Design and analysis of foil bearings involve consideration to various physical aspects such as fluid pressure, structural deformation, and heat generation due to viscous effects within the bearing. These complex physical interactions are mathematically governed by highly nonlinear partial differential equations. Therefore, foil bearing design involves detailed calculations of flow fields (velocities, pressures), support structure deflections (structural compliance), and heat transfer phenomena (viscous dissipation in the fluid, frictional heating, temperature profile, etc.). The computational effort in terms of time and hardware requirements make high level engineering analyses tedious which presents an opportunity for development of rule of thumb laws for design guidelines. Scaling laws for bearing clearance and support structure stiffness of radial foil bearings of various sizes are presented in this paper. The scaling laws are developed from first principles using the scale invariant Reynolds equation and support structure deflection equation. Power law relationships are established between the (1) radial clearance and bearing radius and (2) support structure stiffness and bearing radius. Simulation results of static and dynamic performance of various bearing sizes following the proposed scaling laws are presented.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2017
Research-Article
Scaling Laws for Radial Clearance and Support Structure Stiffness of Radial Foil Bearings
Srikanth Honavara Prasad,
Srikanth Honavara Prasad
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: srikanth.honavaraprasad@mavs.uta.edu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: srikanth.honavaraprasad@mavs.uta.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Daejong Kim
Daejong Kim
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: daejongkim@uta.edu
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: daejongkim@uta.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Srikanth Honavara Prasad
Mem. ASME
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: srikanth.honavaraprasad@mavs.uta.edu
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: srikanth.honavaraprasad@mavs.uta.edu
Daejong Kim
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: daejongkim@uta.edu
Engineering,
The University of Texas at Arlington,
500 W. 1st Street,
Arlington, TX 76019
e-mail: daejongkim@uta.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Structures and Dynamics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received July 5, 2016; final manuscript received August 12, 2016; published online October 26, 2016. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Apr 2017, 139(4): 042502 (8 pages)
Published Online: October 26, 2016
Article history
Received:
July 5, 2016
Revised:
August 12, 2016
Citation
Prasad, S. H., and Kim, D. (October 26, 2016). "Scaling Laws for Radial Clearance and Support Structure Stiffness of Radial Foil Bearings." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. April 2017; 139(4): 042502. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034648
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Image-based flashback detection in a hydrogen-fired gas turbine using a convolutional autoencoder
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power
Fuel Thermal Management and Injector Part Design for LPBF Manufacturing
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power
An investigation of a multi-injector, premix/micromix burner burning pure methane to pure hydrogen
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power
Related Articles
Rotordynamics Performance of Hybrid Foil Bearing Under Forced Vibration Input
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power (January,2018)
A Simplified Model for Numerical Investigation of Bump-Type Foil Bearings Based on Contact Nonlinearity
J. Tribol (December,2022)
Limits for High-Speed Operation of Gas Foil Bearings
J. Tribol (July,2006)
Related Chapters
Development of New Process and Product Monitoring Technologies for the Manufacturing of High Value Alloy Steels for Use in Critical Applications
Bearing and Transmission Steels Technology
Increase of Readiness Level of a Powder Metallurgy Steel for Aerospace Applications
Bearing and Transmission Steels Technology
Adhesive Wear and Exploratory Testing of Aerospace Bearing Steels
Bearing and Transmission Steels Technology