Multifunctional bushing for gas foil bearing - Test rig architecture and functionalities

Abstract

The following content refers to the thermal aspects of Gas Foil Bearing (GFB). The GFBs are the subgroup of journal bearings, for which lubrication is provided by air, instead of ‘traditional’ lubricants like oil, graces etc. Gas Foil Bearings offer specific features unachievable for traditional bearings. GFB can operate with rotating speed up to several dozens of krpm in extreme temperature up to hundreds of Celsius degrees. However due to their specific construction, GFBs are prone to specific thermal issues which complicate their design process. Until now, many tools, mainly based on numerical models were developed. Their effectiveness is evaluated based on experimental data. Due to the high complexity of GFB’s structure, the temperature measurement is a challenging task and so far, no reliable simple technique was proposed. There is still a need for developing reliable measurement techniques, allowing for precise temperature measurement. This paper presents the novel approach to temperature measurement of the GFBs compliant structure. The unique concept of foil with integrated sensors was presented and described in detail.