Numerical investigation on dynamic tilt characteristics of aerostatic thrust bearings

Abstract Aerostatic bearings are widely used in ultra-precision measurement due to their near-zero friction. However, their inevitable tilt can cause angular error motion, reducing the measurement system’s precision. This study establishes a dynamic model of the bearing’s tilt characteristics using the tilt-perturbed Reynolds equation. An iterative numerical method is proposed to analyze the bearings’ tilt performance under impulse disturbances. The effects of working conditions and bearing parameters on the dynamic tilt characteristics are investigated. Additionally, the impact of dynamic tilt stiffness on aerostatic guidance is examined, highlighting its importance.