Foil Air Thrust Bearings with Hemi-Spherical Bumps

Experimental investigations were conducted on the static characteristics of foil gas thrust bearings with hemi-spherical bumps. The foil gas thrust bearing treated in this paper consists of three layered compliant metal shells with numerous hemi-spherical bumps and a foil holder. The proposed foil bearing can easily vary the support stiffness of the compliant shell by changing the position and the number of bumps. In this paper, the effects of the foil material on the rotational performance of the shaft were measured experimentally. It was found that foil gas thrust bearings with hemi-spherical bumps are very suitable for a high-speed rotational turbomachinery with relatively light loads.