The Effects of Temperature and Inertia on Hydrostatic Thrust Bearing Performance

Abstract

The effects of the lubricant rotational inertia and the temperature on the performance of parallel stepped hydrostatic thrust bearings have been investigated. Expressions for pressure and temperature distributions and load carrying capacities are obtained under adiabatic flow conditions. Satisfactory correlation between theory and experiment has been observed especially when the bearing speed is high. In order to insure the increase of load capacity as speed increases, the ratio of step location to bearing radius must be chosen no less than a limiting value which depends on the other geometry and operating conditions of the bearing. Since the bearing performance estimation by adiabatic theory is conservative, the design criteria provided will be practical and useful if long bearing life is essential.