Abstract
This paper proposes a new type of a foil thrust bearing which consists of a thin thrust foil and a rubber sheet with spiral grooves. The rubber sheet with spiral grooves can flexibly support the thin thrust foil and automatically form the spiral hollows on the foil surface when a shaft rotates. The spiral hollows of the foil have the effect of the viscous pump and generate the dynamic pressure. In this paper, the load capacity of the proposed foil bearing is experimentally investigated. It is found that the load capacity of the proposed foil bearing is comparable to that of the conventional spiral grooved bearing and reaches 25 N at 20,000 rpm.
