Abstract:In order to improve the bearing capacity and stiffness of large heavy-duty hydrostatic gas thrust bearing,the numerical simulation film model of a 150 mm diameter double-row static pressure thrust gas bearing was established by using FLUENT150 simulation software.The influence of gas supply pressure and gas film thickness on the pressure distribution,stiffness and bearing capacity of the thrust bearing was analyzed.The pressure variation and flow in the bearing clearance were compared and analyzed.The accuracy of the presented method was verified by comparing the calculated results with the experimental data.The results show that with the increase of air supply pressure,the air film pressure at the same position on the bearing increases,and the stiffness and bearing capacity increase linearly.With the increase of the bearing clearance,the gas velocity changes from subsonic to supersonic,and the gas film pressure in the bearing clearance decreases sharply,the stiffness of the bearing increases first and then decreases,and the bearing capacity decreases continuously.Therefore,the bearing clearance should be reasonably selected to maintain high bearing capacity and stiffness,and avoid the occurrence of supersonic region.