A series of experiments were conducted to determine a foil bearings ability to operate in the region of the bending mode of a flexible rotor. Three different bearings, spaced at three different positions along the shaft, were tested in order to make super-bending-critical operation possible. This was achieved with a proper bearing design located at an optimum position with respect to the bending nodes. After proper trim balancing the bearings passed the 34,100 rpm first bending critical and went on to operate up to 85,000 rpm, 2.5 times the bending critical. Throughout, the amplitudes of vibration remained small. The documented ability of these bearings to operate in the domain of a flexible rotor’s bending mode makes these bearings a prime candidate for the high-speed machinery of modern technology. [S0742-4787(00)02401-2]

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
machine bearings, bending, high-speed techniques, rotors, impact testing, dynamic testing, foils, hydrodynamics
Topics:
Bearings, Foil bearings, Rotors, Damping
1.
Heshmat
,
H.
,
1994
, “
Advancements in the Performance of Aerodynamic Foil Journal Bearing: High Speed and Load Capability
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
116
, No.
2
, pp.
287
–
295
.
2.
Heshmat
,
H.
, and
Ku
,
C-P. R.
,
1994
, “
Structural Damping of Self Acting Compliant Foil Bearings
,”
ASME J. Tribol.
,
116
, No.
1
, pp.
76
–
82
.
3.
Heshmat, H., and Walton, J., 1994, “High Temperature Damper Development,” Final Report for 09/30/90–09/30/94. Aero Propulsion and Power Directorate. WLAFB, Ohio, Report No. WL-TR-94-2118.
4.
Heshmat, H., Chen, H. M., and Walton, J. F., 1998, “On the Performance of Hybrid Foil-Magnetic Bearings.” 43rd ASME Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress, Stockholm, Sweden, ASME Paper No. 98-GT-376.
Copyright © 2000
 by ASME
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