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A general calculation method for gas journal bearings with pocketed or annular orifices feeding systems is presented. The accuracy of the method is demonstrated by comparison with a large number of experimental results. Good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results led to the application of the calculation method to the examination of some bearing properties which depend on the feeding system geometry. Examinations of the influence of the type of feeding holes and of their dimensions on the load coefficient and on the power consumption per unit load were performed. The results are of significance to the practical application of gas lubricated bearings.

This paper presents a new concept of the externally heated valve (EHV) engine. Air can be used as a working medium in the closed cycle of this engine. Heat delivered to the working air can come from a combustion chamber or another heat generator of an arbitrary type. The engine construction and the thermodynamic cycle performed by it are original and entirely different from the well-known Stirling engine. The main disadvantage of the Stirling engine is its low power density, that is the low power obtained per litre of the engine cylinder volume. In the case of the engine presented here it is possible to achieve power density and efficiency similar to those typical of advanced internal combustion engines. Comparisons between the power of the Stirling engine and the power of the new engine have been performed for the same engine capacity, rotational frequency and maximum and minimum temperatures of the cycle. At the same minimum pressure of the working gas in both engines, the power of the EHV engine is several times higher than that of the Stirling engine, while, on the other hand, at the same maximum pressure of the working gas in both engines, the power of the EHV engine is 20 per cent higher than that of the Stirling engine power. The efficiencies of both engines do not differ significantly from each other.

Results of experimental investigations of the dynamic properties of elastic supports for gas bearings having the form of rubber O-rings are presented. Theoretical calculations of the stability threshold of an externally pressurized gas bearing system elastically supported by means of O-rings were performed. An experimental investigation of the stability threshold of this gas bearing system was made. Comparisons between theoretical and experimental results verify the theoretical model and illustrate the possibility of its application to design purposes.