been used successfully in vibration isolators and bearing dampers due to their superior friction or hysteresis damping mechanism. These materials are formed to metal mesh (or wire mesh) structures in ring-shape by compressing a weave of metal wires, in general. Recently, oil-free rotating machinery implement metal mesh structures into hydrodynamic gas foil bearings by replacing bump strip layers with them, to increase its bearing structural damping. A metal mesh foil bearing (MMFB) consists of a top foil and support elastic metal mesh pads installed between a rotating shaft and a housing. The present research presents load capacity tests of a MMFB at rotor rest (0 rpm) and 30 krpm for three metal mesh densities of 13.1%, 23.2%, and 31.6%. The metal mesh pad of test MMFB is made using a stainless steel wire with a diameter of 0.15 mm. Test rig comprises a rigid rotor with a diameter of 60 mm supported on two ball bearings at both ends and test MMFB with an axial length of 50 mm floats on the rotor. Static loads is provided with a mechanical loading device on test MMFB and a strain gauge type load cell measures the applied static loads. A series of static load versus deflection tests were conducted for selected metal mesh densities at rest (0 rpm). Test data are compared to further test results of static load versus journal eccentricity recorded at the rotor speed of 30 krpm. Test data show a strong nonlinearity of bearing deflection (journal eccentricity) with static load, independent of rotor spinning. Observed hysteresis loops imply significant structural damping of test MMFB. Measured journal deflections at 0 rpm are in similar trend to recorded journal eccentricities at the finite rotor speed; thus implying that the MMFB performance depends mainly on the metal mesh structures. The paper also estimates linearlized stiffness coefficient and damping loss factor of test MMFB using the measured static load versus deflection test data at 0 rpm and 30 krpm. The results show that the highest mesh density of 31.6% produces highest linearlized stiffness coefficient and damping loss factor. With rotor spinning at 30 krpm, the linearlized stiffness coefficient and damping loss factor decrease slightly, independent of metal mesh densities. The present test data will serve as a database for benchmarking MMFB predictive models.
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