Numerical prediction of slip flow effect on gas-lubricated journal bearings for MEMS/MST-based micro-rotating machinery

The fluid dynamics of gas-lubricated journal bearings in micro-rotating machinery is different from those of larger size. One point to be considered is a slip flow effect. In this paper, the slip flow effect is considered in order to estimate load-carrying capacity and dynamic coefficients of micro gas-lubricated journal bearings. Based on a modified compressible Reynolds equation including slip flow effect, the first slip approximation was applied. To extract dynamic coefficients, the linearized dynamic equations were formulated by the perturbation method. Numerical predictions compared the static and dynamic characteristics considering slip flow at room-to-high temperature in a range of bearing numbers. The results including load-carrying capacity and dynamic coefficients demonstrate that the slip flow effect becomes significant with temperature increase as well as in the lower range of bearing numbers.