抄録
The previous studies have revealed that the wedge formation at the periphery of the thrust plate, caused by the elastic deformation due to pressure difference across the orbiting thrust plate, is a significant key factor to keep and improve the high performance in lubrication of the thrust-slide bearing. The present study focuses on the effect of the thickness and inner form of the thrust plate upon the lubrication features. A simplified model of cylindrical thrust slide-bearing with thinner thrust plate submerged in a refrigerant oil VG-56 was operated under pressurized conditions using R-22 as the pressurizing gas, where the pressure difference was adjusted from 0 to 1.0 MPa and the friction force and coefficient of friction were measured over a wide range of orbiting speeds, first. The wedge angle by elastic deformation is naturally increased with decreasing the thrust plate thickness, thus resulting in a clear improvement in lubrication at the thrust slide-bearing. On the contrast, secondly, the similar lubrication tests were conducted for the thrust plate with a real inner form, as complicated as in the real scroll compressors, where the thickness of the thrust plate was kept as in the original tests. As a result, no significant change in lubrication features, from those for the simplified cylindrical model, was not addressed, thus confirming that the test results addressed from the simplified cylindrical model tests can be effectively used to examine the basic characteristics in lubrication of thrust slide bearing of scroll compressors.
