TILT CHARACTERISTICS OF CIRCULAR CENTRALLY FED AEROSTATIC BEARINGS

The general tilt characteristics of circular aerostatic bearings are investigated. A theoretical model is developed on the basis of two idealizing assumptions; the resulting problem is then satisfactorily solved by the method of small perturbations. An experimental investigation is also carried out to verify the theory, comprising a broad range of carefully performed tests. A fair agreement is obtained between the theoretical and experimental results. In general, the tilt stiffness and damping coefficient are found to be small in magnitude; they decrease with increasing gap convergence; the first increases and the second decreases with increasing tilt frequency.