Very High Load Capacity Air Bearing Spindle for Large Diamond Turning Machines

Abstract

Spindles for large diamond turned mirrors are not readily available. Oil hydrostatic spindles that are large enough to carry the load cannot run fast enough because of the heat generated by viscous forces. Air bearings have the potential to meet the speed requirements due to the lower viscosity. Classic metal-to-metal air bearings are expensive at large sizes and can fail catastrophically. Porous graphite bearings have the potential to resolve these problems. Preliminary requirements have been identified for a bearing to support a 3 meter mirror. Discs of porous graphite have been prepared for flow testing and a surplus air bearing rotary table has been located. A prototype spindle has been designed to work with the table.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 08, 2010
Accession Number
ADA536563

Entities

People

  • John M. Casstevens

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bearings
  • Fabrication
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Flow
  • Gas Bearings
  • Graphitic Materials
  • High Reliability
  • Lubricants
  • Machines
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Metals
  • Prototypes
  • Spindles
  • Thrust Bearings
  • Viscosity
  • Water Hammer

Readers

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