Hybrid bearing development for high-speed turbomachinery in distributed energy systems

In the paper authors undertake the design of hydrostatic bearings and hybrid bearings for a specific application – hermetic high–speed turbogenerators for the electric power generation. The most common hydrostatic bearings are usually oil lubricated. On the contrary, the considered here machines are dedicated for the combined heat and power (CHP) production in organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems and so the hydrostatic bearings use an organic, oil-free working fluid as the lubricant. The reader will acquire an insight into the special characteristics of hydrostatic bearings. Moreover, a new type of bearings, a hybrid bearing, is introduced, which combine both, hydrostatic and hydrodynamic effects. The designed bearings have been manufactured and their good performance confirmed during tests on a real machine.