Aeropropulsion and Power Technology

High temperature foil bearings and seals have been found to be feasible and capable of enhancing the operability and performance of hi-mach missile engines. Under this Phase II effort, detailed design, manufacturing and testing of high temperature foil bearings and seals suitable for a Williams International hi-mach engine will be completed. The key features making foil bearings and seals important for this application are their ability to accommodate extremely high temperatures in excess of 1500F and the resulting structural distortions, all while maintaining small clearances needed for low leakage losses and good rotor vibration control. Following the successful verification testing under high speed and temperature conditions, a Phase III effort to integate this technology into a VAATE demsontrator engine is planned. This project fits ideally within the window of opportunity for the VAATE Phase II program.