Comparative study of the performance on a constant flow annular hydrostatic thrust bearing having multi-circular recess and sector recess

A theoretical comparative study concerning performance of a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing having multi-circular recess and sector recess is described. The Computational Fluid Dynamics and the Finite Volume Method have been used to compute the characteristics of a constant fluid hydrostatic thrust bearing with circular and sector recesses. The performance has been compared, namely, recess pressure, pressure distribution and oil flow rate, on the basis of the same pocket area and the same pocket number. The results demonstrate that bearing recess shape has a great influence on the behavior of the hydrostatic thrust bearing. The computed results indicate that to get an improved performance from a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing, a proper selection of the geometric shape of the recess is essential.