Analysis of gas foil thrust bearing considering manufacturing errors: Modeling and experiments

The performance of gas film thrust bearings (GFTBs) can be affected significantly by manufacturing errors. However, there is a lack of systematic quantification methods and numerical models for these errors. This paper aims to address this situation. A simple yet effective approach has been proposed to represent the manufacturing error − pad thickness − based on real measurements of 15 sets of GFTBs. A numerical correction model has been developed to analyze the effect of the pad thickness difference on the static characteristics of GFTBs. The findings indicate that discrepancies in pad thickness can significantly reduce the bearing load capacity. Additionally, experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of the model and to analyze the correlation among pad thickness, wear, and surface roughness. The results demonstrate a significant enhancement in pad thickness uniformity after the tests, along with an effective reduction in surface roughness, even to within 0.2 μm. This work presents a new approach to improve the accuracy of numerical modelling of GFTBs.