An Experimental Investigation of the Pressures at the Edge of a Gas Bearing Pocket

Abstract

Pressure profiles measured across the film/pocket interface of an externally-pressurized air-lubricated circular thrust bearing are presented. One of the thrust pads was vibrated in an attempt to simulate a pneumatic hammer type motion. The results show that at the bearing surface the pressure perturbations in the pocket are generally much higher than those in the film. It is argued that these results tend to reconcile an earlier discrepancy between theory and experiment in the prediction of stability.