COMPRESSOR HAVING WATER-LUBRICATED PLAIN BEARINGS

摘要

The invention relates to a compressor (20) for generating a compressed air flow for a fuel cell (10), said compressor comprising a compressor element (21), in particular a compressor wheel. In this compressor: the compressor element (21) is coupled to a drive shaft (23) for conjoint rotation; the drive shaft (23) is driven by a motor (22), in particular an electric motor; the shaft (23) is rotatably mounted by means of at least one hydrodynamic or hydrostatic plain bearing (24, 25); the plain bearing (24, 25) is connected to a lubricant supply (30), by means of which the plain bearing (24, 25) is supplied with a lubricant for hydrodynamic or hydrostatic pressure generation; the lubricant is water or a fluid mixture which predominantly includes water; the plain bearing (24, 25) has a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet; the lubricant can be delivered to the plain bearing (24, 25) via the lubricant inlet and the lubricant can be drained off from the plain bearing (24, 25) via the lubricant outlet; and a drain region of the circulation system (30) is arranged in the region of the lubricant outlet. An operationally reliable design can can be implemented for such a compressor if the total outlet cross-section of the liquid outlet of the plain bearing (24, 25) is completely covered by the lubricant held in the drain region.