Recent Patent on a Micro Wedge-Platform Thrust Slider Bearing with a Small Wedge Angle

Background: A novel micro wedge-platform thrust slider bearing with a small wedge angle registered in the patent is introduced. This bearing depends on the physical adsorption and is applied in special cases with a pronounced load-carrying capacity. Objective: To show the newly developed micro wedge-platform thrust slider bearing with a small wedge angle by the physical adsorption technology. Methods: The fundamental lubrication analysis is presented for the load-carrying capacity of the mentioned bearing. The bearing depends on the use of hydrophilic and hydrophobic coatings on the stationary surfaces respectively in the bearing inlet and outlet zones. Results: The calculation results show that the load-carrying capacity of the invented bearing is greatly higher than that calculated from conventional hydrodynamic lubrication theory, and it is also considerably higher than that of the bearing by using homogenous surface properties when the wedge angle of the bearing is less than 10-4°. Conclusion: The micro wedge-platform thrust slider bearing with a significant load-carrying capacity can be developed by using the physical adsorption when the wedge angle ; of the bearing is 10-5° ≤ < 0.01°.