Thrust Bump Air Foil Bearings with Variable Axial Load: Theoretical Predictions and Experiments

Thrust air foil bearings are critical components in high-efficiency turbomachinery, such as two-stage compressors subjected to large and irregular axial forces. In this article, a model of thrust bump foil bearings that predicts deflection with variable axial load is developed assuming no tilting effect of the thrust collar. To predict the air clearance, deflection of the elastic foundation was used in the air film height equation. Combined Dirichlet and Neumann-type boundary conditions were used for static load performance predictions.

To verify the theoretical model, tests were performed with three different thrust air foil bearings with outer radii of 45, 50, and 55 mm. The rotating speed ranged from 10,000 to 25,000 rpm. From the test results, the model using nonlinear stiffness was in better agreement with the experimental results than the model using linear stiffness.