Theoretical study of effects on static characteristics of orifice compensation aerostatic bearings with different structures of pockets

This paper describes the pressure distribution and mass flow rate in the bearing clearance of circular aerostatic thrust bearings with a single air supply inlet which is composed of an orifice and a pocket. With different structures of pockets, the restrictor types of the air bearings vary greatly, which will bring out different static characteristics. So, a simple design methodology is applied to assist in the design or the selection process of the bearings. Finally, three-dimensional models are built for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to verify the theoretical results.