Foil gas bearings are self-acting, compliant-surface hydrodynamic bearings that usually use air or other process gas as their working fluid or lubricant. Foil gas bearings are made of one or more bump foils, which are compliant surfaces of corrugated metal, and one or more layers of top foil. Because foil gas bearing performance parameters, such as load capacity, are dominated by foil material and foil geometric designs, numerical models have been developed to predict the bearing's performance based on these characteristics. However, previous models often simplify bump foil as elastic foundation with constant stiffness and neglect top foil altogether. Further, they typically use the Reynolds equation to simplify the fluid solution. In this study, ansys software is used to build a 3D, fully coupled, fluid–structure interaction (FSI) model for a foil gas bearing to predict the key performance parameters such as load capacity and journal attitude angle. The model's results show good agreement with previously published test data. This not only demonstrates the feasibility of 3D fully coupled fluid–structure interaction model for a conventional foil bearing using commercial codes, but also shows modeling capability for future generations of foil gas bearing.
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February 2017
Research-Article
A Fully Coupled Fluid–Structure Interaction Model for Foil Gas Bearings
Wei Zhang,
Wei Zhang
United Technologies Research
Center (China) Ltd.,
Room 3502,
35/F, Kerry Parkside Office,
1155 Fang Dian Road, Pudong,
Shanghai 201204, China
e-mail: Wei.zhang@utrc.utc.com
Center (China) Ltd.,
Room 3502,
35/F, Kerry Parkside Office,
1155 Fang Dian Road, Pudong,
Shanghai 201204, China
e-mail: Wei.zhang@utrc.utc.com
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Abbas A. Alahyari,
Abbas A. Alahyari
United Technologies Research Center,
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: AlahyaAA@utrc.utc.com
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: AlahyaAA@utrc.utc.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Louis Chiappetta
Louis Chiappetta
United Technologies Research Center,
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: ChiappL@utrc.utc.com
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: ChiappL@utrc.utc.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Wei Zhang
United Technologies Research
Center (China) Ltd.,
Room 3502,
35/F, Kerry Parkside Office,
1155 Fang Dian Road, Pudong,
Shanghai 201204, China
e-mail: Wei.zhang@utrc.utc.com
Center (China) Ltd.,
Room 3502,
35/F, Kerry Parkside Office,
1155 Fang Dian Road, Pudong,
Shanghai 201204, China
e-mail: Wei.zhang@utrc.utc.com
Abbas A. Alahyari
United Technologies Research Center,
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: AlahyaAA@utrc.utc.com
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: AlahyaAA@utrc.utc.com
Louis Chiappetta
United Technologies Research Center,
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: ChiappL@utrc.utc.com
411 Silver Lane,
East Hartford, CT 06108
e-mail: ChiappL@utrc.utc.com
Contributed by the Structures and Dynamics Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received August 11, 2015; final manuscript received August 28, 2015; published online September 13, 2016. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Feb 2017, 139(2): 022501 (5 pages)
Published Online: September 13, 2016
Article history
Received:
August 11, 2015
Revised:
August 28, 2015
Citation
Zhang, W., Alahyari, A. A., and Chiappetta, L. (September 13, 2016). "A Fully Coupled Fluid–Structure Interaction Model for Foil Gas Bearings." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. February 2017; 139(2): 022501. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034343
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