Analysis of Gas Foil Bearings (GFB)

The GFB codes calculate the static and dynamic force performance of radial & thrust foil bearings (bump-type)

Bump-type foil bearing

1) bearing drag torque & power dissipation, 3) load capacity (gas film reaction force) and/or static eccentricity for applied load 4) frequency dependent 4 stiffness and 4 damping coefficients 5) static structural stiffness & limit of structural load capacity. Only codes benchmarked to experimental data. See publications

	Cost	Details
XLGFBTHD	$15,000	+ Thermal effects, including materials expansion, etc. (The whole nine-yards). Useful for high temperature applications such as in (micro) gas turbines and turbochargers. Sponsored by NASA GRC
XLThrustGFB	$5,000	Isothermal bump-type thrust foil bearing

Licensed by Turbomachinery Laboratory. Contact Luis San Andres Lsanandres@tamu.edu

Analysis: gas film Reynolds equation for hydrodynamic pressure generation + finite element model of top foil and discrete structural model for underspring elements (bump foils). THD version includes thermal energy transport (thermal management) including growth of components with temperature and rotational speed.

Numerical method of solution: Control volume – finite element methods. FAST codes

Input- MS Excel® interface - worksheet

Output - Excel® interface - worksheet

Language: FORTRAN77 executable. Source code NOT provided.

Users: Gas foil bearings – bump type. Versions for metal-mesh gas foil bearings also available