Theory of Gasostatic Thrust Bearing with an Isotropic Porous Throttle

This paper considers a flat gasostatic thrust bearing with feeding of compressed gas through an annular throttle made of homogeneous isotropic porous material. A two-dimensional equation in partial derivatives that determines the pattern of distribution of the pressure in the porous body is solved using splines. The equation for the pressure in the lubricating layer adjacent to the porous wall is solved numerically by the Runge-Kutta method. The algorithm for calculating the integral charac-teristics of the support is given and the examples of optimization of this support for the maximum rigidity are considered. Graphs of the dependence of the load-carrying capacity, rigidity, and flow of compressed gas from various operating parameters are constructed and conclusions regarding the specifics of operation of the porous thrust bearing are drawn.