Modeling Cone Self-acting Gas Lubrication Bearing Dynamics

An analysis of static and clearance flow characteristics for the cone self-acting gas lubrication bearing of high precision gyro motor and deduction of first order slip boundary conditions were presented. The computation fluid dynamics based on boundary conditions of no slip and the first-order slip were used to make numerical simulation of clearance complex flow for the bearing. Static loads, stiffness, powers and offset angles with different eccentricity of the bearing, the results were compared with experiment results of the bearing, exterior load stiffness measurement system. The results show that: the experiment measurement results stiffness of the bearing in 1 g were between the results of numerical simulation with no slip and first-order slip boundary conditions, experiment data less than about 10% with the calculation results from no slip boundary conditions, and more than 44% with the calculation results from first slip boundary conditions, which showed that slip phenomenon partly existed in clearance flow of the bearing. The offset angle orientation of numerical simulation were consistent with the experiment data, differences of 4° and 2.6° respectively.