Difference between hydrostatic bearing and

hydrodynamic bearing?

Hydrostatic

1) For pressurized supply of fluid an external

pressure supply is used

2) Speed is less

3) Design of bearing house is complicated

4) Initial cost is high

5) Load carrying capacity is high

6) It can be used as air bearings.

hydrodynamic

1) Pressure for fluid supply is produced by relative

moving motion of the parts
2) The cost is less
3)Design of bearing house is less complicated
4) speed is high
5) Load carrying capacity is less
6) Cannot be used as air bearings.
 Hydrostatic Bearings
NOVEMBER 15, 2002

Designing hydrostatic bearings is more complex than for

self-acting types because of the greater number of
components requiring design decisions. The pressure pads
in hydrostatic bearings carry the load.

Most hydrostatic systems (thrust or journal bearings) use

several evenly spaced pads so nonsymmetrical load
distributions can be handled. To estimate performance, pads
can be treated separately. Pressure is maintained in the
recess by fluid pumped through a flow restrictor. The
pressure lifts the rotor until flow out of the recess and over
the land equals flow in. A constant gap is maintained for a
given recess pressure and bearing load. The gap establishes
the volume of fluid pumped through the bearing. An
alternative design is to connect a fluid displacement pump
(gear or vane type) directly to each pocket without flow
restriction.

Pressurizing pump power can be estimated from the product

of pad pressure and total flow through the pads. For an
estimate of lubricant flow rate, a gap (or film thickness) is
assumed -- typical values are 0.001 to 0.002 in.

Design of flow restrictors influences bearing stiffness,

pumping power, supply pressure, and lubricant flow. A flow
restrictor is necessary to provide a pressure drop between
the supply manifold and the pad recesses to ensure
pressure requirements in any given pad never exceed supply
pressure. A bearing with restrictors is called a "compensated
bearing." Action of the restrictors is such that if the thrust
load is centered, pressure in all the pads is equal and lower
than pump pressure. If the load is off center, the gap
decreases somewhat on the loaded side and flow from the
pad there decreases. This results in an increase in loaded-
pad pressure and a decrease in pad pressure on the
opposite side, so the runner automatically seeks a nearly
level attitude.

Three compensators are used in hydrostatic bearings --

orifice, capillary, and variable-flow restrictor. The first two are
fixed-flow restrictors; the third is a valve which automatically
adjusts flow as it senses pressure differentials between
pads. The variable-flow restrictor provides a stiffer bearing
system, but is more expensive than fixed-flow restrictors.
Sizing of the orifice or capillary for optimum performance is
an essential part of the design of a compensated hydrostatic
bearing.

Hydrostatic bearing design requires adjustment of a number

of parameters including pad geometry, restrictor size, supply
pressure, and journal bearing clearance to optimize
performance.