Reliability of rotating machinery is determined to a considerable degree by the bearing units. For several applications the requirements in rotation speed, bearing load and maximal vibration level are so extreme that neither rolling-element bearings nor fluid-film bearings could provide necessary performance characteristics during all regimes of operation. Hybrid bearings, which are a combination of rolling-element and fluid-film bearings, can improve performance characteristics and reliability of the rotor-bearing systems. The aim of this work is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid bearings. Known real applications of hybrid bearings are discussed. Analysis shows that depending on the application different hybrid bearing types could improve dynamic characteristics and life time of the bearing unit, increase load capacity and DN limit of the rolling-element bearing.
The article presents the design and operation principle of a hybrid bearing with actively adjustable radial gap of a gas foil bearing. The hybrid bearing is a combination of a ball bearing and gas foil bearing with speed separation. Electromagnetic coils are placed on the bearing housing, two for each foil. Such a construction allows to control the deformation of the foils by applying voltage to the coils. The article also presents a general approach to mathematical model the control process in such bearings. The main purpose of the control system is to reduce vibrations in the rotor system by means of controlling dynamic characteristics of the gas foil bearing.
Research in the field of active fluid-film bearing has been recently getting more and more attention, integration of control systems becoming one of the most promising means of enhancement of rotor-bearing nodes' characteristics. It has been determined that the vast majority of papers published on active fluid-film bearing only consider radial bearings, and very few focus on thrust bearings. This lack of attention along with the obvious necessity to fill the said gap has triggered the present research. In cases of rotor machines that experience extensive axial loading due to various reasons, e.g. various turbine engines (aero and spacecraft) and hydraulic pumps (crude oil extraction facilities), such research could prove the feasibility of application of a control system to significantly increase the performance of the whole machine. Moreover, extensive wear during start up and shut down could be eliminated by means of rotor position control, thus life time of a rotor-bearing system could be significantly increased. The present paper features a complex mathematical model of an active thrust fluid-film bearing with a central feeding orifice, a developed test rig designed to verify the presented mathematical model allowing a series of numerical tests to be carried out. Numerical studies focus on the hypothesis of a possibility to use active control in thrust bearings to decrease power loss due to friction and extensive axial vibrations by means of identification of an energy efficient area of axial gaps based on the lubrication regime and its maintenance by means of application of controlled lubrication principles.
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