Design and modeling of a novel squeeze film journal bearing

A novel squeeze film journal bearing actuated by high power piezoelectric transducers is presented. The proposed bearing uses in-air squeeze film levitation to suspend the rotating spindle without contact. Unlike conventional journal bearings, the presented bearing journal is formed by multiple independently vibrating surfaces driven individually by piezoelectric transducers. Langevin type piezoelectric transducers with a special radiation surface are developed. The design of the bearing and the theoretical calculation of the levitation force are presented in this paper. Influences of critical parameters are examined using the proposed model. Load carrying forces are measured at different vibration amplitude and compared with the calculated results. The proposed squeeze film journal bearing is operated in ultrasonic frequency range. The achieved load capacity is about 50N, which is five times of the load capacity achieved by the previous squeeze film bearings reported in the literature.