In this study, a new comprehensive fully coupled elastic-hydrodynamic model is developed for a multi-layer gas foil thrust bearing (GFTB). The interaction effects among the top foil, back board, middle foil, and bottom foil, as well as the Coulomb friction effect, are considered. The stiffness and static characteristics obtained by the experimental and theoretical approaches are in good agreement, which verifies the accuracy of the model. The contribution of each foil layer to the overall stiffness and the load-carrying mechanism are analyzed. Interaction effects of the load, preload, and rotational speed on the static performance are investigated comprehensively. Furthermore, start-stop tests are performed to achieve the lift-off speed, start-up torque, and shut-down torque under various operating conditions.

在这项研究中，为多层气体箔推力轴承（GFTB）开发了一种新的综合全耦合弹性流体动力学模型。考虑了顶箔、背板、中箔和底箔之间的相互作用效应以及库仑摩擦效应。实验与理论方法得到的刚度和静力特性吻合较好，验证了模型的准确性。分析了每个箔层对整体刚度和承载机制的贡献。全面研究了载荷、预载荷和转速对静态性能的相互作用影响。此外，还进行了启停测试，以获得各种操作条件下的起飞速度、启动扭矩和关闭扭矩。