Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Hydrostatic bearing finds wide application in machine tools with various technologies because of their high stiffness and damping characteristic. The environmental conditions, such as low and/or high temperatures, dust and dirt, moisture and unusual mounting conditions, can also affect a bearing’s performance adversely. Therefore, both mechanical and environmental factors may affect the choice of a bearing and its performance. For high speed applications it is necessary to have design data including the effect of rotational lubricant inertia.The objective of the study is to design a hydrostatic bearing with following properties such as high stiffness, damping characteristic and lubrication inertia. In the present study Reynolds equation is used and boundary conditions are changed for various parameters such as temperature distribution, viscosity variation and radial load. The simulated results were analyzed in detail and found that increasing the viscosity of hydrostatic thrust bearing under specific conditions when both surfaces are rotated, the wear and tear are minimized and life time has been increased. This will be of great use in high speed applications.
Keywords: Hydrostatic Bearing, Viscosity, Pressure, Temperature, Reynolds Equation, Lubricant.