Gravity-Independent Experimental Study on a High-Speed Rotor Supported by Aerostatic Bearings

Vapor compression heat pump technology has great potential in future space thermal management application. Considering microgravity in space, this paper proposes using aerostatic bearings for the lubrication of the heat pump compressor. An experimental apparatus was built to study the performance of a rotor supported by aerostatic bearings subjected to microgravity. The gravity-independent experiment was conducted by changing the angle between the rotor axis and the direction of gravity on the ground. The gas consumption and rotor stability at different rotor orientations were investigated and compared. Results showed that the largest difference in gas consumption due to the change in rotor orientation was 3% for the journal bearing and 5.56% for thrust bearings. The difference in rotation speed at the second peak amplitude under different rotor orientations was smaller than 4.2%. The experimental results imply that the aerostatic bearing-rotor system is independent of gravity. Aerostatic gas lubrication technology is thus a viable option for the vapor compression heat pump used in a space thermal management system.