Pressure comb bearings

Thrust comb bearings are used to transmit axial forces between rotating, parallel shafts. Pressure combs are widely used in turbine gearboxes to transfer the compressor thrust from the high-speed shaft to the low-speed shaft, where it can be dissipated with fewer losses via a thrust bearing.

The use of pressure combs to absorb the axial force of helical gears is innovative. The force flow is closed for a much shorter time than with conventional bearings thanks to the rings attached directly to the gearing. This means that housings, shafts and, in particular, bearings can be designed to be lighter, which minimizes power losses.

Current research topics are

• Increasing the performance of the tribological contact
• Creation of calculation tools
• Influence of the pressure comb bearing on the overall gearbox