Thermohydrodynamic analysis of airfoil bearing based on bump foil structure

The load carrying capacity of the gas foil bearing depends on the material properties and the configuration of the underlying bump strip's structure. This paper presents three different cases for selecting the dimensions of the foil bearing to guarantee the highest possible load carrying capacity. It focuses on three main parameters that affect the compliance number; these parameters are the length of bump in θ direction, the pitch of bump foil, and the thickness of bump foil. It also studies the effect of changing these parameters on load carrying capacity according to both isothermal and thermohydrodynamic approaches.