A Static Analysis Model for Bump-Type Foil Bearings Based on Frictional Contacts

For bump-type foil bearings, the complex frictional contact relationships between the foil structure result in difficulties in predicting their performance. This paper presents a finite element static analysis model that accounts for the contact relationships among the bump foil, top foil, and bearing sleeve. In this model, beam elements are utilized to discretize the foils. The penalty function method is employed to account for the frictional forces in the contact regions, and the Coulomb friction model is smoothed using an arctangent function. To improve system convergence, the Newton-Raphson iterative method and the eccentricity iterative method are applied to solve the system equations. In calculating the gas film distribution, the deflection of the top foil is coupled into the Reynolds equation. The results obtained show good agreement with the literature data, verifying the accuracy of the model.