The study of surface roughness on the hydrostatic pads of heavy rotary table

This study theoretically analyzes the effect of surface roughness on the pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads. The average pressure was expressed by establishing the volume flow rate of per unit width. In this study, we established two average Reynolds equations on radial direction and circumferential direction with the consideration of one-dimensional roughness. On the basis of the one-dimensional modified Reynolds equation, this study analyzes the pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads by solving the Reynolds equation using the finite difference method. According to the results, the effect of circumferential roughness provides an increase in load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads as compared to the smooth-bearing case. While the load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads decreased for the radial roughness case. Therefore, we can draw the conclusion that considering circumferential roughness can increase the load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads in some specific cases. On the basis of considering the roughness, the load-carrying capacity of hydrostatic circular pads should be drastically reduced with the increase of roughness parameters whether considering the radial or circumferential roughness.