The Impact of Linear Deformations on Stationary Hydrostatic Thrust Bearings

In this work, the operating sensitivity of the hydrostatic thrust bearing with respect to pressure-induced deformations will be studied in a stationary setting. Using the classical lubrication equations for low Reynold’s number flow, closed-form expressions are generated for describing the pressure distribution, the flow rate, and the load carrying capacity of the bearing. These expressions are developed to consider deformations of the bearing that result in either concave or convex shapes relative to a flat thrust surface. The impact of both shapes is compared, and the sensitivity of the flow rate and the load carrying capacity of the bearing with respect to the magnitude of the deformation is discussed. In summary, it is shown that all deformations increase the flow rate of the bearing and that concave deformations increase the load carrying capacity while convex deformations decrease this same quantity relative to a non-deformed bearing condition.