Design, Realization And Experimental Investigations Into The
Performance Parameters Of Air-Bearings
Kuldeep Sharma1 , A. John Vivian Prashant2 & Dr. V. Radhakrishnan3
1&2
(Bachelor of Technology, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology
Email: kuldeepsharmaiist@gmail.com, Email:john1989iist@gmail.com)
3
(Emeritus professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology
Email: vprmfg@hotmail.com)
ABSTRACT
The design and implementation of air-bearings has to be
dealt with approximations and empirical relations due to
complexity of flow physics involved. For preliminary
design purposes simulation results from the
computational fluid dynamics software’s have been used.
The 3-D segmented configuration with reservoir has
been identified as the efficient simulation technique for
such geometries after many trials with various schemes
to capture the flow phenomenon in the most efficient
manner. The manufacturing drawings are also provided.
After preparing the actual model, parametric studies
have been performed to evaluate the effect of various
design parameters on the static and dynamic
performances of air-bearing platform and have been
explained through graphs. Also through a method of
trial and error an efficient configuration has been
deduced which consists of a slot at the bottom surface of
the Air-bearing. With this configuration it has been
observed that the bearing provides the highest load
capacity and produces the minimum amount of vibration
noise due to the air flow. Then finally, four air-bearings
have been put together on a platform and integrated
which can be used for real time load transport purposes
with a capacity of 250 kilograms. Detailed design and
manufacturing details are provided for re-creation of the
air-bearings and related experiments.
Keywords - Air-bearing, Parameter study, flow physics
simulation, Stiffness
1. INTRODUCTION
The fluid bearings consist of hydrostatic and aerostatic
bearings. The aerostatic bearings are further classified into
the orifice and porous media type air bearings. In the orifice
type bearings air flows out through the holes and grooves
whereas in a porous air bearings flow is naturally controlled
by the permeable nature of carbon materials [1],[2]. Air-
Bearings have various advantages when used in shop floors
for load lifting purposes [1]. To begin with they have zero
wear due to no contact between the bearing and the surface .
Being non-contact air bearings they average out the surface
irregularities and provide straighter motion. Also their
operations are silent and smooth[3]. And being fluid film
bearings they have a squeeze film damping effect resulting
in higher damping. This results in better stiffness and
controllability. They also result in high speeds at high
acceleration because there are no balls or rollers to slip at
high acceleration. This results in efficient use of power.
There have been many innovations in the design of air-
bearings since its conception. One such innovation is of
using elastic orifices for pressurized gas bearings. The
elastic orifice allows the self control of the flow. The flow
rate either increases or decreases as the pressure drop across
the device increases [5]. As a consequence of this these
bearings tend to have greater stiffness.
One of the many commendable uses of air-bearing is in
spacecraft simulators [6]. They are used for spacecraft
attitude determination and control hardware verification.
They offer one of the possibilities to the problem of
simulating a functional space environment. Though these do
not provide a gravity free space for spacecraft simulation,
they do provide a torque-free and force-free rotational and
translational motion. These environments achieved by air
bearing are used to check the satellite control systems on
ground. It is very important to know the various
characteristics, specifications and certain conditions which
are essential for the optimum performance of air-bearings.
Many parameter influence the performance of air bearings.
And the effect of various parameters has to be verified with
experimentation due to the uncertainty involved with
empirical relations. An optimum bearing should have high
efficiency of load capacity, high stiffness and good stability
during levitation. In general Air-Bearings run on a
controlled film of pressurized air that is typically less than
0.3 mm thick[3].
While talking about air-bearings it’s very important to talk
about Pneumatic hammer instability. This phenomenon is
associated with the compressibility of gases and the
consequent delay between bearing clearance changes and
the response to this change through variation in pressure in
the orifice pocket [8].A long delay time and a large pocket
volume result in pressure increase due to which the bearing
clearance increases. This results in the reduction of pressure
in the pocket and again the clearance decreases. This results
in the eventual increase of pressure and hence the cycle
continues. This instability is to be avoided as it is a major
deterrent to the smooth and quiet operation of the air-
bearing. Air-bearings have only viscous friction associated
with the air-film layer being sheared during motion of the supports the claim of having encountered a good simulation
bearing. Thus using high speed spindles the bearing gap technique for air-bearing flow problems.
should be large enough to ensure that the friction power is
less than twice the pumping power [10]. 3.1 Boundary conditions

2. Design Process Table 1: Boundary conditions

Inlet total pressure 6 bar
Considering the above mentioned pros and cons of various Inlet static pressure 5.9999 bar
types of air bearings we have decided our configuration to Outlet pressure 1.1325
be an Aerostatic bearing. It is a pocketed bearing with a
metal orifice nozzle. Once the type of Air-Bearing was Simulations were carried out at T=288K.
decided the iterative process of design commenced. To
begin with, fluent simulations were run to get an idea of the 3.2 Gridding & Grid Independence Test
pressure profile and load capacity by trying different pocket
sizes and nozzle diameters. Here it is essential to note that
fluent cannot give accurate results. This is due to the fact
that in the real scenario the surface finish of the air-bearing
can maximum goes up to three triangle finish since the
material is aluminum and grinding is not possible. Also the
surface on which the bearing is to be used cannot be of high
finish. But in fluent these factors cannot be incorporated.
Analytical solution to this flow problem is also complicated
due to the axial flow which is followed by radial flow. Thus
the only possibility is to take the results from simulation just
as a guideline. Here we have tried different configurations
and once we were close to the load capacity we desired we
had locked on the initial parameters. Then with the help of
empirical relations the various geometry dimensions are
calculated and finally the manufacturing drawings were
done. Here also special features have been introduced so Fig.1: Grid 1 & Grid 2 & Grid independence test for Grid 1
that the bearing can be used again even if the nozzle is
damaged. To achieve this, dismountable features were 3.3 Simulation Results
introduced so that the nozzle can be changed as in when Table 2: Air Gap = 1mm (Incompressible Solver) Grid 1
required.
Zone name Pressure force (N)
Bearing 39.260757
3. Simulations
Continuity equation satisfying criteria
As stated previously the simulations cannot exactly capture Zone name Mass flow rate (kg/s)
the flow phenomenon mainly due to the complex geometry Pressure outlet -0.0096766734
and also the surface roughness effect which cannot be
Upper hole 0.0096766874
incorporated in fluent software. To start with 3D simulation
was carried out with a pocket depth of 1mm and pocket Net 1.3969839 * 10-08 kg/s
diameter of 5 mm. But it was noticed that the pressure
profile was not flat as per intuition, that’s why we went for a
process of carrying out a 3D segmented simulation along
with a reservoir. This method yielded good convergence and
also the results comply with the flow physics of the
problem. It can be stated that 3-D segmented simulation
with a reservoir is a good method to simulate the flow in a
circular air-bearing. After establishing and achieving a
successful simulation method some other configurations
were also tried.

For all the above mentioned techniques employed various

pressure and velocity plots have been presented. Along with
that the grid independence has also been performed not only
by decreasing the grids but also by changing the whole
pattern itself. This is formidable evidence that the procedure Fig 2: Velocity profile in the air gap for grid 1
of simulation has been correctly performed. And this also (Incompressible solver)
 3.4 Gridding with 3-D Reservoir

Fig 3: Velocity profiles in air gap for grid 1

(Compressible solver)

Pressure Contour at Z=0 Fig 5: Typical segmented 3-D grid for air bearing

Velocity magnitude plot along the Z- axis through the hole

Fig 4: pressure and velocity profiles at different z locations Fig 6: velocity profile in air gap
in air gap for grid 2 (compressible solver) (1mm pocket depth 5 mm pocket diameter)
 Fig 7: pressure profile in air gap
(1mm pocket depth 5 mm pocket diameter)
Fig 8: Velocity profile in the air gap
(2mm pocket depth 5 mm pocket diameter)
Fig 9: Pressure profile in the air gap
(2mm pocket depth 5 mm pocket diameter)
Fig 10: Velocity profile in air gap
(1mm pocket depth 10 mm pocket diameter)
Fig 11: Pressure profile in air gap
(1mm pocket depth 10 mm pocket diameter)
4. Empirical Relations Used For Design
The empirical relations given in Kenneth J Stout [1] have
been used to design our air-bearing. In case of pocket
compensated air-bearings that we have chosen the author
states that generally the predicted and the measured values
generally agree with an accuracy of 10%.In addition to the
calculation of various parameters of the air bearing as per
the empirical relations certain factors have to be kept in
mind to avoid degradation in the performance of the air
bearings. First the advantage of selecting a pocketed orifice
is that it gives up to 1.5 times greater stiffness than annular
orifices. But with pocketed orifices one has to pay attention
to avoid pneumatic hammering. To prevent pneumatic
hammering the pocket geometry should be designed such
that the total volume enclosed in the pocket is to be less than
one-twentieth of the bearing land volume. Also the recess
depth should be equal to or greater than orifice diameter. As
a rule of thumb it should be ensured that the curtain flow
area is at least twice the orifice flow area. The design
equations used for pocketed bearing design have been given
for an outer to inner radius ratio of the main disc of 20. 5. Drawing
Based on this the Ri and Ro where chosen to be 2.5mm and
50mm respectively. Then an air gap of 45.26 µm was 5.1 Design Drawing
chosen. The supply pressure was chosen to be 6 bar as per
availability in the lab. Form these values and using the
empirical relations all other parameters were calculated.
These values have been present in a tabular form. After the
calculation of these parameters checks were done to ensure
that there should be no pneumatic hammering as per the
design values.

Fig 13: Top & Bottom part of air-bearing

Fig 12: Schematic figure representing the parameters which

were decided on basis of empirical relations

Table 3: The Characteristic properties of the pocketed air-

bearing obtained using empirical relations Fig 14: Nozzle &Nipple
Max stiffness (N/m) =18.9895

Max load (N) = 477.5

Fig 15: Top &Bottom part of the nozzle supporting disc

Air flow rate (m3/s)

Mass flow rate (Kg/s)

= 4.837 * 10-4

Orifice diameter (mm)

Fig 16: Common Connector Blown up view of all

components

5.2 Manufacturing Drawings

Pocket depth (mm)

b= 0.905

Ro= 50 mm , Ri = 2.5mm , do= 1mm

Pa= 1.01325Bar , Po= 6Bar

Where, is supply pressure, is air film thickness, is

ambient pressure, is outer radius of bearing, is radius
of the pocket.
 6. Component Manufacturing And Integration
Firstly the main disc of the air-bearing, the connecting disc
and the nozzle are manufactured by turning process on the
lathe. Then the nipple is also manufactured by turning. The
complete assembled air-bearing is shown in the pictures.
After making four such bearing they are all connected to a
common air supply source. The four bearings are finally
attached to the platform via balls that allow the four of them
to adjust and be parallel to the surface. The whole sequence
is shown through actual pictures taken while assembly. Also
pictures of experimental apparatus used are shown.

Fig 17: Manufacturing drawing of an air-bearing

Fig 18: Manufacturing drawing of the connector

Fig 19: Manufacturing drawing of base plate Fig 20: Actual pictures describing the integration process
and experimentation in sequenc
7 . Experimental Results 7.4 Air-gap and stiffness plots
7.1 Surface Roughness Measurements The supply pressure was changed manually using a
pressure regulator. The change in air gap was
The surface finish measurements suggest a three measured using a dial gauge having a least count of
triangle finish which is the recommended finish for 1µm. Loading was done using identical 4 kilograms
air bearings. plate’s .The bearing was placed on a granite table.
Two V-blocks were used to avoid any lateral
Table 4: Surface roughness values for bearing surface movement of the air-bearing. Only the change in air-
Air- Material of Ra(µm) Rq Rz gap was measured along with the loading of the
bearing the air- (µm) (µm) bearing with the loads.
piece bearing
1 Aluminum 0.333 0.409 2.271
Brass 0.664 0.88 4.699
2 Aluminum 0.836 0.978 3.782
Brass 0.937 1.27 6.977

7.2 Maximum Stiffness For Various Configurations

Table 5: Stiffness measurements with variable pocket

depth, pocket diameter and nozzle
Pocket Pocket Nozzle Maximum
Diameter Depth (mm) Stiffness
(mm) (mm) (N/µm)
5 1 1 19.62
5 1 1.5 9.81
5 1 2 9.81
5 1 3.3 13.08
8 1 1 9.81
10 1 1 13.08 Fig 21: Air gap variation with supply pressure
12 1 1 19.62
17 1 1 1.962
28 1 1 19.62
5 2 1 9.81
8 2 1 13.08
12 2 1 6.448
17 2 1 3.224
28 2 1 1.612

7.3 Friction Coefficient

For calculating the friction coefficient the bearing
was loaded with weights and a thread was connected
to it on which weights were added until the bearing
just started to move. The Normal force on the bearing
was 727.9 N and the frictional force was observed to
be 0.34335 N. Thus the friction coefficient which is Fig 22: Air-gap Vs load with varying nozzle diameter
the ratio of lateral force to normal force is calculated
to be 4.71698 x 10-4.
Fig 23 : Air-gap Vs load for pocket depth 1mm with
varying pocket diameter
Fig 24: Air-gap Vs load for pocket depth 2mm with
varying pocket diameter
Fig 25: Air-gap Vs load with varying taper
Fig 26: Air-Gap Vs load for the slotted
configuration
8. Discussions
Firstly we discuss about the surface roughness
measurements. Though the finish is of the order of
three triangle finish, still more superior finish can be
obtained by grinding. But for grinding we can’t use
aluminum. Therefore we would have to go in for
some other material which can be ground. This would
result in a better distribution of the pressure profile
and hence help in improving the air bearing
performance.
Now we will look at the salient features in the
pressure and stiffness plots. Figure 21 displays an
increase in the air-gap with increase in the pressure.
This is in accordance with our intuition. But if the
pressure is increased to vey high values it may result
in pneumatic hammering. The design supply pressure
for the bearing is 6 Bar and it has been pressurized up
to 8 Bar without any signs of pneumatic hammering.
Thus this whole range of pressure values may be
described as a safe range for the operation of the air
bearing. It may also be noted that the plot becomes
flatter after pressure values of 6 Bar. This shows that
there isn’t much benefit in operating at higher
pressures.
Figure 22 shows that the air-gap decreases as the
nozzle diameter increases at lower loads but at higher
loads it shows a very scattered and unusual trend.
The trend shown at lower loads can be explained with
respect to expansion of flow in the nozzle. Due to this
pressure decrease the air-gap comes down. But at
higher loads though the pressure is decreasing, there
is also some pressure buildup due to the air-gap
reduction. Due to this opposing effect a very
scattered pattern is obtain. Comparing Figure 23 and
Figure 24 we find that the pocket depth plays a major
role in the response of air-gap to load with varying
pocket diameter. When the pocket depth is 1mm a
continuous fall in air-gap is observed with increasing
pocket diameter. But in case of pocket depth 2mm
this trend is seen only up to a certain initial loading.
At higher loads the variations are complex. This
shows that a simple linear extrapolation would not be
sufficient to draw conclusions on the behavior of the
air-bearing stiffness. One more important conclusion
is that the hammering loads are different while
loading and unloading. A general trend has been
observed that while unloading the hammering
sustains even till very low values of loads.
Figure 25 shows that the air-gap increases with taper
angle. And the increase is still higher if there are
slots. Slots seem to increase the stiffness. Due to this
observation various slotted configurations were tried.
After some trial and errors the most efficient slotted
configuration in terms of high stiffness and less noise
production was obtained. This best configuration is a
slot of depth 0.2mm and width of 5 mm made at a
radial distance of 22.5 mm from the centre of the
bearing. Figure 26 shows that the best configuration
has the highest air-gap at initial loads and there is no
hammering observed even unto a load of 70
kilograms.
Annual Workshop on Mathematical
Problems in Industry.
[3]. Byron R. Knapp, Brian P.O’Connor and
Eric R.Marsh , Characterization of Porous
Graphite Air Bearings. Vol.119, August
1997, Journal of Manufacturing Science and
Engineering, pp. pp. 388-392.
[4]. R.L.Kiang and P.M.Newgard, Elastic
Orifices for Pressurized Gas Bearing. 1966,
ASLE Transactions 9, pp. 311-317 .
[5]. F.Sweeney and .J.Stout, Design of
Aerostatic Flat Pad Bearings Using
Pocketed Orifice Restrictors. August 84. ,
Tribology International. Vol. 17 No.4, .
[6]. 6. . A.H, Slocum and Dearborn Michigan,
Precision Machine Design: Society of
Manufacturing engineers, 1992.
[7]. 7. F.Sterry and Montgomery A. G, A simple
air bearing rotor for very high rotational
speeds,July 1955., AERE ED/R 1671.

9. Conclusion
The aim of design, realization and experimentation
has been successfully completed. The design and the
experimental values of stiffness have a deviation of
1.5% which is a very excellent result. The most
accurate technique for simulation of air-bearing
problems was found to be by a 3-D segmented
method with a reservoir. Both results of 3-D and 3-D
segmented with reservoir simulations have been
described so that they could be used as a guideline
for further research into this problem. The whole
process of integration is very clearly explained
through pictures. Stiffness experiments were done
which resulted in identifying the best configuration in
terms of air-gap, absence of pneumatic hammering
and silent operation. This best configuration is a slot
of depth 0.2mm and width of 5 mm made at a radial
distance of 22.5 mm from the centre of the bearing.
These experiments can be recreated to carry out
further studies.

REFERENCES

[1]. Stout, Kenneth J. , Aerostatic Bearings.

Trans Cambridge Philos, vol.22.

[2]. Schwendeman, T.Witelski and P.Evans,

Analysis of Pressurized Porous Air
Bearings. University of Delware : 20th