Air Bearings: Theory, Design and Applications

Comprehensive treatise on gas bearing theory, design and application

This book treats the fundamental aspects of gas bearings of different configurations (thrust, radial, circular, conical) and operating principles (externally pressurized, self-acting, hybrid, squeeze), guiding the reader throughout the design process from theoretical modelling, design parameters, numerical formulation, through experimental characterisation and practical design and fabrication.

The book devotes a substantial part to the dynamic stability issues (pneumatic hammering, sub-synchronous whirling, active dynamic compensation and control), treating them comprehensively from theoretical and experimental points of view.

Key features:

• Systematic and thorough treatment of the topic.
• Summarizes relevant previous knowledge with extensive references.
• Includes numerical modelling and solutions useful for practical application.
• Thorough treatment of the gas-film dynamics problem including active control.
• Discusses high-speed bearings and applications.

Air Bearings: Theory, Design and Applications is a useful reference for academics, researchers, instructors, and design engineers. The contents will help readers to formulate a gas-bearing problem correctly, set up the basic equations, solve them establishing the static and dynamic characteristics, utilise these to examine the scope of the design space of a given problem, and evaluate practical issues, be they in design, construction or testing.

Farid Al-Bender, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Ir. Farid Al-Bender is Hon. Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KU Leuven, where his main areas of research included air bearing design and fabrication, tribology, friction modelling and non-linear system dynamics. He is the Director of the consultancy bureau Air Bearing Precision Technology and founder of Leuven Air Bearings company (now LAB Motion systems) where he is a board member.