Improvement of load capacity of circular aerostatic thrust bearings with the finite volume method

Based on fundamental hydrodynamic equations, according to principle of flux conservation in control volume, various field variables of every node in the whole flow field of circular thrust aerostatic bearing are resolved. Distribution of these discrete variables can substitute for solutions of the partial differential equations which describe physical phenomena of the flow in the bearing. By this means, effects of various design parameters appear obviously. It is possible to improve load capacity at a big range by optimizing the bearingpsilas design parameters.