Abstract

DI LISCIA, Marcelo; DIAZ, Valentina; DE STEFANO, Andrés  and  RUIZ, Rafael. Gas foil bearing construction. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2014, vol.29, n.3, pp.51-64. ISSN 0798-4065.

Since the seventies, Gas Foil Bearings (GFB) have been used in high performance turbomachinery, as they allow operating at high speeds with low friction, no seals are needed and the lubricant remains stable under a wide temperature range. GFB consist of a thin foil (top-foil) supported over corrugated foils (bump foils) that act as springs to the loads to which the bearing is subjected. This work presents the construction of the devices capable of forming the elements of a GFB bump-type. A conceptual design review was performed in order to complement it according to the manufacturing processes and materials available. Afterwards, the construction and assembly of parts were performed and the first tests were conducted. One of the advantages of the proposal is that the devices allow building different geometries for the top and bump-foils. The bearings obtained from this prototype will be used to perform various measurements and tests in the Machine Dynamics Laboratory.

Keywords : Tribology; Lubrication; Foil bearing; Manufacturing; Machining.

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