Air bearings are extensively used in precision machine design. Unlike conventional bearings, there is no physical contact between the moving surfaces. The moving surface can glide smoothly on the other surface, minimizing the control effort to achieve high accuracy and precision. Despite many advantages over conventional bearings, their application is still very limited. Cost and complexities in the design are the major deterrents. The orifice-type of air bearings are cheaper, but require good and innovative design to achieve better performance and stability in comparison to the porous-type. This book offers an analytical approach to understand the dynamics and the performance behavior of a single orifice, circular-pocketed air thrust bearing. The effect of various input parameters on the performance of the air bearing was studied. Based on the analytical results, a simple design methodology was developed to assist in the design and selection of air bearings. CFD simulation and experiments were carried out for validation purposes. An experimental set-up was designed to test static and dynamic performance characteristics of the air bearings.
