A Fundamental CFD Study of a Plate-Type Foil Gas Thrust Bearing

A CFD-based analysis was conducted to investigate the gas lubrication film behavior of a plate-type foil gas thrust bearing. The gas film thickness was varied to evaluate its effects on thermo-fluid characteristics, pressure distribution, and axial load capacity. In addition, laminar and turbulence models were applied to examine transition effects and the influence of heat transfer coefficients. The results show that decreasing film thickness significantly increases pressure gradients and shear stresses, leading to higher axial load capacity and power loss, particularly in the thin film region. Thermal effects cause substantial temperature rise due to viscous heating, strongly affecting bearing performance. Furthermore, the flow is predominantly laminar under thin film conditions, while turbulence models tend to underestimate axial load in fully laminar regimes. These findings highlight the importance of appropriate flow modeling and thermal boundary conditions for accurate performance prediction.