Steady Performance of a Micro Gas-Lubricated Bearing

The mechanical performance of a micro gas-lubricated journal bearing operating at the steady state is analyzed. Considering the length scale of the micro gas-lubricated bearing, the assumption of the continuum gas is challenged. Identifying the regime of the micro flow with the local Knudsen number at the minimum film, the flow belongs to the slip regime in the micro gas bearing. The second-order velocity slip model is adopted to get the modified Reynold’s equation for the gas film. Solving the traditional Reynold’s equation and the modified Reynold’s equations with finite difference method, the non-dimensional load-carrying capacity and attitude angle are acquired respectively. Comparing the results, it shows that the velocity slip at solid surface has an obvious effect on the steady mechanical performance of the micro gas bearing, especially at the high eccentricity ratio condition.Copyright © 2006 by ASME