Results of a study to examine a unique idea of self-levitating journal bearing are presented in this paper. the idea represents a radical departure from the current bearing technology. it utilisesacoustic levitation, which relies on the sound energy radiated by an object supporting a load. acoustic levitation has been demonstrated to support loads of up to 10 kg. in order to support a load theacoustic wave emitted by the radiating...

Computer simulations of a number of journal bearing’s geometries utilising acoustic levitation were carried out. The choice of the best geometry depended on the ability of a deformed shape, created by piezo-electric elements, to facilitate squeeze film ultrasonic levitation, and also to create three evenly distributed diverging aerodynamic gaps. Deformations of analysed variants of the bearing’s shape were generated by numerical...

In this study, fundamental aspects and mechanisms of acoustic levitation together with governing equations are presented first. Then, the acoustic levitation phenomenon is considered as a new way to design air suspension systems capable of self-levitation. A particular emphasis is laid on journal bearings and their specific geometrical configuration. A practical feasibility of using acoustic levitation to separate contacting surfaces...

The literature describes acoustic levitation phenomena with the utilization of air squeeze film between the vibrating inducer and the lifted object. The objective of the study is to determine the shape of the inducer with vibration characteristics that would allow the levitation of an object of the assumed geometry. In this paper, the influence of the dimension ratio of the inducer on the frequency of the first mode of vibration...

Classical non-contact bearings are already used in a number of specialist applications but there are somespecialist areas where they cannot be used for variety of reasons and acoustic sliding bearings could be an alternative. The paper presents the quest for a configuration of an acoustic journal bearing and shows that the overall shape of the bearing and its geometry are of a vital importance for the load capacity oft he bearing....