Effect of surface sector or Fibonacci-like microgrooved top foil on the performance of gas foil conical bearing

Abstract

Purpose

To enhance the load capacity and dynamic characteristics of gas foil conical bearings (GFCBs), two kinds of microgrooves (sector and Fibonacci-like shape) are arranged on the top foil surface.

Design/methodology/approach

The Reynolds equation considering gas rarefaction effect is solved by the finite difference method, in which the 2D plate element stiffness model is used for the grooved top foil. The influence of groove on the static characteristics is studied, and the dynamic characteristics of novel bearing are obtained by the perturbation method.

Findings

The results show that the gas rarefaction effect on the load capacities is negligible, and the novel GFCB with microgrooved top foil has higher load capacities. Moreover, the deeper groove is conductive to the dynamic stability improvement. The positive Fibonacci-like groove seems to be the most suitable shape, which can largely increase the axial load capacity with little additional torque cost. And the improvement of dynamic characteristics for the Fibonacci-like grooved GFCB is also more favorable.

Originality/value

As the low cost of groove processing, it is an effective way to improve GFCB’s performance and even can be used to upgrade the bearings in service.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-04-2024-0148/

Citation

Hu, H., Wu, H., Wang, J. and Liu, J. (2024), "Effect of surface sector or Fibonacci-like microgrooved top foil on the performance of gas foil conical bearing", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-04-2024-0148