Three-Dimensional Thermohydrodynamic Analyses of Rayleigh Step Air Foil Thrust Bearing with Radially Arranged Bump Foils

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) thermohydrodynamic (THD) model for air foil thrust bearings (AFTBs) is presented. The nonisothermal Reynolds equation is solved using pressure boundary conditions at the cooling air plenum considering local temperature-dependent viscosity and density. Air film temperature is calculated using the 3D energy equation with thermal boundary conditions at the top foil, thrust runner, and top foil’s leading edge. The cooling air plenum distributes the cooling air to multiple radially arranged cooling channels. The plenum temperature and pressure are found from mass and energy balance equations applied to the plenum. Temperature fields of the top foil, bump foils, thrust disc runner, bearing plate, and cooling air channels are also solved through appropriate energy balance equations with their surroundings. A robust computational algorithm with multiple iteration loops was developed to find all the temperature fields. THD analyses were performed for AFTB with outer radius of 50 mm up to 100,000 rpm. As the cooling air source pressure is increased, the plenum pressure also increases and its temperature decreases due to more cooling capacity. However, cooling effectiveness is not necessarily proportional to the pressure because the flow residence time inside the cooling channels is inversely proportional to the pressure. The analyses show that the thrust disc temperature is a parabolic function with speed, and thermal expansions of the thrust disc and thrust plates contribute to the most significant driving force of thermal instability. Optimum cooling air pressure was found around 12,500 Pa for the proposed AFTB design at the reference simulation condition.