This paper presents frictional characteristics of thrust bearing in scroll compressor. The coefficient of friction in thrust bearing was measured by both elemental friction test and loss classification based on the performance test of actual scroll compressor, and investigated frictional characteristics focusing on the behavior of sliding portion which affects the generation of oil film by experimental and analytical approach. Through measurements of the coefficient of friction, it was found that the coefficient of friction increases with decrease of contact pressure in the region that contact pressure is relatively low, and the coefficient of friction and the behavior of sliding portion have a strong correlation. In addition, these characteristics were supported by mixed lubrication analysis. Based on experimental and analytical results obtained here, the technique of optimization of thrust bearing was shown. The optimization of thrust bearing achieved approximately 2% improvement of total efficiency.
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