Review

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2017, Vol. 9(10) 1–27
Ó The Author(s) 2017
A review of hydrostatic bearing DOI: 10.1177/1687814017730536
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
system: Researches and applications

Zhifeng Liu1, Yumo Wang1, Ligang Cai1, Yongsheng Zhao1, Qiang Cheng1
and Xiangmin Dong2

Abstract
Hydrostatic bearing is a key part that provides precision and long life to machine tools. It is one of the embodiments of
tribology, mechanics, optimization method, and structural design in engineering practice. Articles about hydrostatic bear-
ings since 1990 are collected in this review. Researching status is evaluated in two aspects: basic theory and typical appli-
cation. This article presents a review of research articles related to introducing developments in hydrostatic bearings.
Basic theory contains equations and analysis methods which include analytic, numerical, and experimental methods.
Typical applications are based on rectangular oil pad, circular oil pad, and journal bearings. Moreover, this article focuses
on the analysis of the relevant model, solution, and optimization and summarizes the hotspots and development
directions.

Keywords
Hydrostatic bearings, oil pads, the Reynolds equation, future development, carrying ability

Date received: 25 May 2017; accepted: 14 August 2017

Handling Editor: Roslinda Nazar

Introduction analysis.1 The load-carrying capacity is achieved by oil

This review considers more than 400 articles published
from 1990 to 2016. Among them, researches from the
United States account for 25% which is leading the stud-
ies of hydrostatic bearings. Scholars from China, Japan,
India, and France also make impressive contributions.
As Figure 1 shows, during that period, studies on
hydrostatic systems never stopped and increased year
by year. The increasing trend shows that both research
method and application develop with time. In general,
the trend line shows that the number of published arti-
cles about hydrostatic bearing grows about 1.01 per
year and fluctuates every year. Around 30 articles came
out in 2013 and only two researchers were published in
1990 (Figure 2).
Hydrostatic bearings are important parts of machine
tool for lubrication and supporting which are essential
for a reliable moving performance. Formation of
lubrication film is the key problem in bearing system
pads. The oil supply system injects oil into oil pockets,
that is, the recess, whose depth is designed larger than
the viscous boundary layer thickness of oil flow. So,
there is no pressure loss when oil flows through the oil
pocket. However, the film thickness at oil sealing edge
is designed thinner than the viscous boundary layer
thickness of oil flow. The viscous shear flow at the oil
sealing edge can maintain the pressure in the oil pocket
(Figure 3).
1
Beijing Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Beijing
University of Technology, Beijing, P.R. China
2
Chengde Petroleum College, Chengde, P.R. China
Corresponding author:
Zhifeng Liu, Beijing Key Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology, Beijing University of Technology, No. 100, Pingleyuan,
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100124, P.R. China.
Email: lzfeng1@126.com

Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without
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open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 3. Oil flow in oil pad.

Figure 1. Contribution of scholars from different countries.

Figure 2. Researches published between 1990 and 2016.

Figure 4. The review contents.

The design and analysis of hydrostatic bearings are

highly associated with engineering applications. This of non-Newtonian fluid introduces more lubricants in
review presents first the basic equation and its solution hydrostatic bearing (Table 1).
and then focuses on the application of different types Reynolds equation2 is a two-order partial differential
of oil pads. Circular oil pads are usually used in thrust equation describing oil pressure distribution in thin film
bearings, turntable, and slipper bearings. Rectangular that can be applied to calculate the pressure distribution
oil pads are commonly used in guideways, slider bear- in a journal bearing. The pressure variation in the thick-
ings, and dampers. Journal bearings, conical, and sphe- ness dimension is ignored because it is far smaller than
rical bearing are also introduced (Figure 4). other two dimensions. Then, the Reynolds equation is
obtained1
   
Theoretical researches ∂ h3 ∂p ∂ h3 ∂p
 + 
∂x h ∂x ∂y h ∂y
Basic equations for hydrostatic bearing ð1Þ
∂ ∂ ∂h
Studies about hydrostatic bearings belong to fluid = 6 (Ux h) + 6 (Uy h) + 12
∂x ∂y ∂t
mechanics. Theories of fluid dynamics can help research-
ers analyze hydrostatic systems. Equations describing where p is the pressure, h is the film thickness, h is the
fluid need to be modified because they are always com- viscosity, U is the surface velocity on x-coordinate, V is
plicated to solve. the surface velocity on y coordinate, and t is the time.
The Reynolds equation provides a very practical Since the Reynolds equation is usually difficult to be
model to describe the pressure distribution in thin film solved, it has been modified into different types to ana-
flow. The fluid energy equation provides thermal anal- lyze the specific bearing model. Z Pang et al.3,4 pro-
ysis for hydrostatic systems. Introducing different types posed a dynamic transfer equation of a closed type of
Liu et al. 3

Table 1. Comparison of basic equations.

Equation Description General form

 3 
Reynolds equation Describes pressure distribution in oil film; general h * * ∂h
expression of each parameter for all kinds of application r  rp = 6r(U  h) + 12
h ∂t
Simplified pressure formula Pressure gradient associated with flow rate in a plane for dp
= f (x, Q, h, h, . . . )
rotational symmetry models dx  
Energy equation Describes temperature distribution of flow; fundamental ∂ðrT Þ * kc
equation for solving heat generation and transfer + r(rUT) = r  rT + ST
∂t cp
Non-Newtonian model Inevitable topic when introducing new lubricant model h = f (t)

hydrostatic bearing to analyze its transient response which varies in the (0.2, 1) interval to describe non-
and presented a simplified pressure formula for circular Newtonian fluids.
oil pad3 Z Liu et al.8 carried out the carrying performance of
hydrostatic guideway, turntable, and journal bearing
dp 6hQ on machine tools. The Reynolds equation without visc-
= ð2Þ
dr rh3 osity variations is expressed in different coordinate sys-
tems for rectangular, circular, and journal bearings,
M El Khlifi et al.5 introduced a non-Newtonian fluid respectively
model into the Reynolds equation and combined fluid
energy equation to research heat problem for hydro-    
∂ ∂p ∂ ∂p
static bearing. The modified fluid energy equation for Rectangular bearing : h3  + h3 
∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y
thin oil film is then proposed
∂ ∂
  = 6 (Ux h) + 6 (Uy h)
∂T ∂h ∂h ∂T ∂T ∂x ∂y
u + vu w +w    
∂x ∂x ∂z ∂y ∂z ∂ 3 ∂p ∂ 3 ∂p
Circular bearing : rh  + h 
2  2  2 ! ð3Þ ∂r ∂r ∂q r∂q
kc ∂ T h ∂u ∂w
= 2
+ + ∂ ∂
rcp ∂y rcp ∂y ∂y = 6 (rUr h) + 6 (Uq h)
 ∂r   ∂q 
∂ 3 ∂p ∂ 3 ∂p
where T is the temperature, u is the flow velocity on x- Journal bearing : h  + h 
∂f ∂f ∂y ∂y
coordinate, v is the flow velocity on y–x-coordinate, w
is the flow velocity on z-coordinate, kc is the heat trans- ∂ ∂
= 6 (Uf h) + 6 (Uy h)
fer coefficient, r is the density, and cp is the specific heat ∂f ∂y
capacity. ð5Þ
J Li and H Chen6 gave an approximated expression
of the roughness of bearing surface by rectangular In the study of a conical journal bearing, PG Khakse
groove and derived the results by solving the Reynolds et al.9 provided another form of the Reynolds equation
equation. Both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) that can be applied in spherical coordinates. The equa-
software simulation and numerical resolution are con- tion is written as
ducted. The comparison showed that two methods    3 
1 ∂ rh3 ∂p 1 ∂ h 1 ∂p vJ ∂h ∂h
share similar results when surface roughness is 1%– + 2 = +
10% of film thickness. E De la Guerra Ochoa et al.7 r ∂r 12h ∂r sin g ∂u 12h r2 ∂u 2 ∂u ∂t
introduced the Carreau model, a non-Newtonian fluid ð6Þ
model, into the Reynolds equation to analyze the visc-
X Bai et al.10 researched the supporting performance
osity variation affections. The Carreau model is given
of a spherical bearing and described the relationship
by equation (4)
between pressure distribution and flow rate
  t 2 ð1(1=n)Þ=2
h = h0 1 + ð4Þ ð0 ð0
G pr dp prh3 dp
Q= u 3 2prdz = ½z + d(r)dz =
h dr 6h dr
where h0 is the low shear viscosity, t is the shear stress, h h

G is the shear modulus, and n is the Carreau exponent ð7Þ

4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Solutions of hydrostatic bearings
Analytical solutions. The analytical solution can directly
show the relationship between different parameters of
hydrostatic bearing. However, the equations describing
hydrostatic bearings are always in form of differential
equations that need to be simplified to determine the
analytical solutions.
YK Younes11 presented an optimization of the pump
power for hydrostatic thrust bearing. An analytical reso-
lution of pressure distribution and flow rate is proposed;
the variable 0 \ b \ 1 is introduced to approximately
describe the pressure loss at oil sealing edge
ln (r=R) bpr ph3
p = bpr , Q= 
ln (Rr =R) 6h ln (Rr =R)
where pr is the oil pressure in oil recess, R is the radius
of oil pad, and Rr is the radius of recess.
T Kazama and A Yamaguchi12 put forward an ana-
lytical calculation method to determine the load-
carrying capacity and moment of circular oil pad. JS
Yadav and VK Kapur13 presented an energy integral
approach to obtain the radial pressure gradient in non-
Newtonian squeeze film. The energy integral approach
is written as
2 !2
   n1
∂p 2n + 1 n h_ h_  €h 2n + 1
= 2m rn + r4  +
∂r n h 2n + 1
h_ 3n + 2
where u(u) and m(x) are the intermediate variables
associated with the model parameters, c(x) is calcu-
lated as 0 according to the boundary condition, and
fi (u) is the normalized eigenfunction. The results of the
comparison are shown in Figure 5.
Numerical simulations. Fluid simulation software solves
Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation using finite element
method (FEM) to determine the velocity, pressure, and
temperature distribution of flow. Many researches are
carried out according to the results of fluid simulation
software.
M Helene et al.15 established a two-dimensional
ð8Þ non-uniform grid base on the model of hydrostatic
journal bearing to simulate its inner flow field and car-
ried out a comparison of the results between the effects
of laminar and turbulent flow on supporting capacity.
The mesh and corresponding results are shown in
Figure 6.
FE Horvat and MJ Braun16 designed an experimen-
tal device with adjustable oil recess to observe the
inflow field of the oil pad. The experimental results of
different recess depths and speed are compared with
CFD simulations and they are shown in Figure 7.
3
 
h_ 2n + 1 (4n + 3)(3n + 5) n(n + 1) 5
r ð9Þ
h 2(n + 1)2 (3n + 2) 4 4n + 3

where m and n are the empirical constants in power

law.
Numerical solutions. Currently, the solution of differen-
A Chasalevris and D Sfyris14 divided the solution of
tial equations and matrices usually relies on numerical
the Reynolds equation into two parts, that is, particular
methods. Computations for analyzing hydrostatic bear-
and homogeneous, and solved it by Sturm–Liouville
ings can be customized to fit different models.
theory to obtain the analytical solution of the finite-
length journal bearing. Moreover, the results are com-
pared with those from other methods. The pressure p(x,
u) is rewritten as

p(x, u) = u(x, u) + g(x, u)

u(x, u) = u(u) + c(x) ð10Þ
g(x, u) = f (u)m(x)

In Chasalevris and Sfyris,14 by deduction, the analy-

tical result of pressure distribution is

X
‘  
p(x, u) = u(u) + si f i (u)mi (x) ,
i=1

Lb Lb
u 2 ½0, p, x 2  , ð11Þ
2 2
ðp
 
si = u(u)r(u)f i (u) du, i = 1, 2, . . .
0 Figure 5. Analytical solution for finite journal bearing.14
Liu et al. 5

Figure 6. Mesh and results of 2D pressure distribution in hydrostatic journal bearing:15 (a) mesh and (b) pressure distribution.

Figure 7. Numerical simulation and comparison of experimental results.16

Table 2. Comparison of solutions.

Solution Description and merits and demerits

Analytical Accurate and intuitive but not available for all conditions, needs complicated
mathematical deduction
Numerical simulation Easy to apply and effective, not suitable for customized conditions
Numerical solution FEM Widely used in solving partial difference equation, adjustable mesh shape, but needs
massive computing
FDM Easy to implement, but demands structured mesh shape
Integral method Effective but can only be used in specific applications

EM: experimental method; FEM: finite element method; FDM: finite difference method.

The Reynolds equation is a second-order partial differ-
ential equation difficult to solve directly. An analytic solu-
tion can express the effects of each parameter intuitively
but requires a complicated mathematical deduction.
Simulation software is practical in engineering analysis but
hard to introduce new models. Numerical resolution is the
most widely used method in theoretical research (Table 2).
SC Sharma et al.17 dispersed the Reynolds equation
into a matrix of nf order using the Galerkin’s technique
and calculated the supporting capability of the
hydrostatic journal bearing. The dispersed Reynolds
equation is written as equation (12)
½Fnf 3 nf fpgnf 3 1 = fQgnf 3 1 + OfRH gnf 3 1
ð12Þ
+ Xj fRxj gnf 3 1 + Zj fRzj gnf 3 1
where [F] is the fluidity matrix; {p} is the pressure at
each node; {Q} is the flow rate at each node; {RH},
{Rxj}, and {Rzj} are the parameter vectors associated
with speed condition.
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

N Wang et al.18 applied successive over relaxation

(SOR) technique to solve the dispersed Reynolds equa-
tion and proposed a method to select the optimal
relaxation factor

p(k) = vb p(k) + (1  vb )p(k1)
ð13Þ
vb = 1 +2aDx

where k is the total count of iterations, vb is the relaxa-
tion factor, a is 3.05 for slider bearings and 5.35 for
journal bearings, and Dx is the distance between neigh-
boring points on x-coordinate.
R Nicoletti19 put forward a meshless radial basis
Figure 8. Flow chart of feedback iteration.21
where b is the ratio of orifice, d is the convergence rate
factor which varies within [0.01, 0.2], and Ei(k)0 , j0 is the

function method (MMRB) to solve the Reynolds equa-
tion and compared it with finite difference method
(FDM). According to the contrasting result, FDM is
more suitable for the calculation of uniform mesh
model, while MMRB is more appropriate for the com-
putation of irregular area. The FDM-dispersed
Reynolds equation is written as equation (14)
Aij pi, j + Bij pi + 1, j + Cij pi1, j + Dij pi, j + 1 + Eij pi, j1 = Fij
where Aij, Bij, Cij, Dij, Eij, and Fij are the coefficients of
pressure matrix.
The MMRB is
8 research to analyze the effect of rotating speed on pres-
> P
N
< pi = lj uij , i = 1, 2, . . . , Nd
j=1
q ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
>
:
uij = (xi  xj )2 + (yi  yj )2 + (3d)2
where Nd is the number of points in the calculating area
and d is the distance between points.
P Liang et al.20 solved the carrying ability of hydro-
static journal bearing by Gauss–Legendre integral
method. The computing progress of Gauss–Legendre
method is so efficient that it only needs 1/603 time com-
pared with FDM. Gauss–Legendre integral method is
written as
relative error in the kth iteration loop.
Experimental researches. Studies on hydrostatic bearings
are often associated with experimental methods to mea-
sure the load-carrying capacity or assess the theory.
J Hesselbach and C Abel-Keilhack22 compared the ana-
lytic and experimental results to research the magnetor-
heological lubricant in hydrostatic thrust bearing. The
film thickness is changed with the variation in magne-
ð14Þ
torheological lubricant properties by controlling the
electric current. Y Henry et al.23 designed a device (see
Figure 9) and applied it to measure the minimum film
thickness of the thrust bearing.
YQ Zhang et al.24 carried out an experimental
sure distribution. The experimental result is compared
ð15Þ with that of finite volume method (FVM) simulation. E
Koc and CJ Hooke25 proposed the design and an
experimental method for slipper bearings introducing
slightly convex surface into the model. JK Martin26
measured the ability of hydrostatic journal bearing to
support loads and calculated the stiffness using four
displacement coefficients. D Kim and S Park27 studied
the hydrostatic air foil bearings through the measure of
the drag torque during start/stop. Figure 10 shows the
measurement device.

ð1  pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi Applications of oil pad

5 15 8 5 15
f (t)dt ’ f  + f (0) + f ð16Þ
9 5 9 9 5 Because of the advantages of high bearing capacity, high
1
damping, and low wear, hydrostatic bearings are widely
Y Li et al.21 studied the effect of ratios of the orifices used in many engineering applications (Figure 11). The
on aerostatic journal bearings. Feedback iteration is shape of the oil pad in hydrostatic bearings is classified
carried out after solving the Reynolds equation by as circular oil pad (Figure 12), rectangular oil pad
FDM. Equation (17) and Figure 8 show the iteration (Figure 26), and journal bearing (Figure 33).
method Research about hydrostatic bearings focuses on sev-
eral spots such as bearing modeling, dynamic analysis,
X
k0 optimization, surface texturing, and error prediction.
b(k) = d 3 Ei(k)
0 , j0 ð17Þ Studies about different bearing models highlight differ-
k=0 ent key points (Table 3).
Liu et al. 7

Figure 9. Device for measuring minimum film gap.23

Figure 10. Measuring model of drag torque.27

Figure 11. General applications of hydrostatic bearings.

Circular oil pad fits the Reynolds equation in cylind- analytically. Moreover, some researchers tried to intro-
rical coordinates, and many scholars calculated the duce different types of surface textures to improve its
pressure distribution and load-carrying capacity of it supporting performance because a flat bearing surface
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Most of the articles (47) studying circular oil pad

focus on the hydrostatic thrust bearing, while only a few
deal with hydrostatic turntable (9%), slipper bearing
(4%), and round sealing (4%). Among these articles, the
bearing modeling or its improvement (32%) and surface
texture introduction (31%) are distributed almost
equally; other researches refer to bearing optimization
and the study of dynamic characteristics (Figure 13).
A Van Beck and colleagues28–30 introduced the elas-
tic support surface, incline supporting, and fan-shaped
oil pocket in thrust bearing. Moreover, the authors
applied an analytical method to calculate the bearing
capability using the elastic supporting model shown in
Figure 12. Model of hydrostatic circular oil pad.
Figure 14.30
ND Manring et al.31 introduced the linear concave
is easy to be machined. Rectangular oil pad is suitable
and convex deformation into the hydrostatic bearing
for the Reynolds equation of Cartesian coordinates
and analyzed the effect on its carrying ability. The
and it is a good model for linear moving analysis. On
dimensionless carrying ability model under concave
the contrary, the curved bearing surface of the journal
deformation is written by equation (18) and it is shown
is hard to be machined. Therefore, studies about it usu-
in Figure 15
ally focus on the bearing model and optimization of
the film clearance. Conical journal bearing and spheri-  3
cal bearing are not commonly used in machine tools, (1  r0 ) 1 + r0 + (1  r0 )d (1 + d)
=
W 2
so the studies about them focus on the computational j(r0 ) 1 + (1  r0 )d
research of bearing modeling. h i
2
(1  r)(1 + d) 4 + (5  3r)d + (1  r)d d
j(r) = 2
Circular oil pad 1 + (1  r)d
!
Circular oil pad is usually used in thrust bearing and r2
 ln 2
rotary moving bearings. Most circular oil pad has a 1 + (1  r)d
round oil pocket concentric with oil pad, as shown in
ð18Þ
Figure 12.

Figure 13. Overview of researches about circular oil pad.

Table 3. Comparison of research focuses.

Applications Research focus

First Second .

Circular oil pad Thrust bearing Turntable .

Bearing modeling Surface texture .
Rectangular oil pad Dynamic characteristics Surface texture .
Journal bearing Bearing modeling Optimization .
Conical journal bearing Bearing modeling Dynamic characteristics .
Spherical bearing
Liu et al. 9

Figure 14. Circular oil pads with elastic support.30

Figure 15. Concave deformation of oil pad.31

where r0 is the radius of oil pocket, d is the slope of lin-

ear deformation, and H is the film thickness.
RAJ Van Ostayen et al.32 introduced surface roughness
into the elastic supporting model and studied the effects
of surface roughness on the mixed lubrication model.
J Shao et al.33 carried out a numerical analysis using
FVM and studied the heat effect on inclined surface under
different cavity models. UP Singh et al.34–36 established an
annular ring thrust bearing model (see Figure 16) and
analyzed its static characteristics analytically.
JE Garratt et al.37 introduced centrifugal inertia
effects into high-speed aerostatic thrust bearing to ana-
lyze its dynamic and static characteristics. BMA
Maher38 proposed an ellipse-shaped thrust bearing and
compared its load-carrying capacity with circular and
rectangular oil pads. Y Kang et al.39 carried out a com-
parative research of closed-type thrust bearing supplied
by constant oil pump and compensated by capillary
restrictor. Figure 17 shows the oil supply model of Figure 16. Model of annular thrust bearing.36
closed-type thrust bearing.
M Gohara et al.40 analyzed the carrying ability of
thrust bearing supplied by membrane restrictor accord- et al.41 introduced kinetic load to study the dynamic
ing to the coupling relationship between membrane characteristics of ring thrust bearing and proposed an
deformation and pressure distribution. TA Osman optimal flow rate to achieve a better supporting
10
Figure 17. Model of closed-type hydrostatic thrust bearing:39 (a) capillary restrictors and (b) constant flow pumps.
Figure 18. Geometric shapes of oil pocket.45
performance. YP Wang and D Kim42 put forward a
method for measuring the stiffness and damping on
hybrid air foil bearings. NB Naduvinamani et al.43
established a squeeze film model of ring thrust bearing
to analyze the effect of pad structure on squeeze
response time. Some parameter values from their
research are shown in Table 4.
E Solmaz et al.44 calculated the minimum power
consumption of oil pad based on the analytical formula
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
of pump and friction power and proposed an optimal
working film thickness. SC Sharma et al.45 researched
the influence of different shapes of oil pocket on the
supporting capability of hydrostatic thrust bearings.
Circular, rectangular, ellipse, and ring shape oil recesses
are compared in the research; Figure 18 shows their
main features.
OJ Bakker and RAJ Van Ostayen46 analyzed the
influence of the depth of oil pocket on the bearing
Liu et al.
Table 4. Some parameter values in engineering application.42
Physical parameter
Radius of the circular plate
Initial viscosity of a Newtonian fluid
Minimum film thickness at time = 0
Step height
Figure 19. Model of oil pads with different recess shapes: (a) elliptical pocket, (b) square pocket, (c) annular pocket, and (d) sector
pocket.47
capacity and concluded an optimal solution based on
the analytical solution of load-carrying capacity of cir-
cular and ring thrust bearings. After carrying out a
numerical simulation on the model of oil pad (see
Figure 19), according to the results, F Shen et al.47
revealed that circular oil recess provides higher pres-
sure, while circular oil recess shows better stiffness.
SK Yadav and SC Sharma48 evaluated the carrying
capacity of the circular, annular, and sectorial oil pock-
ets on hydrostatic thrust bearings and introduced non-
Newtonian lubricant. H Sawano et al.49 proposed a
new type of oil recess with thin metal plate shown in
Figure 20 to obtain a better dynamic stiffness.
YK Younes50 put forward a hydrostatic thrust bear-
ing with shell shape waviness and carried out a numeri-
cal analysis. JR Lin51 introduced a random function
11
Notation Range of values chosen
R 10 mm
h 500 cP
h0 0.05 mm
hs 0 mm, 7.5 3 1023 mm, 10 3 1023 mm
into the film thickness formula to simulate the effect of
surface roughness on the carrying capability of thrust
bearing. CW Wong et al.52 studied an aerostatic thrust
bearing with spiral grooves; the model is shown in
Figure 21.
AW Yacout et al.53 researched the thrust bearing
analytically considering centripetal inertia and the sur-
face roughness, and D Lee and D Kim54 optimized the
thrust air foil bearing by introducing surface texture to
improve the dynamic supporting performance. DV De
Pellegrin and DJ Hargreaves55 conducted an isothermal
and isoviscous analysis of hydrostatic thrust bearing
with grooves to determine the optimal grove shape.
X-Q Zhang et al.56 studied the spiral-grooved aerostatic
bearing mounted on a microengine. The grooves in
spiral shape make the bearing more stable under the
12
Figure 20. Model of hydrostatic bearing with thin plate.49
Figure 21. Model of hydrodynamic thrust bearing with spiral
groove.52
effect of high-frequency vibration; M Fesanghary and
MM Khonsari57 optimized the groove shape (see
Figure 22) to obtain a better carrying performance.
SC Sharma and SK Yadav58 analyzed the effect of
spherical and conical surface textures, respectively, on
the carrying performance for non-Newtonian lubricant.
X Meng et al.59 compared round, rectangular,
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
diamond, and triangle shapes of the texture on a
mechanical seal. Z Hao and C Gu60 introduced the
cavitation effect in a hydrostatic thrust bearing with
rectangular grooves, while M Zakir Hossain and M
Mahbubur Razzaque61 studied a thrust bearing model
with grooves on its bearing surface. AM Gad and
S Kaneko62 introduced bump-shaped grooves (see
Figure 23) into a foil thrust bearing and solved the cou-
pling relationship between bump deformation and pres-
sure distribution.
M Mahbubur Razzaque and M Zakir Hossain63 put
forward a model of thrust bearing with grooves on one
bearing surface and pores on the other one, and SK
Yadav and SC Sharma64 studied a thrust bearing with
concave shape of circle texture lubricated by non-
Newtonian fluid. Q Cheng et al.65 conducted a particle
swarm optimization (PSO) for hydrostatic turntable
based on sensitivity analysis to obtain a more reliable
film thickness. The model of hydrostatic turntable is
shown in Figure 24.
Y Wang et al.66 introduced thermal effect into
hydrostatic turntable model and solved the Reynolds
equation and energy equation. Z Liu et al.67 analyzed
the effects of heat and inclination partial load on the
model of hydrostatic turntable.
HS Tang et al.68 introduced thermal equilibrium
clearance and solid thermal deformation into the model
of slipper bearing shown in Figure 25 to analyze the
heat effect.
Liu et al. 13

Figure 22. The optimized groove geometry.57

Figure 23. Geometry model of a bump foil strip.62

Figure 24. Model of hydrostatic turntable.65

14
Figure 25. Model of slipper bearing.68
X Wang and A Yamaguchi69,70 studied the sealing
characteristics of circular as a water seal part and ana-
lyzed the bearing performance and its power loss, prov-
ing a better sealing performance of elastic bearing
surface.
Articles about circular oil pad are widely used in
many situations, such as thrust bearing, turntable, seal-
ing, and slipper bearing. Combined with different types
of oil supply method, the carrying performance of cir-
cular oil pads can be controlled to fit their working
condition. Circular oil pads are also good experimental
objects to test speed influence and introduce surface
texture.
Rectangular oil pad
Rectangular oil pad is easy to be manufactured because
of its regular shape, and it is usually applied in linear
moving guideways. A typical rectangular oil pad has
rectangular oil pocket, as shown in Figure 26.
Among the articles dealing with rectangular oil pad,
most focus was on dynamic characteristics of the bear-
ing (31%) and surface texture (25%), followed by
Figure 26. Model of hydrostatic rectangular oil pad.
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
studies on bearing modeling (12%), error analysis
(13%), and optimization design (19%) (Figure 27).
E Koc71 introduced the analysis of misalignment
plate lubrication into the gear meshing position, indir-
ectly providing new ideas for rectangular bearing
researches. A Van Beck and A Segal72 introduced elas-
tic rubber support into plate lubrication model and
solved it numerically. The research provided a practical
way to analyze the coupling of fluid and elastic solids.
Figure 28 shows the elastic bearing model.
A Bouzidane and colleagues73–76 researched dampers
made up by three or four rectangular oil pads and stud-
ied its dynamic characteristics including stiffness and
damp. Figure 29 shows the damper model with four oil
pads.
Y Du et al.77 introduced compressible fluid in the
simulation of rectangular oil pad and established the
dynamic model of a hydrostatic guideway, while JS Oh
et al.78 used mixed two-probe method (MTPM) to mea-
sure the moving error of a hydrostatic guideway.
Moreover, Z Wang et al.,79 based on the dynamic
model of hydrostatic guideway shown in Figure 30,
analyzed the relationship between oil supplying condi-
tion and moving error.
M Qiu et al.80 studied the effect of surface grooves
on the supporting stiffness and friction coefficient of
aerostatic bearings numerically. L Wang et al.81 intro-
duced elastic deformation into plate lubrication. The
Reynolds equation was solved by FDM, and concave
and convex grooves were compared by evaluating their
influence on carrying capacity. J Ji et al.82 researched
the different effects of parabolic, triangle, and rectan-
gular grooves on the supporting performance of rectan-
gular oil pads. The parabolic groove model and its
pressure distribution are shown in Figure 31.
Using three-dimensional surface topography detec-
tion, E Qi et al.83 analyzed the error averaging effects
of hydrostatic guideway. SF Alyaqout and AA
Elsharkawy84 put forward an optimal film clearance to
Liu et al.
Figure 27. Overview of researches about rectangular oil pad.
Figure 28. Model of elastic supporting.72
minimize the friction coefficient by evaluating a two-
dimensional plate lubrication model, while SH Chang
and YR Jeng85 obtained an optimal working condition
for stiffness maximization by modified particle swarm
optimization (MPSO). Figure 32 shows the trend of the
stiffness versus bearing load and the calculated bear-
ing’s stiffness peak.
L Cai et al.86 compared different contributions of
each oil pad in the study of overturning problem for
hydrostatic guideway. The authors proposed an opti-
mal pad size allocation to improve the stiffness of
guideway under inertia force impact.
Compared with circular oil pad, there are fewer
researches studying about rectangular oil pad. The
Reynolds equation in rectangular coordinates is hard
to be simplified to determine an analytic solution. Flat
15
Figure 29. Model of squeeze film damper.76
bearing surface of rectangular is a good platform to test
different types of texture.
Journal bearing
Oil recesses of hydrostatic journal bearing are circum-
ferentially distributed around the central axis and they
are usually used to lubricate the spindle of machine
tools. Typical hydrostatic journal bearing has several
oil pockets; Figure 33 shows where the pockets are
located in each pad.
Among the 39 articles studying hydrostatic journal
bearings, most of them deal with bearing modeling
(61%); 13% is about dynamic characteristics, 18% is
about optimal design, and 8% combine thrust bearing
to establish a new model (Figure 34).
LA San Andres87 studied the supporting perfor-
mance of journal bearing lubricated by compressible
fluid. Dynamic characteristics were calculated when the
bearing is supplied by capillary restrictor and orifice
restrictor, respectively. WB Rowe et al.88 designed com-
puting software according to the analytical solution of
hydrostatic journal bearings. SC Jain et al.89 used the
analytical method to compare the influences of differ-
ent restrictors on the carrying performance. R Sinhasan
and PL Sah90 introduced non-Newtonian fluid into a
journal compensated by orifice restrictor and analyzed
its non-linear dynamic characteristics. According to
FEM analysis, SC Jain et al.91 researched on the eccen-
tricity effect on supporting ability of journal bearing.
Based on Galerkin’s method, SC Sharma et al.92 estab-
lished a non-Newtonian fluid-lubricated journal bear-
ing model compensated by orifice restrictor. JCT Su
and KN Lie93 compared the rotational effect on
the load-carrying performance of hydrostatic and
16 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 30. Hydrostatic guideway model moving with geometric errors.79

Figure 31. The geometrical model and pressure distribution of parabolic grooves.82

Figure 32. Peak point of bearing stiffness.85 Figure 33. Model of hydrostatic journal bearing.
Liu et al. 17

and SC Sharma97 compared the Newtonian and micro-

Figure 34. Overview of researches about journal bearing.
hydrodynamic journal bearings. The hole-entry model
and porous model of hydrodynamic journal are shown
in Figure 35.
ZS Spakovszky and LX Liu94 proposed an approxi-
mate analytical solution for ultra-short bearing model
of aerostatic journal bearing. Using numerical simula-
tion, L Ambrosoni and M Poli95 analyzed the carrying
capacity of coaxial floating sleeve to satisfy the high-
speed/high-power working conditions. S Verma et al.96
introduced micropolar lubricant into a multi-recess
journal bearing. The numerical comparison of the
results between Newtonian and micropolar lubricant is
carried out by Galerkin’s technique. ER Nicodemus
polar lubricant influence on the load-carrying perfor-
mance of multi-recess journal bearings and introduced
wear effect. SK Guha98 established a journal bearing
model considering coupled stress lubrication; HC Garg
et al.99 studied the heat and non-Newtonian influence
on slot-entry hybrid journal bearings. The operating
parameters are shown in Table 5.
SC Sharma and N Ram100 introduced micropolar
lubricant into the oil supply model of slot-entry hybrid
journal bearings. S Verma et al.101 established a flexible
multi-recess journal bearing with micropolar lubricant,
and the comparison of the results between Newtonian
and micropolar lubricant is shown in Figure 36.
ER Nicodemus and SC Sharma102 introduced
micropolar lubricant into journal bearings compen-
sated by membrane restrictor. TC Hsu et al.103 studied
the influence of surface roughness and magnetic field
on the carrying capability of journal lubricated by fer-
rofluids. P Liang et al.104 put forward a method for
identifying hydrostatic and hydrodynamic journal bear-
ings. Q Lin et al.105 calculated the moving trajectory of
hydrostatic journal bearing considering the thermal
influence and cavitation and carried out CFD analysis
to study the fluid–structure interaction. DA Bompos
and PG Nikolakopoulos106 established a dynamic
model of hydrostatic bearings lubricated by nano mag-
netorheological fluid, as shown in Figure 37.106

Figure 35. Model of hydrostatic and hydrodynamic journal bearing:93 (a) hole-entry hydrostatic journal bearing and (b) porous
hydrodynamic journal bearing.

Table 5. Operating parameters of hybrid and hydrodynamic bearing.98

Parameter Symbol Hybrid Hydrodynamic

Bush external radius R2 55 mm 100 mm

Radial clearance c 0.05 mm 0.145 mm
Thermal conductivity kf 0.125 W m21 K21 0.13 W m21 K21
Viscosity (at 40°C) href 0.02636 Pa s 0.0277 Pa s
Supply pressure ps 8.96 3 106 Pa 70 3 103 Pa
18
Figure 36. Comparison of different lubricants in journal
bearing.101
G Dong et al.107 researched a thermal elastohydro-
dynamic lubrication model for a tilting running roller.
S Aksoy and MF Aksit108 analyzed the carrying ability
of aerostatic journal bearing based on three-
dimensional thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication.
M Cha et al.109 established a non-linear dynamic
model of a tilting pad journal bearing. D Chen et al.110
studied the static and dynamic characteristics by analy-
tical method. SM Lee et al.111 conducted error analysis
of a heavy hydrostatic journal bearing with multi-
recesses. M Cha and S Glavatskih112 proposed a com-
putational method to research the dynamic moving
trajectory of journal bearings. X Yang et al.113 put for-
ward a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control
strategy according to dynamic model of hydrostatic
journal bearing. Figure 38 shows the proposed servo
control model.
SC Sharma et al.114 compared the load-carrying per-
formance of hydrostatic bearings with four and six oil
pockets, respectively. The results in their research
showed that journal bearing with six oil pockets has
better dynamic characteristics but requires a higher oil
supply rate. RQ Zhang and HS Chang 115 proposed a
new structure in the model of floating ring gas bearing
which is more stable at high-speed working conditions
and studied it analytically. N Singh et al.116 carried out
a comparative research of different shapes for hydro-
static journal bearing. The rectangular-, circular-,
ellipse-, and triangular-shaped oil recesses are shown in
Figure 39.116
ER Nicodemus and SC Sharma117 introduced micro-
polar lubricant into journal bearings compensated with
orifice restrictor and compared the influence of round,
rectangular, and triangular oil pockets on the support-
ing ability. R Bassani118 proposed a model of self-
controlled journal bearing running at a constant oil
pumping rate. C Weißbacher et al.119 put forward a
two-lobe bore-shaped film clearance in hydrostatic
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 37. Stiffness and damping coefficients of journal
bearing.106
journal bearings whose optimized film shape is shown
in Figure 40.
CW Chan120 carried out multi-objective PSO accord-
ing to the bearing model of the hydrostatic journal
bearing. LX Liu et al.121 designed an aerostatic journal
bearing combined with thrust bearing. H Guo et al.122
carried out a comparison research of different depths of
oil recess of journal–thrust bearing model. F Cheng and
W Ji123 combined water-lubricated hydrostatic journal
bearing and aerostatic thrust bearing and studied the
dynamic characteristics of the model in Figure 41.
Eccentricity is inevitable in journal bearings because
of its circumferential load structure. Non-linear beha-
vior of carrying performance is more obvious in journal
bearings. Therefore, many scholars conduct researches
of bearing modeling and dynamic characteristics of
journal bearing rather than optimization or surface
texture.
Conical and spherical bearing
S Yoshimoto et al.124 established water-lubricated coni-
cal model with spiral grooves and compared the carry-
ing ability of rigid surface and compliant surface of the
model shown in Figure 42.
NR Kane et al.125 conducted both analytical and
experimental researches of closed-type conical bearing
and studied the supporting performance by evaluating
supporting accuracy and stiffness. SC Sharma et al.126
used FEM to analyze the carrying capability of four-
pocket hydrostatic conical journal compensated by
caterpillar restrictors. XB Zuo et al.127 researched a
Liu et al.
Figure 38. Servo control model of hydrostatic journal bearing.113
slot-compensated hydrostatic conical bearing, while
PG Khakse et al.9 proposed a model of conical journal
bearing without oil pockets and compensated with
caterpillar restrictor which has thinner film thickness
and higher precision. Figure 43 shows the model.
H Guo et al.128 calculated the dynamic characteristics
of a capillary compensated deep–shallow pocket hybrid
conical bearing. X Zuo et al.129 carried out a compara-
tive research of conical bearings compensated with
19
variable slot and fixed slot. The results showed that
variable slot ensures a better radial carrying capacity.
S Yuan and D Zhou130 calculated the carrying abil-
ity of a spherical bearing by evaluating its equivalent
area. C Xu and S Jiang131,132 established a self-
compensated spherical bearing and analyzed its static
and dynamic characteristics. X Bai et al.10 researched
the carrying ability of a spherical bearing with inner oil
supply with the model in Figure 44.
20 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 39. Models of different shape recesses:116 (a) square and circular and (b) elliptical and triangular.

capillary restrictor, membrane restrictor, and orifice

restrictor. Y Kang et al.39 provided the model of capil-
lary restrictor and constant oil pump in Figure 17(a)
and (b). M Gohara et al.40 presented a membrane
restrictor in their research in Figure 45.
SC Jain et al.89 conducted a comparison research
between membrane, constant flow valve, orifice, and
capillary restrictor. SC Sharma et al.92 showed a struc-
tural model of orifice restrictor in their research.

Future developments
Articles about hydrostatic bearings reviewed in this
work contain basic theory and typical applications.
Most researches in this review are conducted by the
Reynolds equation which has been used for a century.
The Reynolds equation shows its efficiency and accu-
racy in analyzing different types of hydrostatic bear-
ings. However, the flow field in oil recess cannot be
evaluated by the Reynolds equation which limits fur-
ther study of oil pads. According to the study focus
and research trend, future development is estimated as
follows:
Figure 40. Model of two-lobe bore-bearing contour.119
1. Many studies presented in this review started by
calculating the carrying ability of a bearing.
Bearing surface of conical journal bearing is hard to Basic theories were applied to solve the fluid
be processed. The conical structure is also difficult to properties in the oil pad, like the pressure distri-
separate influence factors. And spherical bearing shares bution. Different types of oil pad fit different
the same problem. New type bearings like conical jour- forms of the Reynolds equation. Rectangular oil
nal bearing and spherical bearing reflect a wide range pads fit Cartesian coordinates, while circular oil
of application of hydrostatic systems. pads fit cylindrical coordinates. The Reynolds
equation is a general formula that is also suit-
able for a new type of oil pads or their combina-
Oil supply and compensation of hydrostatic bearing tions. However, the introduction of non-
Besides oil pad type, the oil supply method can influ- Newtonian fluid challenged the classical equa-
ence the supporting performance. There are four com- tion because of the change in shear flow hypoth-
mon types of oil supply method: constant oil pump, esis in the derivation of the Reynolds equation.
Liu et al. 21

Figure 41. Model of water–gas-lubricated journal bearing with thrust plate.123

Figure 42. Model of water-lubricated hydrostatic conical

bearing.124

Furthermore, the Reynolds equation can only

describe the pressure distribution in the oil seal-
ing edge while the solution of flow field in oil
pocket relies on N–S equation.
2. In the solution of the Reynolds equation, analy-
tical solutions of the bearing load-carrying
capacity are gradually developed from the
equivalent area approximation to the analytical
solution of the partial differential equation of
Figure 43. Model of non-recess hole-entry hydrostatic conical
journal bearing.9
Reynolds equation. With the development of
solving techniques of partial differential equa-
tion, new outcomes for analytical resolution
22
Figure 44. Model of spherical bearing surface.10
Figure 45. Membrane restrictor.40
may exist. The improvement of computing
speed helps the numerical solution being widely
used, making the solution of Reynolds equation
flexible and efficient. The emerging numerical
solutions can be conveniently applied to the
analysis of several types of oil pad bearing. New
computational methods are usually applied to
enhance the calculation accuracy and comput-
ing efficiency or improve the computational
model.
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
3. Except for the pressure distribution in the oil
pad, the oil supply is an important part of the
analysis of the bearing carrying capacity.
Caterpillar, orifice, and membrane restrictors
are the commonly used compensation tech-
niques. The servo oil pump with constant sup-
ply rate can ensure the pressure for the oil pad
without restrictors and provide a practical
method to adjust and control the carrying abil-
ity of hydrostatic systems. The application of
Liu et al.
Figure 46. Future developments of hydrostatic bearings.
magnetorheological fluid also is a new way to
govern the load-carrying capacity of the hydro-
static bearings.
4. Many researches focus on the optimization of oil
pads. Some of them introduced surface textures
into the bearing plate and studied them both the-
oretically and experimentally by evaluating vari-
ous affecting carrying abilities. Because of the
difficulty in machining curve supporting sur-
faces, researches on structural optimization for
journal bearing are less than that dealing with
circular or rectangular bearings. Some studies
proposed optimized oil pad arrangement at dif-
ferent positions of a machine tool, which means
oil pads are redesigned to fit the load-carrying
requirement at its position to enhance the overall
performance. With the development of new opti-
mization algorithms, the optimal design method
of the hydrostatic bearing system is also continu-
ously improving (Figure 46).
Researches of hydrostatic bearings will be more
micro or more macro with the help of new bearing
model, new type of oil pad, and new solution for equa-
tions. On a micro scale, the microscopic analysis of the
limit of oil film may reveal the formation and collapse
of thin film, which is still an important issue in hydro-
static system design. On the macroscopic scale, the
study of combined bearing performance of multiple oil
pads may improve the accuracy and reliability of
23
machine tools in larger, heavier, and faster
applications.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: The authors would like to thank the National Natural
Science Fund (51575009), Beijing Natural Science Fund
(3162003), and Jing-Hua Talents Project of Beijing University
of Technology for supporting the research.
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