This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Air Bearing Development for a GM Automotive Gas Turbine
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Elimination of oil from the hot section of the engine, very low running losses and potential cost reductions are incentives to develop air bearings for the high speed rotors of automotive gas turbines. Low air bearing stiffness, start-stop wear and high starting torque are design challenges in this application.
This paper outlines analytical and experimental programs undertaken by the Power Systems Department of the General Motors Research Laboratories to evaluate air bearing usage in vehicular gas turbines. Air bearing operation has been demonstrated in engine dynamometer tests. A better understanding of the many factors which affect the performance of cantilevered-leaf air bearings has been realized through extensive rotor dynamics rig testing coupled with development of bearing analysis computer programs. Measured running losses of the air bearing are much lower than those of the oil jet lubricated ball bearing it is replacing. Increasing leaf thickness, leaf-housing attachment angle, leaf free radius and eliminating the clearance between the leaf beam and housing slot increased the bearing stiffness.
Recommended Content
Technical Paper | Fast Start APU Technology |
Technical Paper | Direct Driven Gas Turbine Fuel Pumps |
Aerospace Standard | Compressor Units, Air/Gas, General Requirements For |
Authors
Citation
Trippett, R., "Air Bearing Development for a GM Automotive Gas Turbine," SAE Technical Paper 790107, 1979, https://doi.org/10.4271/790107.Also In
References
- Ruscitto D. McCormick J. Gray S. “Hydrodynamic Air Lubricated Compliant Surface Bearing for an Automotive Gas Turbine Engine I - Journal Bearing Performance,” April 1978
- Blushan B. Ruscitto D. Gray S. “Hydrodynamic Air Lubricated Compliant Surface Bearing for an Automotive Gas Turbine Engine II - Materials and Coatings,” July 1978
- Fisher G. K. Cherubin J. K. Fuller D.D. “Some Instabilities and Operating Characteristics of High Speed Gas Lubricated Journal Bearings,” ASME Paper No. 58-A-231
- Constantinescu V. A. “Dynamic Stability of Gas-Lubricated Bearings,” Ref. Mecan. Appl. 4 627 642
- Sixsmith H. “Theory of a Stable, High Speed Gas Bearing,” Proc. First Int'l. Symp. Gas Lub. Brgs. U. S. Govt. Printing Office 418 434
- Collins R. A. Heuer D. F. “Pneumomechanical Critical Speed Control for Gas Turbine Engine Shafts,” 102 November 1973
- Heuer D. F. Collings R. A. “Dynamic and Environmental Evaluaton of Compliant Foil Gas Lubricated Bearings,” Technical Report AFAPL-TR-73-56 June 1975
- Collman J. S. et al “The GT-225 - An Engine for Passenger Car Gas Turbine Research,” SAE 750167 February 1975
- Trippett R. J. “A High-Speed Rolling-Element Bearing Loss Investigation,” Transactions of the ASME, Journal of Engineering for Power January 1978 100 40 47
- Trippett R. J. Oh K. P. Rohde S. M. “Theoretical and Experimental Load-Deflection Studies of a Multileaf Journal Bearing,” Topics in Fluid Film Bearing and Rotor Bearing System Design and Optimization ASME publication 100118 130 156
- Oh K. P. Rohde S. M. “A Theoretical Investigation of the Multileaf Journal Bearing,” Transactions of the ASME, Journal of Applied Mechanics 98 2 June 1976
- Oh K. P. Rohde S. M. “A Theoretical Analysis of a Compliant Shell Air Bearing,” Transactions of the ASME, Journal of Lubrication Technology 99 1 January 1977