Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095

www.springerlink.com/content/1738-494x
DOI 10.1007/s12206-015-0430-5

Experimental study on bump-foil gas bearing with different diametric

clearance configurations†
Yu Hou1,*, Bin Ma1, Shanju Yang1, Xingya Chen1, Yueqing Zheng1,2 and Shuangtao Chen1
1
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China
2
Institute of Mechanical Manufacturing Technology, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China

(Manuscript Received November 19, 2013; Revised January 8, 2015; Accepted January 21, 2015)

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Abstract

The stability characteristics of a 25 mm rotor turboexpander with bump-foil journal-gas-bearing pairs and a pair of pressurized thrust
bearing are investigated in this study. The journal-gas-bearing pairs in various inner diameters supply radial support for the rotor with
different hydrodynamic gas-film thicknesses, and the pair of pressurized thrust bearings balances the axial forces. The experimental re-
sults reveal that the stability of the bump foil gas bearing is achieved over a wide range of diametric clearances and that an optimal nomi-
nal diametric clearance exists, thus resulting in high rotation speed with small vibration amplitudes. The maximum turboexpander speed
reached 93.3 krpm under the nominal diametric clearance of 0 μm with a maximum synchronous amplitude of less than 20 μm.
Keywords: Journal-gas bearing; Bump-foil bearing; Nominal clearance; Vibration amplitude
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1. Introduction
Turboexpanders can be employed in cryogenic systems,
such as reverse Brayton cycle cryocooler, helium cryogenic
systems, and aircraft air-conditioning systems. The thermal
efficiency of turbo expanders can be improved by increasing
rotational speed in the expansion processes, but low flow rate,
high pressure, and limited rotor diameter are required [1, 2].
Therefore, the stability and rotor dynamic performance of the
rotor-bearing system are critical. Gas foil bearings (GFBs) can
meet most of the requirements of novel oil-free turbomachin-
ery by increasing tenfold their reliability in comparison with
rolling-element bearings [3]. For over three decades, simple
GFBs with conventional polymer coatings deposited on the
top foil were applied in air-cycle machines for aircraft cabin
Fig. 1. Bump-type foil bearing.
pressurization [4]. Given the advantages of simple structure,
high reliability, light weight, and low maintenance costs, the
applications of GFB were extended to turbochargers, small The bottom bump foil, which can be equivalent to a series of
and micro gas turbine engines, and auxiliary cryogenic turbo spring and damper pairs, supplies most of the stiffness and
pumps [5-7]. Lee [8] presents an experimental study of a mi- damping for the bearing [9]. The coulomb damping that origi-
cro turbo generator supported by foil bearings. nates from the relative motion between the bump arches and
A general bump-type GFB is composed of a bearing hous- top foil and the relative movement between the bearing inner
ing, a top plate foil, and a bottom bump foil (Fig. 1). The hy- surface and foil can improve the dynamic stability of the bear-
drodynamic lubrication gas film can be generated between the ing system [10-13]. Generally, the pressure of the hydrody-
smooth surface of the top foil and the surface of the journal. namic gas film is proportional to the speed of the rotor [7, 14,
* 15]. San Andrés and Kim [15-22] have conducted an enor-
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 2982664921, Fax.: +86 2982664921
E-mail address: yuhou@mail.xjtu.edu.cn mous number of studies on GFB performance, including bear-
†
Recommended by Associate Editor Sung Hoon Ahn ing structure, thermal management schemes, and balance re-
© KSME & Springer 2015
2090 Y. Hou et al. / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095
Fig. 2. Turboexpander.
Fig. 3. Journal gas foil and thrust bearings.
Fig. 4. Turboexpander rotor and rotor-bearing system.
quirements. Studies to improve bearing performance, such as
lateral intake, pre-mechanical load, and hybrid airfoil bearings,
have also been conducted [15, 16, 23]. Pang [24, 25] has made
progress in the numerical analysis of hydrodynamic journal
bearing.
A better understanding of the dynamic performance of a
GFB supporting a high-speed rotor-bearing system is neces-
sary for its reasonable design and integration into turbomachi-
nes. Some characteristics, such as nominal clearance, static
and dynamic stiffness, and damping, have not been fully dis-
closed. Clearance is important in dynamic stability and
mechanism performance [26]. General bump-type GFBs are
used in a high-speed cryogenic turboexpander in this study,
and the effect of nominal clearance is significant to applica-
tions of GFB in high-speed turbomachinery. The feasibility of
the application of GFB in a turboexpander was studied. The
best initial configuration radial clearance of foil bearing in the
turboexpander was investigated in detail.
 Y. Hou et al. / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095 2091

2. Experimental system and turboexpander Table 1. Parameters of the tested turboexpander.

The tested turboexpander that was supported by hydrostatic Parameters Values

journal and thrust bearing pairs is widely used in industrial air Fan diameter D1 /mm 60
separation plants in China (Fig. 2), and its main parameters are Impeller diameter D2/mm 36.5
listed in Table 1. The original integrative hydrostatic journal Outer diameter of thrust collar Dout/mm 44
and thrust bearing in this study are replaced by the combined
Inner diameter of thrust collar Din/mm 30
gas foil journal and pressurized thrust bearings (Fig. 3). There-
Bearing pitch Ln/mm 127
fore, the foil journal-gas-bearing performance can be investi-
gated individually. The expansion wheel of the turboexpander Shaft diameter D/mm 25
is driven by pressurized air that ranges from 0.1 MPa to 1.15 Shaft length Ls/mm 250.5
MPa. The journal bearing pairs, thrust bearings, and rotor- Shaft mass Gm/g 891
bearing system are shown in Fig. 4. The top plate and bottom Impeller mass Gc /g 7.89
bump foils are fixed at one end in the bearing housing, and the Fan mass Gf /g 23.6
other ends are free. The free end is anticlockwise to the rota-
tional direction. Table 2. Structural parameters of the bump foil.
The supply pressure of the thrust bearing is 0.65 MPa, and
the dimensions of the tested bump foil are shown in Fig. 5. Parameters Values
Both the journal bearing housings and thrust bearings are Foil thickness t1/mm 0.05
made of bronze, and the top plate foil and bump foil are made Bump height h/mm 0.4
of beryllium bronze (QBe1.8). A QBe1.8 plate with 0.07 mm Bump pitch s/mm 3.75
thickness is used as the top plate, and the thickness of the Foil length l /mm 78.5
bump foil is 0.05 mm. The main geometrical parameters of the Foil width w/mm 24.5
bump foil are listed in Table 2.
The synchronous amplitude is measured by two eddy cur- Table 3. Structural parameters of the bump-foil journal-gas bearings.
rent displacement sensors that are fixed perpendicular to the
rotor with a 90° angle (Fig. 4). The measurement range of the Top foil
Bump-foil thickness Journal diameter Clearance
Parameters thickness
NCDT3010-u05 eddy displacement sensor is 0 mm to 0.5 mm t1/mm D3/mm δ/mm
t2/mm
(Input DC: 0 V to 10 V; linearity ±0.25% FSO; static repeat-
1 0.05 0.07 25.74 −20
ability 0.05 μm, distinguishability 0.025 μm, 0.005% FSO;
response frequency 25 kHz (−3 db)). 2 0.05 0.07 25.76 −10
The measurement range of NI PCI-6251 1MS/s multichan- 3 0.05 0.07 25.78 0
nel data acquisition card is −10 V to 10 V with 1920 and 112 4 0.05 0.07 25.86 40
mV of accuracy and sensitivity, respectively.
Four pairs of journal bearings with nominal diametric clear-
ances of −20, −10, 0, and 40 mm are tested according to the inlet pressure of the turboexpander was then smoothly in-
parameters in Table 3. The nominal diametric clearance is creased and stopped to increasing when the rotor began rotat-
described by the following: ing. When the turbine stably operated, the test proceeded to
the next step.
δ = (D3 − D − 2(h+t2) ) (1) (2) The inlet pressure of the turbine was steadily increased
by 0.02 MPa to 0.03 MPa step by step until the rotating speed
where δ denotes the nominal diametric clearance, D3 repre- exceeded 90 krpm. The turboexpander is then operated under
sents the bearing housing inner diameter, D is the shaft diame- this ultimate pressure for approximately 10 min.
ter, and h is the bump height. The designing foil height is 400
μm, and the average measurement height of 100 foils is 400.1
3. Results and discussion
μm. Thus, the height of the foil difference is negligible for the
influence of the clearance. The foils are measured by 3 coor- Fig. 6 shows the rotor orbits of different bearing pairs under
dinate measuring machines (CMMs). The range of the CMM the rotational speed of 30, 50, and 70 krpm, and until their
is 500 mm × 700 mm × 500 mm, MPEE ≤ 1.9 + 3.3 L/1000 respective maximum speeds. The spread of the rotor orbit is a
μm, MPEP ≤ 1.9 μm. result of the increase of the subsynchronous amplitude caused
In this test, the following procedures were implemented to by the unbalance mass [7]. The situation becomes worse when
guarantee the steady start of the operation of the turboexpan- the rotating speed continues to increase, particularly for the 40
der and avoid rotor scratching and colliding with the bearing mm diametric clearance bearing pair. The minimum increment
surface. of the rotor orbit is achieved by the bearing pair with 0 mm
(1) The outlet pressure of the compressor was set to 1.0 diametric clearance; the maximum occurs at 40 mm diametric
MPa. Thus, 0.65 MPa thrust pressure can be supplied. The clearance. The rotor-bearing system stably operates, although
2092 Y. Hou et al. / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095

Fig. 5. Structure of bump-type foil.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 6. Vibration orbit at different rotation speeds of different diametric clearances: (a) δ = −20 μm; (b) δ = −10 μm; (c) δ = 0 μm; (d) δ = 40 μm.

with enlarged rotor orbits in all tests, indicating that at the
explored range of diametric clearances, the full load capacity
for the 0.05 mm bump-foil journal bearing is not yet reached.
As discussed in Ref. [14], under a stable rotational speed, the
load capacity remains constant for the bearings with the same
structure; any factors that increase the bearing interference
will reduce the bearing load capacity. A large initial clearance
(e.g., 40 mm) is unsatisfactory for bearing load capacity. The
stability decreases with the increase in bearing clearance, be-
cause the increase also reduces bearing capacity [27]. Consid-
ering the enhanced interference, the smaller initial clearance
(e.g., −20 or −10 μm) is harmful for the stable operation of the
high-speed rotor. The configuration of a 0 mm diametric clear-
ance is the premium configuration in this study. Thus, this
configuration shows the best stability and maximum rotational
speed.
Fig. 7 shows the waterfall maps of the rotor under different
diametric clearances. Fig. 8 shows the variation of the syn-
chronous whirl amplitudes with the rotor speed under different
diametric clearances. At low speed, the dynamic deformation
of the bump foil cannot be fully balanced by the dynamic
pressure of the gas film. At liftoff, the rotor may connect with
the bearings because of the incomplete lubrication gas film
[28, 29], thus leading to the continuous change of damping
and stiffness and the instability of the rotor. As the rotor speed
increases because of the damping effect, stable operation is
 Y. Hou et al. / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095 2093

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 7. Waterfalls of different diametric clearances: (a) δ = −20 μm; (b) δ = −10 μm; (c) δ = 0 μm; (d) δ = 40 μm.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 8. Amplitudes of synchronous motion: (a) δ = −20 μm; (b) δ = −10 μm; (c) δ = 0 μm; (d) δ = 40 μm.
2094 Y. Hou et al. / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 29 (5) (2015) 2089~2095
Fig. 9. Amplitudes and frequency of subsynchronous motion.
achieved in all four configurations. Fluctuation is less frequent
as clearance is 0 μm and becomes more frequent because the
clearance is smaller or bigger than 0 μm. As the clearance is
−20 and −10 μm, the stiffness of the low dynamic pressure
film in start period with low rotation speed cannot sustain the
foil deformation because of the large fraction of the tight con-
tract surface and big stiffness as a result of the deformation of
foil prestrain. Therefore, the rotor fluctuates with large ampli-
tude. By contrast, the amplitude is steady with the high dy-
namic pressure film stiffness in high rotation speed. Given that
the clearance is 40 μm, the stiffness of the dynamic pressure
film during the start of the period is low and difficult to main-
tain. The dynamic pressure film then exhibits a decrease in
local clearance results with increasing gas-film pressure when
the amplitude increases with increasing rotation speed. Thus,
effectual dynamic pressure film is formed for rotation. Given
the adverse effects of large or small bearing clearance for rota-
tion, the clearance should be set in reasonable range.
The frequency of the subsynchronous whirl is illustrated in
Fig. 9. According to Ref. [30], the subsynchronous whirl vi-
bration may be caused by the system natural frequency. The
subsynchronous frequencies of −20 μm configuration in this
study are found to be mainly located at around 175 and 220
Hz. The frequencies are 110 and 220 Hz for −10 μm configu-
ration and 135 and 175 Hz for the 40 μm configuration. With
different configurations, the supporting stiffness and damping
are different for the same rotor. The natural frequency can also
be influenced by the supporting stiffness and damping [31].
Therefore, the changes of the subsynchronous frequency may
possibly be caused by the changes of the different configura-
tions that could influence the natural critical frequency of the
system.
4. Conclusion
The study on the bump-foil gas bearing of different clear-
ances is conducted in a gas bearing and high-speed cryogenic
turboexpander test rig. The optimal bearing clearance is 0 μm
for the tested turboexpander as the rotor operates steadily
without vortex motion. The maximum rotation speed and am-
plitude are 93 krpm and less than 20 mm, respectively. The
dynamic pressure foil bearing has sufficient bearing capacity,
stiffness, and damping to sustain the stable operation of the
tested rotor. Therefore, application of dynamic pressure foil
radial bearing is feasible in cryogenic turboexpander. Clear-
ances of −20, −10, and 40 μm are adverse for rotation. Thus,
the clearance should be set in a reasonable range. With differ-
ent clearances, the occurrence of rotation speed as vortex mo-
tion is remarkably different, so does the vortex motion ampli-
tude. The prominent impact on bearing stiffness and damping
with different clearance is revealed, but the effects of the
mechanism of bearing clearance on stiffness and damping will
be researched in the future.
Acknowledgment
This project was supported by the National Basic Research
Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB706505), Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities, NSAF (Grant No.
11176023), and NSFC (Grant No. 51306135).
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Yu Hou received his Ph.D. from the
School of Energy and Power Engineer-
ing at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 1999.
He is currently a professor at the School
of Energy and Power Engineering in
Xi'an Jiaotong University. His research
interests include refrigeration and cryo-
genic system, machinery, and equipment.