EXPERIMENT ON MIXED LUBRICATION OF HYDROSTATIC THRUST-BEARINGS FOR HYDRAULIC EQUIPMENT

Mixed lubrication characteristics of hydrostatic thrust bearings are e xamined experimentally. The effects of the surface roughness, supply p ressure, toads, speed of rotation and size of restrictors on the frict ional force, leakage-flow rate and power losses are clarified. Introdu cing the concept of mean pressure based on load-carrying capacity due to asperities, and the ratios of hydrostatic balance and leakage-flow rate, the experimental data can be normalized. Also good agreement is found between theoretical results based on a mixed lubrication model p resented in a previous paper and the experiment.