Experimental study of plate-foil journal gas bearings

This work is concerned with the application of gas lubricated plate-foil journal bearing for a high speed cryogenic turboexpander. Tests were conducted for 25.0 mm diameter journal bearings. The results indicate that the rotor-bearing system stability and durability could be enhanced by properly choosing the bearing clearance and the foil stiffness. The foil bearing designed here can achieved sufficiently good operation performance. This confirms that this type of plate-foil journal bearing is feasible and hopeful as a reliable bearing applying to the high speed turboexpander.