Fluid film foil bearings are an innovative bearing technology proposed for rotor support in cryogenic turbomachinery. These bearings offer system life and rotor speeds currently unachievable with rolling element bearings alone. An isothermal analysis for the turbulent bulk-flow of a variable properties liquid in a foil bearing with a simple elastic matrix is introduced. Numerical predictions compare the static and dynamic force performance of a three pad foil bearing with a rigid surface bearing for a high speed application in liquid oxygen. The major advantages of the foil bearing are immediately apparent, namely linearity in the load versus eccentricity curve, uniform rotordynamic coefficients, and overall unsurpassed stability conditions. The effects of excitation frequency and the foil structural damping on the dynamic force coefficients are discussed.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
1.
Carpino, M., and Peng, J. P., 1991, “Theoretical Performance of Foil Journal Bearings,” 27th AIAA/SAE/ASME Joint Conference, Sacramento, CA, Paper 91-2105.
2.
Carpino, M., Peng, J., and Medvetz, L., 1993a, “Misalignment in a Complete Shell Gas Foil Journal Bearings,” accepted for publication at STLE Tribology Transactions.
3.
Carpino, M., Medvetz, L., and Peng, J., 1993b, “Effects of Membrane Stresses in the Prediction of Foil Bearing Performance,” 48th STLE Annual Meeting, Calgary, CA, STLE Preprint 93-AM-2E-1.
4.
Craig, R., 1981, Structural Dynamics, John Wiley, pp. 101.
5.
Franchek, N., and Childs, D., 1993, “Experimental Test Results for Four High-Speed, High-Pressure Orifice-Compensated Hybrid Bearings,” ASME Paper No. 93-Trib-34, STLE/ASME Tribology Conference, New Orleans, LA, Oct.
6.
Genge, G. G., Saville, M., and Gu, A., 1993, “Foil Bearing Performance in Liquid Nitrogen and Liquid Oxygen,” AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE 29th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Monterrey, CA, June, Paper AIAA-93-2536.
7.
Gilbrech, R., Gu, A., Rigney, T., Saville, M., Rossoni, M., 1993, “Liquid-Hydrogen Foil-Bearing Turbopump,” AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE 29th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Monterrey, CA, June, Paper AIAA-93-2537.
8.
Gu, A., 1988, “Process Fluid Foil Bearing Liquid Hydrogen Turbopump,” AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 24th Joint Propulsion Conference, Boston, Mass., Paper AA-88-3130.
9.
Heshmat
H.
Shapiro
W.
Gray
S.
1982
, “Development of Foil Journal Bearings for High Load Capacity and High Speed Whirl Stability
,” ASME JOURNAL OF LUBRICATION TECHNOLOGY
, Vol. 104
, pp. 149
–156
.10.
Heshmat
H.
Walowit
J. A.
Pinkus
O.
1983
, “Analysis of Gas Lubricated Foil Journal Bearings
,” ASME JOURNAL OF LUBRICATION TECHNOLOGY
, Vol. 105
, pp. 647
–655
.11.
Heshmat, H., 1991, “Investigation of Foil Bearings for Use in High-Thrust Liquid Rocket Engines,” NASA CR-187099, April.
12.
Heshmat, H., Shapiro, W., and Artiles, A., 1992, “Application of Compliant Fluid-Film Bearings to the High-Pressure Oxygen Turbopump of the SSME,” NASA Earth-To-Orbit Propulsion Conference, Huntsville, Alabama, May.
13.
Heshmat, H., 1993, “The Advancement in Performance of Aerodynamic Foil Journal Bearings: High Speed and Load Capability,” presented at the STLE/ASME Tribology Conference, New Orleans, LA, Oct., ASME Paper 93-Trib-32.
14.
Ku, C-P. R., 1993a, “An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Dynamic Structural Stiffness in Compliant Foil Journal Bearings,” 14th Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise, Albuquerque, NM, Sept., DE-Vol, 63, Vibration of Mechanical Systems and the History of Mechanical Design, ASME 1993, pp. 83–88.
15.
Ku, C-P. R., 1993b, “Dynamic Structural Properties in Compliant Foil Thrust Bearings—Comparisons between Experimental and Theoretical Results,” ASME Paper 93-Trib-10, ASME/STLE Joint Conference, Oct., New Orleans, LA.
16.
Ku
C.-P. R.
Heshmat
H.
1992
a, “Compliant Foil Bearing Structural Stiffness Analysis, Part I: Theoretical Model Including Strip and Variable Bump Foil Geometry
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 114
, pp. 394
–400
.17.
Ku, C-P. R., and Heshmat, H., 1992b, “Compliant Foil Bearing Structural Stiffness Analysis, Part II: Experimental Investigation,” Trans., ASME Paper 92-Trib-6.
18.
Ku, C-P. R., and Heshmat, H., 1993a, “Structural Stiffness and Coulomb Damping in Compliant Foil Journal Bearings: Theoretical Considerations,” presented at the 48th STLE Annual Meeting, Calgary, CA, May.
19.
Ku, C-P. R., and Heshmat, H., 1993b, “Structural Stiffness and Coulomb Damping in Compliant Foil Journal Bearings: Parametric Studies,” presented at the 48th STLE Annual Meeting, Calgary, CA, May.
20.
Kurtin
K.
Childs
D.
Hale
K.
San Andres
L.
1993
, “Experimental vs. Theoretical Characteristics of a High Speed Hybrid Bearing
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 160
–169
.21.
Launder
B. E.
Leschziner
M.
1978
, “Flow in Finite Width, Thrust Bearings Including Inertial Effects
,” ASME JOURNAL OF LUBRICATION TECHNOLOGY
, Vol. 100
, pp. 330
–345
.22.
Licht, L., Branger, M., and Anderson, W. J., 1973, “Gas-Lubricated Bearings for High Speed Turboalternator—Construction and Performance,” ASME Paper 73-Lub-5.
23.
Lund, J., 1965, “The Stability of an Elastic Rotor in Journal Bearings with Flexible Damped Supports,” ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, pp. 911–925.
24.
McCarty, R. D., 1986, Thermophysical Properties of Fluids, MIPROPS 86, NBS Standard Reference Data Base 12, Thermophysics Division, Center for Chemical Engineering, National Bureau of Standards, Colorado.
25.
Nolan, S., Hibbs, R., and Genge, G., 1993, “Hotfire Testing of a SSME HPOTP with an Annular Hydrostatic Bearing,” Proceedings of the 7th Workshop on Rotordynamic Instability Problems in High Performance Turbomachinery, Texas A&M University, May.
26.
O’Connor, Leo, 1993, “Fluid Film Foil Bearings Control Engine Heat,” Mechanical Engineering, May, pp. 72–75.
27.
Oh, K. P., and Rhode, S. M., 1976, “A Theoretical Investigation of the Multileaf Journal Bearing,” ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, pp. 237–242.
28.
Oh, K. P., and Rhode, S. M., 1977, “A Theoretical Analysis of a Compliant Shell Air Bearing,” ASME JOURNAL OF LUBRICATION TECHNOLOGY, pp. 75–81.
29.
Peng
J.
Carpino
M.
1993
a, “Calculation of Stiffness and Damping Coefficients for Elastically Supported Gas Foil Bearings
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 2
–27
.30.
Peng, J., and Carpino, M., 1993b, “Coulomb Friction Damping Effects in Elastically Supported Gas Foil Bearings,” 48th STLE Annual Meeting, Calgary, CA, May, STLE Preprint 93-AM-2E2.
31.
San Andres
L.
1992
, “Analysis of Turbulent Hydrostatic Bearings with a Barotropic Fluid
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 115
, No. 4
, pp. 755
–765
.32.
San Andres
L.
1993
, “The Effect of Journal Misalignment on the Operation of a Turbulent Flow Hydrostatic Bearing
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 115
, pp. 355
–363
.33.
San Andres, L., and Yang, Z., 1994, “Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of Fluid Film Bearings for Cryogenic Applications,” 6th NASA Conference on Advanced Earth-To-Orbit Technology, Huntsville, AL, May.
34.
Saville, M., Gu, A., and Capaldi, R., 1991, “Liquid Hydrogen Turbopump Foil Bearings,” 27th AIAA/SAE/ASME Joint Conference, Sacramento, CA, Paper 91-2108.
35.
Scharrer, J. K., Tellier, J., and Hibbs, R., 1991, “A Study of the Transient Performance of Hydrostatic Journal Bearings: Part I—Test Apparatus and Facility, Part II—Experimental Results,” STLE Tribology Transactions Preprints 91-TC-3B-1 & 2.
36.
Scharrer, J. K., Henderson, T. W., 1992a, “Hydrostatic Bearing Selection for the STME Hydrogen Turbopump,” AIAA Paper 92-3283, 28th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, July 6–8, TN.
37.
Scharrer, J. K., Hibbs, R., and Nolan, S., 1992b, “Extending the Life of the SSME HPOTP through the Use of Annular Hydrostatic Bearings,” AIAA Paper 92-3401, 28th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, July 6–8, TN.
38.
Scharrer, J. K., Tellier, J., and Hibbs, R., 1992c, “Start Transient of an Annular Hydrostatic Bearing in Liquid Oxygen,” AIAA Paper 92-3404, 28th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, July 6–8, TN.
39.
Wallowit, J. A., and Anno, J., 1975, Modern Developments in Lubrication Mechanics, Chapter 7: Foil Bearing, Applied Science Publisher Ltd., London, pp. 180–233.
40.
Walker, J., 1992, Personnal Communication, Closure to Workshop on Fluid Film Bearing Technology, held at NASA Lewis RC, December, 1991.
41.
Yang
Z.
San Andres
L.
Childs
D.
1993
a, “Thermal Effects in Cryogenic Liquid Annular Seals, I: Theory and Approximate Solutions, II: Numerical Solution and Results
,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY
, Vol. 115
, No. 2
, pp. 267
–284
.42.
Yang, Z., San Andres, L., and Childs, D., 1993b, “Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of Process Liquid Hydrostatic Bearings in Turbulent Regime, Part I: Theory, Part II: Numerical Solution and Results,” accepted for publication at ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Dec.
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