A Potentially Cheap Self Pressurised Gas Bearing Assembly.

The manufacture of an asymmetric self pressurized gas bearing assembly capable of supporting loads in any direction is described. The assembly consists of a single cone bearing opposed by flat thrust plates. The potential of the arrangement for cheap manufacture is discussed and some theoretical results are presented. These show that the plano-conical assembly compares favorably with conventional symmeyric pairs of opposed conical bearings for radial stiffness and critical mass for journal stability. Author