Study on Discharge Coefficient of Aerostatic Bearings Based on FLUENT.

When studying the characteristics of aerostatic bearings with orifices by solving the Reynolds equation, it is usually assumed that the discharge coefficient is a constant of 0.8,which may affect the accuracy of solving the Reynolds equation. A method which combined Fluent and Reynolds equation was proposed to obtain the discharge coefficient in the aerostatic thrust bearings with inherent orifices. The discharge coefficients were calculated by comparing the mass flow rate obtained by FLUENT and Reynolds equation simulations. The influence of parameters such as gas film thickness, gas supply pressure,and orifice diameter on the orifice coefficient was analyzed. The results indicate that the discharge coefficient increases first and then decreases with the increase of film thickness,decreases with the increase of gas supply pressure,and increases with the increase of orifice diameter. However, the discharge coefficient is not sensitive to changes in bearing radius and orifice length. The bearing capacity from solution of Reynolds equation with the discharge coefficient obtained by this solution method is agreement with that from FLUENT, verifying the correctness and feasibility of this solution method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]