Analysis of externally pressurized gas-lubricated conical bearings

An analysis is presented of externally pressurized conical gas bearings with discrete point pressure sources in the form of orifices located around the circumference at quarter stations from the end of the bearing. The governing Reynolds equation over the developed bearing area is solved by a direct numerical method to determine the pressure distribution. Numerical results are presented in the form of non-dimensional charts for load capacity, flow rate and stiffness for a conical bearing having L/D_M = 1 and semicone angles from 10° to 40°.