CHAPTER

6
HYDROSTATIC AND AEROSTATIC SLIDEWAYS

In this chapter, hydrostatic and aerostatic slideways are briefly discussed. Basic characteristics such as damping, energy consumption, hydraulic circuits for hydrostatic slideways are presented. General principles for also aerostatic slideways are briefly mentioned.

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6.1 Hydrostatic Slideways In hydrostatic lubrication an oil film always separates the sliding elements with sufficient thickness to totally avoid contact. To keep the film, an external pump continuously injecting the oil onto the bearing is required. Slideways with provision for delivering oil under pressure between the mating surfaces, so as to produce an oil film over the full contact area, are called hydrostatically lubricated slideways. From the pump (Fig. 6.1) oil is delivered under pressure through flowcontrol valves with a restriction R into pockets made in the ways. From the 0 pockets the oil escapes through the clearance h between the slideway surfaces. In this clearance the oil pressure varies according to an approximately linear function. Any shape of slideway can be hydrostatically lubricated. Thus, for instance, a combination of one vee and one flat way is often used for this purpose in grindling machines Fig(6.2).

Fig.6.1 Principle of hydrostatically lubricated slideways When this technique is used on rotary joints, the result is an extremely stiff design with almost no radial error motion; the pressure exerted by the film automatically centres the spindle in the bearings. On the other hand, the

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stiffness of the bearing is proportional to supply pressure. However the main advantage of oil hydrostatic bearings is their extremely high damping ratio, very important when hard and/or brittle materials are machined. Therefore hydrostatic supported spindles are used in high-cost grinders.

Fig 6.2 Combination (flat and vee) hydrostatically lubricated sllideways

Fig 6.3 Air lubricated slideways

On the other hand, new linear guides designs based on the hydrostatic principle are currently under development. The problem is to inject and collect oil along the sliding of the carriage on the guide. Hydroguide and Hydrorail are recent In case of hydrostatic bearings (Fig.6.4a and b), the surfaces of the components which slide are separated by a thin oil lamina. The pressure maintained by the oil lamina is provided by an external pump. In this manner, the operation is guaranteed without wear and tear, and without the possibility of the stick-slip phenomenon appearing, due to the fact that the bearing does not present any static friction

Fig.6.4 a -Hydrostatic V-flat guide b -Hydrostatic guide with wrap-around (Hyprostatik)

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Products being installed in high precision milling machines and grinders, providing them with high damping, zero static friction, zero reversal error, a high reduction of friction heat and achieving a high straightness. In these designs, the carriage contains all the hydrostatic compensation and pockets on its internal surface shape. For conventional machines, carriages based on hydrostatics have also been developed, such as the model HLE45 of INA shown in Fig (6.5). For large diameter rotary plates, hydrostatic support of the flange disk enables very heavy parts to be supported without friction on the external radius (friction torque depends on the radius of the force application ring), whereas roller bearings are used on the plate central axis.

Fig 6.5 Linear guides by INA. a Roller guidance model RUE. b Special hydrostatic carriage model HLE45: points 1 and 4 are the oil input and output One of the surfaces is provided with cavities or cells, known as oil cells, which are provided with pressurised oil from the outside. Around these cells is the area through which the oil is released as it loses pressure. This area is known as land. The distance between the land and the surface which slides over it is the oil gap. Usually, it is 10 to 40 microns and generates a certain resistance to the passage of the fluid. The pressure difference between the cavity and the atmospheric pressure which acts on the outside is known as cell pressure. The oil flow resistance along the gap can be estimated as follows:

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The pressure gradient along the length of the land can be assumed to be linear in an initial approximation, such that for purposes of force it can be assumed that the pressure acts on up to one half of the length of the land. The area on which it is assumed that the complete pressure acts is known as the effective area (Aeff). The hydrostatic guides are designed with several cells, such that they can support off-centre forces and moments. Each cell should be supplied at a different pressure, in order that it can withstand a different force according to the operating conditions. For this, usually a single pump is used, with restrictors that allow supplying each cell at the appropriate pressure. In this manner the pressure in a cell will be:

Usually, the restrictors are built in the form of capillaries so that in this manner the resistance depends on the oil viscosity, as occurs in the cells. The resistance to the oil flow of a capillary can be calculated as follows:

Different types of capillaries are used. The short restrictors should have a very small diameter to provide the necessary resistance. This diameter is limited by the size of suspended particles in the oil which can block the capillary. The use of short capillaries is also limited because the design is very sensitive to the diameter of these; the resistance depends on the fourth power of the diameter. Capillaries with larger diameters and a longer length are also used, which tend to be in spiral form. The state of equilibrium of cell vs a specific force can be determined. From this state of equilibrium, the stiffness of the system formed of the pump, restrictor and cell can be determined. In case of

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a cell supplied through a capillary by means of a pump which operates at a constant pressure, the resulting stiffness is:

As can be seen in the previous expression, the stiffness depends on the load supported by the cell. For this reason, it is very interesting to use hydrostatic guides with a retaining plate in order that a high preload can be applied. In addition to gaining stiffness, the guide can absorb loads in both directions. 6.2.1 The Damping The hydrostatic guides provide much higher damping values than the roller-based guides against movements perpendicular to the cell; this is due to the friction force that the oil lamina presents on sliding. In case of movements parallel to the cell, the damping is reduced because there is no displacement of fluid. 6.2.2 The Energy Consumption The energy consumed by hydrostatic slideways depends, on the one hand, on the work carried out due to friction in the land and, on the other, the work carried out by the pump. This energy is integrally transformed into heat which increases the oil temperature. The work carried out to overcome the hydrodynamic friction can be determined as:


While the work carried out by the pump is:

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The total work results in:

The dimensioning of a hydrostatic guide is relatively complex due to the strong dependency shown by the variables which define the status of this. A very important variable is the temperature rise of the oil throughout the hydraulic circuit and the temperature in the restrictors and throughout the hydrostatic guide cells. The oil viscosity is heavily dependent on the temperature such that the calculation of the state of equilibrium requires repeating the calculation several times. The preparation of a computer program which assists the designer in the calculation of this state of equilibrium for different speeds or loads applied to the guidance is of interest. 6.2.3 The Hydraulic Circuit The functions of the hydraulic circuit are to ensure an adequate supply of oil to the hydrostatic guidance, in regard to pressure and flow, to suck from the oil the heat generated by the losses and prevent contact between the sliding elements in case of pump failure. It generally consists of : a pressurised oil tank, a pressure control system, a safety valve, a suction pump, dirt and a pump filter.

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Sometimes, an oil cooling system located after the suction pump is also necessary for the collection of the oil exiting from the guidance. The function of the pressurised tank is to provide oil to the bearing in case of pump failure, as well as to equal the oil flow at the pump discharge. The most common type of pump used is the gear pump. In general, the cost of the hydraulic system tends to be high compared to other types of guides. 6.2.4 The Design Criteria In general terms, it is of interest to keep the gap as small as possible. However, the minimum value is limited by the accuracy which can be obtained during the manufacture and by the elastic deformation of the components, in order to avoid contact between sliding surfaces at all costs. In order to determine the stiffness of the guidance, it is appropriate to consider the flexibility of the slides themselves. It is probable that this is comparable with that of the guidance. On the other hand, special attention should be given to the system for collecting oil released through the hydrostatic guidance and its return without contamination. For this, appropriate seals should be provided in each case. As an example, the characteristics of a rotary table are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Design parameters of an aerostatic rotary table by Precitech

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6.3 Slideways with Limit Lubrication In this slide way type, an oil film a few hundredths of a millimeter thick between guide and counter guide hugely reduces contact between surfaces. Although contact between roughness peaks cannot be totally avoided, reduction of the frictional work and friction coefficient is achieved. Oil must be periodically injected onto the counter guide to ensure this functional regime is reached. At the same time the counter guide has some small channels on its internal contact surface, called spider arms, to provide a uniform oil supply on the entire contact surface. The main advantage of this classic guide type is the high damping ratio. As a main drawback, friction is too high at high speeds and friction heat can affect precision and even the guide life. The stick and slip phenomenon also occurs at low speeds. Slide ways can be machined and grinded directly on the structural material, or built on hardened steel and bolt on the machine structure, where they are finally ground to achieve the final straightness. Currently, a few millimeters thick polymer sheet (type PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene) is bonded to the counter guide contact surface. These materials greatly reduce friction with steel or cast iron. Some frequently used brands are Turcite, Moglice, Glacier DP4 and Glacier DX. The final adjustment of the carriage on the guide is an important operation, being manually performed by skilled operators using chisel shape scrapers and tincture (Prussian blue or vermillion). The amount of material trimmed off by each movement of the scraper is around 13 m, making it possible to create any desired shape or form. The surface pattern resulting from scraping is also beneficial for retaining oil along the carriage movement.

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This type of guide is used in lathes, likewise in high precision machines, because scraping is the way to achieve very good straightness and flatness. In high speed machines the continuous inversions of movement with the consequent reversal and stick and slip problems do not recommend this solution. 6.4 Aerostatic Guides In the case of aerostatic guides, the medium which separates the sliding surfaces is the air. There are no fundamental differences in respect to the hydrostatic guides in that referring to the operating mode. Air lubricated slideways also have also been used to some extent in machine tools. Here, an air cushion is produced in the clearance between the mating bearing surfaces. Air from the compressed air mains passes through a filter and pressure regulating valve and enters the pockets at a pressure of 3 or 4 kgf per sq cm through apertures of small diameter (0.2 to 0.5 mm) as shown in Fig 6.3. The following points are highlighted from among the characteristics and advantages of this technology [9]. The aerostatic guides present exceptionally low losses due to friction, including at very high speeds, due to the low viscosity of air. At the ambient temperature, the air viscosity is approximately three orders of magnitude less than those of the oils used in hydrostatic guides. In addition, it is not necessary to consider the means for returning the fluid and seals are not required. An interesting characteristic of the aerostatic guides is their aptitude for applications subject to large differences of temperature, due to that the viscosity of the air presents a good consistency in a wide range of temperatures. On the other hand, the dimensioning of an aerostatic guide is more complicated than in the hydrostatic case. Air compressibility, for example, contributes to this. This compressibility, combined with the fact that the air

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barely provides damping, generates different dynamic phenomena which, in general, are problematic. There may be, for example, self-excited excitation, known as air hammering which may become audible and on occasions seriously affect the correct operation of the guidance. This vibration can be mitigated through the use of a high number of cells, each with its restrictor. For this reason, nowadays, the guides are manufactured in porous material. This tends to consist of a sintered part in which the porosity emulates the operation of multiple restrictors [8]. This type of guidance is seldom used in machine tool applications, mainly due to the difficulty in attaining sufficient load capacities at a reasonable cost of the air-supply equipment. For this reason, it is necessary to machine the sliding surfaces to a very high degree of accuracy, such that the gap can be extremely small. As an example, certain characteristics of interest of a workholding spindle of an ultraprecision lathe are presented in Table 2. Table 2 Design parameters of a workholding aerostatic spindle by Precitech

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Load capacity The maximum mean pressure of a plane pad equals 1/3rd of the supply pressure. 1. Maximum mean pressure on the projected area of journal bearing and opposed pad. bearing equals 1/4th the supply pressure. 2. Stiffness

Where d t is the design film thickness. Flow controllers in order of increasing bearing stiffness are as follows ... 1. Laminar restrictor. 2. Orifice. 3. Constant flow (fixed displacement pump or constant flow control valve with Pressure compensation). 4. Pressure sensing valve. 5.

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Fig. Flow restrictors (capillaries) for Hydrostatic bearings Depending upon various design requirements different shapes of capillaries are available. Hydraulic System must provide pocket pressure p 0 at the design bearing clearance. Flow from the bearing recess at the design condition Q 0 must be known. When p f is supplied Capillary of bore diameter r and length lk Capillary resistance

pressure on gauge. Capillary flow

(Resistance is adjustable) Where l is length and d is diameter of the orifice and h is dynamic viscosity of oil L/d should be greater than 100 and Reynolds no. Re<1000 Orifice flow

Where A= cross sectional area of Orifice r =Density Cf varies from 0.3 to 0.7 depending upon the Reynolds no. upto 100 Re. Bearing characteristics are also dependent on the pressure ratio Po/Pf It is recommended to aim for 0.5 pressure ratio.

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HYDROSTATIC GUIDING SYSTEM According to Hagen poiseuille in case of laminar flow, the amount of oil Q passing through a parallel gap is given by following formula

Where b= gap width through which oil flow l= length of gap s= height of gap h = Dynamic viscosity.

Fig. Hydrostatic flow Structure The hydrostatic grinding systems consist of pressure pockets whose boundaries are formed by gaps through which the pressurized oil drains away. Equilibrium condition

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Decisive for the determination of rigidity C of the guide ways is the flow.

Fig. Hydrostatic pocket Operating Principle There can be two systems a) One pump for each pocket b) One pump for all the pockets. AEROSTATIC GUIDEWAYS The system is similar as that of hydrostatic except that here air viscosity is much less h =18/1000 cst. So gap 'h' is much less. Effectiveness of oil pocket could be worked out just by providing one air nozzle on each side. Through nozzle flow rate should be

for the pressure of 8 bar

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Here if we draw the graph between gap 'h' and load Coefficient 'p', it could be easily seen that rigidity is more then that in hydrostatic system. In the aerostatic bearings relative speeds could be much more because of low viscosity of air and low external friction for which especially high speed bearings with reduced loading are specified (identified). Advantage of Aerostatic System 1. Extra ordinary reduction in friction. 2. Specified for highest speed. 3. Insignificant heating. 4. At very high speed lower temperature in the drive is ensured. 5. No chance of dirtiness through lubricant. 6. Simple design no need of labyrinth ring or oil seal. 7. Very simple. Disadvantage of Aerostatic system 1. Low load-carrying capability. 2. Low damping. 3. Give excessive vibration. 4. Chances of corrosion in the material 5. Costly aerostatic unit. Air consumption and load carrying capability In order to increase load carrying capability special from of saddle plate(pockets) should be use

Fig. Saddle pockets for aerostatic guideways

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When the gap is parallel to slide way, pressure flats down rapidly from nozzle towards circumference. This tendency is reduces hen the gap is of concave form. So concave form gap enables for-higher load carrying capability. With the help of special design having elastic membrane, a shape of variable gap appears which allows the rigidity as high as infinitive. The upper surface of the membrane, where area is greater as compared to the bearing surface, develops the pressure such that Pgapmax =Pchamber Due to this the membrane takes a convex shape in the original sense such that it forms a gap of concave form. With proper balance between supply pressure and rigidity of membrane, the effective areas at the upper and bottom side of membrane become such that the bearing hosing does not displace with the increase of load to a wide range. Such condition may be named as fully compensated and rigidity appears to be infinitive. There are two types of air bearing. (a) Central recess bearing- air is fed from central orifice (b) Annular recess bearing -air is fed from a ring of orifices

Fig. Central and Annular recess air bearings Less clearance -better stiffness Load carried

Pf =supply pressure (gauge) Stiffness k = 1.42W/h for pocketed orifice. For central recess bearing

where d0 =design orifice h0 = design clearance d = actual dia orifice h = actual clearance For annular bearing with N pocketed orifice

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For annular bearing with N unpocketed orifices

Stiffness =0,95W/h

Load carried

Where Ps= supply pressure of air For annular type bearing load coefficient c L =0,25 for maximum stiffness and