A Thermohydrodynamic Analysis of Laminated Gas Foil Thrust Bearing

Laminated gas foil thrust bearing has the advantages of simple manufacturing process and strong heat dissipation capability and a thermohydrodynamic model is proposed for this gas foil thrust bearing in this study. The temperature of the film and each component were obtained through numerical simulation analysis, and the key parameters were analyzed. The research shows that the higher the velocity of the film at the larger radius, the more obvious the energy dissipation and the higher the temperature. The high temperature region of the film was distributed near the circumferential end and the top foil. The temperature of the film, top foil and thrust plate increased with a rise in the speed of the thrust disk and the bearing load. The temperature of the bearing first droped rapidly and then tended to be stable with the increase of the cooling airflow inside the foil, and the cooling effect of the airflow was obvious.