Instability analysis of groove-compensated journal air bearings.

The whirl instability of the groove compensated journal air bearing, which had not been analyzed before due to the complicated bearing shape, is analyzed in this study. The finite element method is used to obtain the numerical solution of the Reynolds equation, and the computer simulation method is used to obtain the accurate motion of the shaft within the bearing. Concretely, the locus of the shaft center after a step displacement disturbance is determined through the simulation. Based on the simulated shaft loci, the effects of various design parameters on the stability of the bearings are discussed.