A THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A SPHERICAL GAS JOURNAL BEARING

Abstract

An externally pressurized spherical gas journal bearing, which has multiple spherically surfaced pads, was designed and fabricated for use as a three degree-of-freedom pivot which will support large loads (100 lbs). This inherently compensated pool type bearing design proved to be pneumatically unstable. The problem then was to determine a restrictor configuration for this bearing which would insure pneumatic stability and a large load carrying capacity. Restrictor configurations investigated were inherent compensating both with and without a pool and orifice compensating without a pool. A model bearing, which duplicates the lubricating film of a journal bearing pad, was constructed in order to obtain experimental data to verify the theoretical predictions. For this particular bearing configuration operating at large supply pressures (800 psig), it was found that an inherent compensating restrictor without a pool will ensure pneumatic stability and maximum load carrying capacity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0660546

Entities

People

  • A. E. Hodapp Jr.

Organizations

  • Arnold Engineering Development Complex

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Bearings
  • Calibration
  • Clearances
  • Computational Science
  • Equations
  • Experimental Data
  • Flow
  • Gas Flow
  • Geometry
  • Journal Bearings
  • Lubricating Films
  • Lubrication
  • Mass Flow
  • Measurement
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Supersonic Flow

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).