Experiment for Water-lubricated High-speed Hydrostatic Journal Bearings
水润滑高速动静压轴承试验研究

Research focuses on the use of hydrostatic journal bearings as an alternative to ball bearings in low viscosity,cryogenic environments such as that in High-Speed,High-Pressure Oxygen Turbopump(HSHPOTP).A new four-recessed water-lubricated hydrostatic journal bearing was tested for its static characteristics including flow rate and minimum water-film thickness.Measurement of the added mass terms became significant in the present tests because of high-speed,high-pressure extreme conditions.Comparison of flow rate is presented between measurements and predictions for the tested hydrostatic journal bearing.Results indicate that hydrostatic bearing exhibit good lubricating capacity under water lubricated and extreme conditions,the relative errors between the measured and the predicted flow rate are less than 9%.These findings provide experimental reference for the design and performance predictions of cryogenic hydrostatic journal bearings applied in the liquid rocket engine turbopumps.