Numerical analysis on nanoparticles-laden gas film thrust bearing

Nanoparticles can be taken as additives and added into various fluids to improve their lubricating performances. At present, researches in this area are mainly concentrated on the improvement effects of nanoparticles on the lubricating performances of liquid such as oil and water. Nanoparticles will also affect gas lubrication, but few related studies have been reported. Nanoparticles-laden gas film (NLGF) is formed when adding nanoparticles into gas bearing. Then, the lubricating performances of gas bearing including pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity will change. The variations of pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity in nanoparticles-laden gas film thrust bearing are investigated by numerical method. Taking account of the compressibility of gas and the interactions between gas and nanoparticles, a computational fluid dynamics model based on Navier-Stokes equations is applied to simulate the NLGF flow. The effects of inlet nanoparticles volume fraction and orifice radius on film pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity of the NLGF are calculated. The numerical calculation results show that both of the film land pressure and the maximum film pressure both increase when the nanoparticles are added into gas bearing, and the film pressures increase with the rising of the inlet nanoparticles volume fraction. The nanoparticles have an enhancement effect on load-carrying capacity of the studied bearing, and the enhancement effect becomes greater as the film thickness decrease. Therefore, nanoparticles can effectively improve the lubricating performance of gas bearing. The proposed research provides a theoretical basis for the design of new-type nanoparticles-laden gas film bearings.