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Project # 153
High Pressure Gas Thrust Bearing Test Rig
| Team Lead: | Michael Dyer |
| Other Team Members: | Breckenridge Mallard | Christopher Alexander | Isaac Buck | Matthew Leon | Christian Begley |
| Faculty Advisor(s): | Dr. Daejong Kim |
| Department: | MAE |
| Project Type: | Senior Design |
| Title: | High Pressure Gas Thrust Bearing Test Rig |
| Abstract: | Design and analysis of a high pressure test rig for evaluating the performance of airfoil thrust bearings for the Turbomachinery and Energy Systems Laboratory (TESLab). The test rig will provide direct measurement of the load capacity of gas thrust bearings and the associated power loss, which will allow for the validation of gas foil bearing models simulated at high pressure. High pressure gas foil bearing models are desired to predict the bearing performance in applications such as refrigerant turbocompressors for heat pumps and cryogenic turboexpanders. The test rig will be capable of operating at 70000 rpm under 20 bars of pressure, with a max applied load of 1000N. This project will deliver a detailed CAD model of the entire test rig, engineering drawings of the components following GD&T standards, and multiple types of analysis for design validation. Some of the analysis performed include Rotordynamic analysis of the shaft, FSI Simulation of the test rigs deformation due to thermal loads, and analysis of aerostatic and airfoil bearings via code provided by TESLab. |
| Poster: | View Poster #153 (PDF) |
| Judges Scoring: | Submit Evaluation (judges only) |