Zero Air Gap Condition in Aerostatic Flat Bearings

In the last fifty years, the performance of aerostatic pads has been largely investigated as regards load capacity, consumption, stiffness and damping. However, there are few works studying the effect of other aspects which are not usually taken into account, e.g., deformations, waviness and roughness. This paper investigates the causes of air leakages at zero air gap condition. Different numerical simulations are performed to evaluate which is the deformed shape of the pad under different loading conditions. Experimental air flow measurements at zero air gap condition were also performed. It has been found that, in this instance, pad deflection is one of the main causes producing air leakages.