The demand of air bearings is increasing for those applications that require precision linear movements or high-speed rotations. In particular in this paper air pads for air motion technology are studied. The paper analyses the effect of a circumferential groove machined on the pad surface on pressure distribution, air flow consumption and stiffness. Two geometries are investigated and compared: one with three supply orifices and the other with a circumferential groove as well. The static characteristics of the pads are experimentally determined with also the pressure distributions under the pads along the radial and circumferential directions. The experimental pressure distributions are compared with the simulated ones, obtained with a numerical program at the purpose developed. The numerical model considers a general formulation of the supply holes discharge coefficient that can be used also in presence of a circumferential groove.
A test bench for rotors supported by air bearings floating on O-rings is designed in order to study the whirl phenomenon and characterize the stability threshold with damping elements mounted on bearings. The work includes a description of the test bench and some preliminary experimental results. A rotor of 1kg mass and 37mm diameter is rotated up to 75,000rpm by an air turbine machined on the rotor. Capacitance probes, placed in two radial planes, allow orbit scanning of both the rotor and the bushing at different rotating speeds and suitable load devices permit measurement of the static and dynamic stiffness of the rotor-bearing system. Curves of rotational response using rubber O-rings of three different materials are shown and compared. Also presented are the Fourier spectra of the signals for rotor displacement. The phenomenon of whirl instability is shown in terms of whirl frequency and orbit amplitudes of the rotor and bearings. The effects of both supply pressure and angular velocity on the stability threshold are shown.
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