Some Analytic Observations on the Gas-Lubricated Slider Bearing

Abstract

Analytic bounds for and properties of the pressure field in the finite and infinite gas-lubricated slider bearing are derived without resorting to numerical or asymptotic approximations. For example, we show that the pressure profile in a converging-film bearing is always supra-ambient, has exactly one maximum point within the bearing, and exhibits strictly negative outward pressure gradients at the sides and leading and trailing edges of the bearing. The mathematical results on which these conclusions are based are briefly described as well.