A Three-Dimensional Foil Bearing Performance Map Applied to Oil-Free Turbomachinery

Abstract

To effectively apply compliant foil gas bearings to increasingly larger and more challenging turbomachinery, a comprehensive method that compares a foil bearing's capabilities with the application's operating requirements is needed. Extensive laboratory and field experience suggests foil bearing failure is generally due to thermal stress brought on by excessive viscous power loss; therefore a map that graphically relates component and system-level parameters (bearing size, applied loads, and shaft rotational speeds) directly to bearing power loss is more elucidating than a map based on a lumped speed/load parameter like the Sommerfeld number. In this report we describe a performance map featuring a three-dimensional contour plot.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA499621

Entities

People

  • Christopher Dellacorte
  • Kevin C. Radil

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bearings
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Films
  • Foil Bearings
  • Friction
  • Gas Bearings
  • Gas Turbines
  • High Temperature
  • Leading Edges
  • Margin Of Safety
  • Safety
  • Solid Lubricants
  • Temperature Control
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Three Dimensional
  • Turbomachinery
  • Two Dimensional

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).