A flow-difference feedback iteration method and its application to high-speed aerostatic journal bearings

• A novel iteration method is proposed for FDM based solution of the Reynolds equation.
• The flow-difference is utilized for feedback in the iteration loop of the pressure ratios of orifices.
• The proposed method is insensitive to the initial conditions; and its iteration times are significantly improved.
• The investigation is conducted for the bearing capability and stiffness affected by geometric parameters.
• It is shown that under some suggested conditions the performance of the journal bearing can be improved.

This paper proposes a novel iteration method for finite difference method (FDM) based solution of Reynolds equation, and applies it to the analysis of high-speed aerostatic journal bearings. The idea behind the proposed iteration method is: flow-difference is utilized for feedback in the iteration loop of the pressure ratios of orifices. Furthermore, the situation of flow-difference is described by the relative error of flow equilibria during the iteration. Specifically, two important advantages of the proposed method lie in: insensitive to initial conditions; its times of iteration are significantly improved. The bearing capability and stiffness are investigated by varying design parameters.