A design for a gas foil bearing with springs for secondary stiffness is presented. The construction of a bearing test rig, designed and built for conducting the tests in order to determine the maximum load capacity of the bearing for various shaft speeds (under normal conditions), is considered. The results of the experimental research into maximum load capacity depending on the shaft rotation frequency are reported. The factors affecting the maximum load capacity are described.

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A theoretical study of a gas flow process in a clearance, changing during operation between a compliant foil of a foil gas bearing and a rotor of a high-speed turbomachine, is presented. The approaches to mathematic simulation of the position of the compliant foil of the gas bearing, deforming under the influence of gas pressure on the outer surface and a system of distributed springs on the inner surface, are developed. An example of numerical simulation of the foil gas bearing in order to obtain an elastic line of the compliant foil under the influence of gas forces, acting in a wedge-shaped clearance, is considered.