APPLICATION OF FLUID BEARINGS TO TURBINE FLOW METERS

TURBINE METERS CAN DIRECTLY MEASURE FLUID VELOCITY. PRESENTDESIGNS, HOWEVER, USING NEEDLE, ROLLER OR BALL BEARINGS, ARELIMITED TO RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE, PARTICULARLY AT LOW VELOCITIES AND UNDER SUDDEN PULSE LOADINGS. CONVENTIONAL UNITS ARE ALSO LIMITED IN LIFE DUE TO BEARING FOULING AND WEAR UNDER SEVERE OPERATING CONDITIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO REPLACE THE USUAL BALL OR NEEDLEBEARINGS PRESENTLY EMPLOYED. THIS APPROACH WILL GREATLY REDUCE THE LIMITATIONS MENTIONED ABOVE SINCE FLUID BEARING SHOULD OVERCOME THE PROBLEM OF STARTING FRICTION AT LOW FLUID VELOCITIES, AND THE CONTINUOUS LOW FLOW OF CLEAN FILTERED FLUID THROUGH THE BEARING WILL PREVENT CONTAMINANTSIN THE BEARING AND THUS INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR LONG-TERMRELIABLE PERFORMANCE. PHASE I OF THIS PROPOSED WORK WILL IDENTIFY NECESSARY DESIGN FEATURES AND EVALUATE CONCEPT FEASIBILITY, USING A PROTOTYPE MODEL OF REASONABLE SIZE. SIZE REDUCTION AND DESIGN OPTIMIZATION FOR A WIDE RANGE OF FLUID CONDITIONS WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN PHASE II. A REPORT TEST RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS REGARDING PHASE II FEASIBILITY WILL BE PRESENTED.