Theory of Externally Pressurized Circular Thrust Porous Gas Bearing

The externally pressurized circular thrust gas bearing with porous bearing surface is analysed here theoretically. The authors use “permeability coefficient” which identifies the characteristic of porous media, and introduce the concepts of the “equivalent clearance” and the “effective restricting thickness” of the porous layer so that the flow through the porous material can be analyzed in both axial and radial directions, and the flow in the porous material and the bearing clearance may be considered as two parallel flows connected with each other. The analysis coincided qualitatively as well as quantitatively with the results of the experiments concerning the pressure distribution and the load capacity.