Analysis of Aerostatic Performance of a Flexure Pivot Tilting Pad Air Journal Bearing

Abstract Aerostatic performance of a flexure pivot tilting pad air journal bearing is examined with several numerical simulation under various working conditions. The air pressure distribution in the bearing clearance is obtained by solving the Reynolds equation with the finite difference method (FDM). The code consists of 3 main parts: mass flow rate equilibrium, moment equilibrium, and shaft equilibrium. They are used to study the gas pressure at the downstream of the nozzles, the motion of pads, and the position of the shaft in the bearing, respectively. Code accuracy is verified by comparing the results with those in other articles. This work lays the foundation for future research.