Compliant Full Film Lubricated Bearings: Concept Design & Development

Full film lubricated bearings are machine components that excel in their ability to carry high loads with very little friction. Their main archetypes, passive hydrodynamic and active hydrostatic bearings, are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from hydraulic pumps to high precision machine benches. They are most commonly lubricated...

Magnetic fluid bearings & seals: Methods, design & application

The bearing and the seal are two commonly used tribological components since nearly all moving machinery relies on them for proper operation. Even a small improvement in these components can have a big impact on both the market and the environment. The two main problems of these components are wear and friction. In addition, seals suffer from...

Self-sensing of coil springs and twisted and coiled polymer muscles

The need to integrate robots in society grows, as several socioeconomic issues put pressure on our current level of productivity and prosperity. This requires robots to safely interact with unpredictable and fragile stakeholders, such as humans. Compliant actuation can facilitate such safe physical interaction.<br/>The Series Elastic Actuator ...

Towards robust design optimization of automotive turbocharger rotor-bearing systems

In the competitive automotive market, the performance of turbochargers is constantly being pushed towards their theoretical optimum. One of the key components of the turbocharger is the rotor-bearing system, which determines the friction losses and noise output and furthermore affects the overall turbocharger efficiency, reliability and cost. In...