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STUDY OF GAS-LUBRICATED, HYDRODYNAMIC, FULL JOURNAL BEARINGS

Journal Article · · Brit. J. Appl. Phys.

The two most important characteristics of gas-lubricated, full journal bearings are load-carrying capacity and halfspeed whirl. These two characteristics have been investigated. The gases used as lubricants were mainly hydrogen, nitrogen, and neon, giving a large viscosity variation. Argon and carbon dioxide were also used to investigate the effect of the ratio of specific heats ( gamma ). The bearings used were plain cylinders with a longitudinal groove cut into the upper surface of each bearing, extending over half the bearing length. It has been shown that this groove improved the half-speed whirl characteristics, and tests on bearings without the groove, demonstrate that the groove does not affect the load capacity. The parameters investigated are bearing length, diameter, clearance, rotational velocity, ambient pressure, and the gas viscosity and ratio of specific heats. It is shown that, in general, the existing theories of load performance for compressible lubricants, operating in isothermal conditions, give a satisfactory correlation with the experimental results. The half-speed whirl results are not related to a complete analytical theory, but useful stability criteria are established. (auth)

Research Organization:
U.K.A.E.A., Capenhurst, Ches., Eng.
NSA Number:
NSA-14-002514
OSTI ID:
4219945
Journal Information:
Brit. J. Appl. Phys., Journal Name: Brit. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. Vol: 10
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English