Experimental Study on Mechanical Performance
of Expansion Turbine with Aerodynamic Bearings
Hou Yu, Lin Shaoning, Chen Chunzheng, Xiong Lianyou
(Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenic Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an
710049, China)
Abstract: The mechanical performance of a turbo-expander with aerodynamic self-acting
gas bearings was experimentally studied. The compliant foil journal bearing with elastic
support and spiral groove thrust bearing were applied to a 150 m3£¯h
normal-air turbo-expander with the nominal working speed of 106 400 r£¯min, the journal
diameter is 25.0 mm and the rotor mass is 891 g. They can support the rotor steadily
revolving at 12.16¡Á104 r£¯min, which was overspeed by 14%. The experimental
results indicate that the loss of thrust load is the main reason bringing on the destroy
of rotor-bearing stability. The characteristic of axial clearance and its outside
influencing factors are discussed. It can be confirmed from the experimental study that
the application of this combination of two types of self-acting gas bearings to the
cryogenic turbo-expander is feasible.
Keywords: gas bearing; aerodynamic bearing; turbo-expander; mechanical performance