Applications
Turbomachinery is the most common application because foil bearings operate at high speed. The main advantage of foil bearings is the elimination of the oil systems required by traditional bearing designs. Other advantages are:
- Higher efficiency, due to a lower heat loss to friction; instead of fluid friction, the main source of heat is parasitic drag
- Increased reliability
- Higher speed capability
- Quieter operation
- Wider operating temperature range (40 K to 2500 K)
- High vibration and shock load capacity
- No scheduled maintenance
- No external support system
- Truly oil free where contamination is an issue
- Capable of operating above critical speed
Areas of current research are:
- Higher load capacity
- Improved damping
- Improved coatings
The main disadvantages are:
- Lower capacity than roller or oil bearings
- Wear during start-up and stopping
- High speed required for operation
Read more about this topic: Foil Bearing