STABILITY OF THE ROTOR SUPPORTED IN GAS JOURNAL BEARINGS WITH A CHAMBER FEEDING SYSTEM

This paper describes the results of numerical investigations of the st ability problem of the rigid symmetrical rotor supported in two extern ally pressurized gas journal bearings. The bushes of the bearings are mounted on a system of linear springs and viscous dampers. When the st iffness and damping coefficients of these springs and dampers are chos en correctly, it is possible to avoid the self-excited vibrations of t he rotor. Such vibrations, which are caused by the phenomenon of a hal f-synchronic whirl, are the major obstacle to the widespread applicati on of gas bearings. The results of authors numerical experiments have shown that the elastic support of the bearing bushes can be designed a s an additional externally pressurized air ring, surrounding the bush. The set of parameters of such a ring is optimal when the bearing has a chamber feeding system. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.